Grasshopper
New member
BMW recommends first oil change for R18 Roctane at 10,000 Km (6,000 Miles). Does anyone recommend otherwise? If so, why?
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Initial Oil Change
- Discussion starter Grasshopper
- Start date
I bought a 5 years service plan when I bought my bike, therefore I need to stick to BMW service intervals, however, on my car, also a BMW, I don’t have that and therefore, I do the service a lot sooner than what BMW recommends. You will never hear about damage caused by frequent oil changes, unless you put some oil with specifications below the recommended ones.
Personally I think the long life / long service oil malarkey is a technique to trick potential buyers into thinking that the running cost of the vehicle is very low. The added benefit to the garage/ dealerships, is that by prolonging the service intervals there is a greater chance of something failing and the cost to replace the part plus labor will be well over the cost of a service. They will never admit the cam chain failed because the prolonged service interval, instead they will tell you it is down to normal wear and tear. Call me cynical, maybe I am.
Personally I think the long life / long service oil malarkey is a technique to trick potential buyers into thinking that the running cost of the vehicle is very low. The added benefit to the garage/ dealerships, is that by prolonging the service intervals there is a greater chance of something failing and the cost to replace the part plus labor will be well over the cost of a service. They will never admit the cam chain failed because the prolonged service interval, instead they will tell you it is down to normal wear and tear. Call me cynical, maybe I am.
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2023
- Messages
- 957
- Location
- Goolwa, Australia
- Bike
- R18 FE and RnineT Scrambler
I'm in the 12 month or 5,000km camp..... if doing 10,000km in 12 months I'd do a 5,000k oil change myself..... as I tend to keep the bike long term.... also I buy oil when it's 30% or so off in advance.... so a good 15w50 syn is only $60 or so.... I don't do the filter though....
The why.... oil is cheap, a drain and fill is easy, I ride the bike quite hard, it can't hurt.... so why not....
If you do 10,000km a year there is a way to do 5,000km oil changes only once a year. I implemented this strategic approach a few years ago.... yep, got a 2nd bike.....
The why.... oil is cheap, a drain and fill is easy, I ride the bike quite hard, it can't hurt.... so why not....
If you do 10,000km a year there is a way to do 5,000km oil changes only once a year. I implemented this strategic approach a few years ago.... yep, got a 2nd bike.....
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Agree. Changing the oil (plus filter) regularly is probably the best thing you can do for your engine, relatively cheap and easy to do yourself if you want to. No brainer really especially if you plan to keep your bike. I presume you mean the 6000 mile service/annual service after the initial 600 mile one which is probably the most important one of all.
Star-Lord
Well-known member
My R18 B is strictly a personal "therapeutic hobby", at 13k+ miles worth of head-clearing riding and a bunch of small tasteful modifications; the maintenance part, is probably my favorite part of the overall motorcycle ownership or hobby...
I do the oil, oil filter and air filter annually, regardless of the mileage..
I follow the Transmission and Rear Bevel Gear service interval as per the BMW recommended mileage.
Valve Adjustment: I recommend the 1st 6,000 mile interval; however, I personally listen to my bike's engine and skip the valve adjustment if it doesn't sound like a millipede wearing tap shoes and is running smooth...
I always inspect the one set of spark plugs when performing the valve adjustment job; however, the stock plugs are of today's highest quality and performing plugs... I'll continue to skip the replacement of the plugs...
I do the oil, oil filter and air filter annually, regardless of the mileage..
I follow the Transmission and Rear Bevel Gear service interval as per the BMW recommended mileage.
Valve Adjustment: I recommend the 1st 6,000 mile interval; however, I personally listen to my bike's engine and skip the valve adjustment if it doesn't sound like a millipede wearing tap shoes and is running smooth...
I always inspect the one set of spark plugs when performing the valve adjustment job; however, the stock plugs are of today's highest quality and performing plugs... I'll continue to skip the replacement of the plugs...