Valvoline vr1 not available in Canada. What works best on flat tappet engines and is available in Canada. Napa or Canadian tire.
Castrol GTX or V Twin 20w50 Amsoil Synthetic - if want to pay big bucks Both available at CTC I like Motul lube products available at most motorcycle shops...they make dino, semi synthetic and full synthetic and cover most requirements for an airhead i.e. engine oil, gearbox, drive shaft, final drive and fork oils..all in viscositys needed Some further reading here if you're concerned about ZDDP levels for old flat tappet engines - you may just drive yourself crazy :) http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=871700
I have been using Castrol GTX 20/50 with the SG rating for the past 40 years on all my bikes, including many airheads. It is available just about everywhere. As far as I am concerned, it is the oil of choice.
I wonder if the Canadian BMW dealers get the same oil we do in the States? BMW 20/50 mineral oil is Spectro oil down here but a couple of buck cheaper per quart than Spectro. Last time I saw it tested it has more of the good stuff than regular Spectro and that had way more of it than about any oil you could get at a Auto parts store. I use BMW oil. Good oil at a great price. At least here in the States.
I see no reason whatsoever to buy anything for my old airheads at the stealerships here in Canada. I find that the majority of stuff they carry is way over priced. But, if you have lots of money, then go right ahead and buy your oil there. Don't forget to get your tires topped up with official OEM BMW air while you are there.
Now that's just crazy talk. I don't know how stuff is priced up there. Down here, suggested retail for BMW oil is a real good deal. Cheaper than the Spectro equivalent anywhere else that I have seen. Granted, prices have been going through the roof lately but part of that is for BMW keeping the same basic prices for 20 years up till a few years back but those day are for sure over now.
In a comparo a long time ago Castrol GTX had pretty much the same additive package as the BMW branded Golden Spectro, but it had around half the amount. It was also around half the price So it seemed that if you changed the GTX at half the recommended intervals you would get the same protection as using the correct oil, at pretty much the same cost. But oils change all the time, even 40 year old formulations like GTX, and a 20 year old comparo probably isnt worth much. Best to ask the same question over on Bobistheoilguy forum - these guys actually know something about oil and will pick up on a change in formulation within a week. And when they ask why the answer will come from the guy who makes the oil, not from someone quoting from a twenty year old amateur comparo.
Penny pinching and motorcycles? I just don't get it. To me motorcycling has always been a sport, not a means of transportation. Especially a money saving means of transportation. If I had that in mind, I would have a scooter or a Geo Metro or the like. IMO, a good, economical car is way less costly than a motorcycle no matter how you ride it. I mean, I am not going to start running $25 a quart Motul real synthetic motor oil but I am not going to worry about eight dollars a quart oil versus five dollars a quart oil when I think the eight dollars a quart oil is a lot better. I guess it is just a matter of degrees.
Well, Canadian Tire sure sells Castrol "Grand Prix" Motorcycle oil. Blended in Canada with domestic and imported components. SG rated, just bought some in 10w40 for the little Honda and they do have 20w50. Pretty sure Wally has it also.
i read the benchmark zddp article that recommended 30 or 40 weight valvoline vr1, not available in canada. gtx is available in 10 30 and 10 40. i did notice that napa has the vr1 20-50 oil, i also noticed that some people are putting 20 50 in their airheads. what do i do?? i will buy what works best and lasts longest, not what is the cheapest.
As has been stated before, in many other oil threads on many forums throughout the web. Castrol 20/50 is pretty much the preferred oil for airhead BMWs throughout the world. It is relatively inexpensive and it just plain works. If you were around back when these bikes were new, and hung out in any of the smaller BMW shops, you would have found that they routinely used Castrol oils. BMW Canada does not recommend Castrol as they would prefer you spend twice the money on their oil. But then, they also charge more for everything else, compared to when we check prices elsewhere. Simple example are wheel bearings. I can get proper well made wheel bearings from a bearing shop for approx. 1/3 the price of the OEM bearings from BMW, which are actually manufactured and come out of the exact same factory. But the OEM ones come in that nice BMW package. Oooooh, Awwwwww. So just put Castrol Grand Prix GTX 20/50 formulated for motorcycles with an SG rating in your Airhead and know that the oil is perfectly fine.
It's 20w-50 for all my air cooled 4 stroke engines, that's a no brainer. The big conversation is whether to use motorcycle spec non synthetic oil [JASO MA, API spec SG] like Castrol Gran Prix, or Pennzoil Motorcycle,,,,,non motorcycle spec,,,,,or full synthetic motorcycle oil. I think the fact that this particular engine is quite low stress output, quite low piston speed, etc, a full synthetic, as much as I'm a fan, would be a bit of a waste. Fact is, synthetic gets just as dirty as non synthetic. And,,,,as it's an air cooled engine, it has a higher piston/cylinder clearance compared to liquid cooled engines. So residue of combustion passes by the rings easier on air cooled engines causing acidic deposits to enter the oil easier. As well, as we all know, this engine does not share it's lubrication with either clutch or gearbox. So while the enhanced sheer viscosity length of a motorcycle oil may not be needed, the higher ZDDP is very much needed for the old school valve train. I've now got 115,000kms on my airhead, and I'm fully confident that the best way to enhance the life of these things is with frequent oil changes and good non synthetic API SG oil. I would not ever use a non motorcycle engine oil in any of my bikes. IMO, on my other high output engines, Amzoil 20W-50 ester based full synthetic is the industry standard that most are trying to achieve but cannot.
Yes, stay with dyno oil (non-synthetic). A lot of us have tried to change over to Synthetic oils on older bikes, and found that those with more than a few miles on them tend to leak like a sieve with synthetic. And just changing back to dyno oil stopped the leaks. On the other hand, if you do a total rebuild on your engine, with fresh seals everywhere, then synthetic should be fine. Many have done that and been very happy. For myself, I do not see any reason to change to synthetic on these old engines. I just change the oil and filter quite often. Usually every 3-5000 miles, depending on the type of riding. It goes in clean and comes out only a little dirty, but I change it anyway. I usually will do the oil change in the evening, after a good day of riding, and while the oil is still fairly warm. Sit back and have a few beers with buddies and let the oil drain. Then button it all up with a new filter and pour in the oil. All set to go the next morning.
What they used 20~40 years ago isn't necessarily the same thing that is currently sold as GTX. If I had a gas-powered car I might use GTX in it. Doesn't mean it's the right product for all engines.
