DamienC Posted January 24, 2016 Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Hello all, OK, some questions for the techies... My s1000rr is a track only bike. Full exhaust, HP Race ECU...it's a blast. Want to put in there some better oil than the one my BMW dealer put in last time it went for the engine check. I have to admit I know nothing about oils...and I would like something that works with that amazing engine and that is a bit more adapted to racing than traditional oils, given that the bike only goes on the track, so the engine is used accordingly. Any advice ? I know BMW is recommending Castrol (but there are about 10000 types of oils), CSS goes with Silkolene...and what about Motul...in fact, the brand is one thing, but there are so many differences in the composition etc... Thanks for the tips ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khp Posted January 24, 2016 Report Share Posted January 24, 2016 Discussing engine oils between motorcycle enthusiasts can get you into a fist fight, so be warned! My father is a petrochemical engineer by trade and worked in the lubrication industry all his (working) life. His recommendations to people whenever they ask him is simple: Choose an oil that has the same specs (API, SAE, etc) as what the manufacturer prescribes in the manual. That's it. Forget about brand X is better than brand Y. It's BS. The reason the "brand war" is BS is that they all use identical base oils etc to get to those specifications. If they didn't, it would show up as a spec difference. For your racebike, I would still use the same engine oil, but change it more frequently. Kai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted January 25, 2016 Report Share Posted January 25, 2016 I agree with khp on this. While we don't agree on engine sounds we do agree on oil and oil threads. I have a couple of RR's as well and one has the Race ECU. I trust BMW's engineering a lot more than my guesswork so I only use the factory oil. I do the same with many of my other bikes and even have to jump through some hoops to get the Agip/ENI 4T racing oil imported from Italy for one of them. The manufacturer did a lot of testing with the engine to make sure the lubricant worked perfectly and they would not get warranty repairs. I do however double up on my services for bikes used mostly on the track. I usually will haul them into the dealer for a 2nd oil only service right in the middle of the regular service interval. A lot of people go a bit crazier and change all their fluids after every time at the track. That seems a bit excessive to me. I keep an eye on the color through the sight glass. If it's looking not so great you can always change it. At the end of the day however it's your bike and you have to do what you think is best for it. I don't fault anyone for choosing what they think is the best choice even if there's guesswork involved. For people involved in racing an oil sponsorship can save them a massive amount of money and slow their descent into racing induced bankruptcy. If you really want to take care of your bike one of the best things you can do is keep it clean. Sounds really simple of course but a simple cleaning before you head to the track allows you to physically put your hands on every single component and find potential problems. I clean mine before and after track use and have found a few problems before they found me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaghetti Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 If you really want to take care of your bike one of the best things you can do is keep it clean. Sounds really simple of course but a simple cleaning before you head to the track allows you to physically put your hands on every single component and find potential problems. I clean mine before and after track use and have found a few problems before they found me. What did you find? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rchase Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 If you really want to take care of your bike one of the best things you can do is keep it clean. Sounds really simple of course but a simple cleaning before you head to the track allows you to physically put your hands on every single component and find potential problems. I clean mine before and after track use and have found a few problems before they found me. What did you find? On mine I have found fasteners that needed to be tightened. Worn consumables like brake pads and sprockets. Leaks of all varieties. I even found a cracked frame once while cleaning. While a really unpleasant surprise I would rather find out about a cracked frame in my driveway rather than at speed on the track or in tech inspection. I had the frame replaced on the R6 it's a common issue with the first generation bikes unfortunately. It was not cheap but the bike has huge sentimental value for me being the first sportbike I ever owned. My bikes are a lot newer now and I don't find as many issues as I once did with the older ones. Actually my BMW's have been pretty much issue free other than a worn set of brake pads. I still go through the trouble of cleaning and inspecting them before I go to the track. It's not only my safety but everyone I share the track with as well. Cleaning also goes a long way to keeping the bike operational. Keeping the ABS ring clean and free of debris and junk makes them work as designed. The same thing goes for sprockets and chains and many other components on the bike. Keeping fork legs clean of debris and crud can extend the life of fork seals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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