Trans and Final drive oil

What brand and weight oil are you guys using in your transmission and final drive??

I use this.

https://www.europaparts.com/liqui-moly-fully-synthetic-75w90-gear-oil-1-liter.html

For an 04 R1100S it is recommended to use SAE 90W GL-5 gear oil for both transmission and rear end. I would recommend any quality gear oil, synthetic or conventional, that meets this spec. However, I think you will find more SAE 75W-9owt gear oils and these are fine. I have used Bel-Rey, Castrol, and others. A good prats house should have something that will work. Of course, check your manual for your specific bike.

Thanks guys!

What brand and weight oil are you guys using in your transmission and final drive??

Afternoon georgem

For you 2012 1200 the BMW service manual calls for Castrol SAF-XO. The Castrol SAF-XO gear oil is a GL-5 up-level 75w90 non-LS gear oil that is blended to be friendly to oil seals.

The SAF-XO 75w90 is difficult to find in the U.S. but the Castrol Syntrax 75w-90 (non-LS) is usually easier to find in the U.S. & is the same gear oil. Or the Land Rover part # LRN 7591 is the same as SAF-XO 75w90 gear oil.

Or, you can basically use about any quality up-level 75w90 non- LS (non limited slip) gear oil (like Mobil-1 75w90 non-LS). In fact BMW has changed vendors so now isn't specifying Castrol products any longer.

Just about ANY uplevel 75w90 GL-5 gear oil will work to protect the gears & internal bearings, it's the seal seepage thing that seems to cause the most problems.

Your transmission will digest about any good 75wXX GL-5 gear oil (even 75w140 & in certain BMW 1200 transmissions the 75w140 will even shift better.

On the final drive (personally) I like to stick closer the BMW's recommendation & use the Castrol SAF-XO, or LRN 7591, or Syntrax 75w-90 (non LS) as those have a good proven history of not causing final drive seal seepage.

Regarding:

"in certain BMW 1200 transmissions the 75w140 will even shift better."

...which ones?

Regarding:

"in certain BMW 1200 transmissions the 75w140 will even shift better."

 

...which ones?

 

Evening Hank

That is easy to answer, it works best in the ones that shift better with the 75w140.

OK-- there is no way to know until you try it. If it shifts better with the 75w140 than it did with the 75w90 then keep using that 75w140. If it shifts worse or the same then go back to the 75w90 next change.

HI Dirt rider, I used Royal Purple in my '98RT and it did make the tray smoother. I'll give it a shot in the '12 model and see how it goes, thank you for all the info!

Regarding:

"That is easy to answer, it works best in the ones that shift better with the 75w140."

Very scientific

Regarding:

"That is easy to answer, it works best in the ones that shift better with the 75w140."

 

Very scientific

Morning Hank

That was meant to be funny but I guess it didn't work.

The only way to know if it will help the shifting is to try it in each individual bike as some do shift better & some don't.

HI Dirt rider, I used Royal Purple in my '98RT and it did make the tray smoother. I'll give it a shot in the '12 model and see how it goes, thank you for all the info!

Morning georgem

In my experience the Royal Purple will noticeably make it shift better (for a short while), thing I have seen with the Royal Purple is the better shifting doesn't seem to last as that gear oil seems to shear easily.

BUT, I have only tried it a couple of times so don't have a broad test base.

Long term Mobil 1 75w140 seems to shift better longer in more bikes. Maybe not quite as good as the Royal Purple right after change but better at the 1000 up mile mark. It seems every bike is different so my suggestion is to try different gear oil's until you find something that you like (in your bike) long term.

Just don't judge right after the change as all the gear oil's seem to shift better right after a change (that is why we read all over the internet how this gear oil or that gear oil really improved shifting--they all seem to). The real test is for how long do they shift better?

Yea I got it. I got a chuckle out of it. I also got your point. Try it and see if it works. Funny how BMW recommends 24,000 miles on the gearbox oil servicing. When I change the oil at 12,000 first obvious thing is smoother and quieter shifting. Unfortunately it does not last that long until it's back to normal.

Yea I got it. I got a chuckle out of it. I also got your point. Try it and see if it works. Funny how BMW recommends 24,000 miles on the gearbox oil servicing. When I change the oil at 12,000 first obvious thing is smoother and quieter shifting. Unfortunately it does not last that long until it's back to normal.

Morning 6speedTi

Unfortunately that is one of the downsides to running the gear oil between all those meshing gears.

If I wanted to purposely shear gear oil I would probably run it thought fast spinning tight meshing gear sets.

This is also where researching the shear resistance of gear oil comes into play. Unfortunately that info is difficult to come up with & even more difficult to compare in real world longer mile usage.

OK, got ya, o my "98 they recommended 140 and thats what I used in trans and final drive. This '12 model, all I have seen says use the 90wt. thats what I have purchased, but have not changed them yet.

OK, got ya, o my "98 they recommended 140 and thats what I used in trans and final drive. This '12 model, all I have seen says use the 90wt. thats what I have purchased, but have not changed them yet.

Afternoon Georgem

Yes, the 1200 hexhead BMW manual called for Brand name hypoid-gear lubricant SAE 90 API GL5. I was surprised to find the newer camhead manual called for SAF-XO gear oil (that is a 75w90).

We have been using the 75w90 & 75w140 in the hexhead for a long time now (even a lot of BMW dealers do).

The straight 90 weight won't hurt the trans as the gears are pretty robust & will hold up fine with about any GL5 gear oil & most of the trans bearings are sealed so run in their own sealed-in grease.

At hot bike running temps probably not much difference between the straight 90 GL5 & 75w90 GL5 as far as operating viscosity is concerned. The BIG difference is in the cold shifting of the 75wXX over straight 90 weight.

The straight 90 weight is probably a bit less prone to shearing as the 75w90 & 75w140 have some polymers to get that viscosity spread but most of that is probably offset by the base stock quality being better on the up-level 75wXX. (not easy to find a high end good quality straight 90 weight gear oil that uses up-level base stock)

Regarding: That was meant to be funny but I guess it didn't work.

Mine was too!

OK, guys, I had to make a trip to Houston today, so I went by the BMW dealership and got the OEM oil for final drive and trannie. now I dont have to worry if its compatible or not. Thanks for all the help and info!!

OK, guys, I had to make a trip to Houston today, so I went by the BMW dealership and got the OEM oil for final drive and trannie. now I dont have to worry if its compatible or not. Thanks for all the help and info!!

Well, that's one way to kill an oil thread. You really need to try harder and get into the spirit of things.

OK, guys, I had to make a trip to Houston today, so I went by the BMW dealership and got the OEM oil for final drive and trannie. now I dont have to worry if its compatible or not. Thanks for all the help and info!!

 

Well, that's one way to kill an oil thread. You really need to try harder and get into the spirit of things.

 

I wonder if they told him about the change in quantity?

JK

 

I wonder if they told him about the change in quantity?

Afternoon Tallman

What change in oil quantity?-- As far as I know there is no change in the camhead, there was in the early hexheads but not the camheads (at least that I know about).

Is there some change to the camhead that we should know about?

I was told fill transmission until it runs out the top plug, and 180mL on final drive, 6 oz.

I get the whole "Kill the oil" thread deal, you guys are a hoot!!

Just in case your interested in the quantity for the gearbox it holds 700ml to the fill port. Just thought I mention it incase anyone is not sure how much oil to buy. So it's 180ml for the final drive and 700ml for the gearbox. A 1 liter bottle is good for both if your using the same viscosity oil.

This morning I ordered a 1qt. Bottle of 75w/140 from Redline. It's the NS non-slip oil made for certain applications. I'll give it a go and see how it performs.

https://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=39

OK, good deal, then Im right on the money

Just to update everyone following this topic. Last week I serviced my 2012RT with 75w/140.

I purchased Redline 75w/140NS. The NS is for the lack of friction modifiers that are added for limited slip differentials. As expected initial shifting was smooth and a little less noisy. This is always the case at every servicing with fresh oil. Time will tell so it may be a while to see if these results hold up as the miles accumulate. Here is Redline oil info link.

https://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=39

Hi all, just an FYI, there is a response to a question on the Royal Purple website stating they don't make the 75w-140 in a non limited slip formula. I also can't find Mobil 1 75w-140 in a non limited slip formula. What gives? I do see Redline offers it in full synthetic, non limited slip. I have an 06 RT and want to change the trans oil. I did it once before, but I did not document what oil I used, and now I have forgotten. This would be a nice thing to add to the maintenance list on the home page.

OK, sorry to dredge up an old thread, an oil thread at that. Aren't there enough new ones?

Getting ready to head out on a long trip on my 02 R1150 RT. I chose to refill both trans and differential with Mobil 1 75w90. I didn't realize there was a difference, and I used the LS version, not the preferred NON-LS.

Before I put long miles on with this oil in, what is the risk? Should I rush out and get something NON-LS?

OK, sorry to dredge up an old thread, an oil thread at that. Aren't there enough new ones?

 

Getting ready to head out on a long trip on my 02 R1150 RT. I chose to refill both trans and differential with Mobil 1 75w90. I didn't realize there was a difference, and I used the LS version, not the preferred NON-LS.

 

Before I put long miles on with this oil in, what is the risk? Should I rush out and get something NON-LS?

 

Morning Alan

Not a lot of risk, just a slightly higher chance of some gear oil seepage past the seals.