Rear End and Tranny Lube

Good Morning,

Re: 2012 1200RT. I thought it would be a good time to change the tranny and rear end lube in case Spring ever gets here. Brrrr. I'm looking in my Rider's Manual and it does not have anything about the type of lube to use. I'm thinking Mobile 1 synthetic 75/90 for both tranny and rear. What do you use? Recommend?

Thanks and ride safe.

MichiganBob

Good Morning,

 

Re: 2012 1200RT. I thought it would be a good time to change the tranny and rear end lube in case Spring ever gets here. Brrrr. I'm looking in my Rider's Manual and it does not have anything about the type of lube to use. I'm thinking Mobile 1 synthetic 75/90 for both tranny and rear. What do you use? Recommend?

 

Thanks and ride safe.

 

MichiganBob

Afternoon MichiganBob

The Mobil 1 75w90 should be just fine in the transmission & will work in the final drive as long as it isn't a LS (limited slip) gear oil.

Some riders do use the Mobil 1 75w140 in the trans as on some bikes it improves hot shifting.

My personal recommendation on the final drive is to use the BMW recommended Castrol SAF-XO (that is a 75w90 non LS GL-5 rated gear oil. Problem is the SAF-XO is difficult to find in the U.S. As of late BMW has a new oil vendor so now recommends their own gear oil.

The alternatives I recommend are the Castrol Syntrax longlife 75w-90 (non LS version) & the Land Rover LRN 7591 (this is the same gear oil as the recommended SAF-XO).

The final drive only holds 180Ml at oil change time so a quart of gear oil will last a long time.

A good time to change the final drive gear oil is at rear tire change time as the rear wheel is already removed.

Thanks Dirt Rider. Paying a little more for a quality lube makes good sense. I remember adding some Redline Shockproof in my 02 RT and it made a profoundly positive difference in the shifting.

Hope all is well with you.

Michiganbob

On 5/2/2017 at 10:25 AM, dirtrider said:

 

Afternoon MichiganBob

 

The Mobil 1 75w90 should be just fine in the transmission & will work in the final drive as long as it isn't a LS (limited slip) gear oil.

 

Some riders do use the Mobil 1 75w140 in the trans as on some bikes it improves hot shifting.

 

My personal recommendation on the final drive is to use the BMW recommended Castrol SAF-XO (that is a 75w90 non LS GL-5 rated gear oil. Problem is the SAF-XO is difficult to find in the U.S. As of late BMW has a new oil vendor so now recommends their own gear oil.

 

The alternatives I recommend are the Castrol Syntrax longlife 75w-90 (non LS version) & the Land Rover LRN 7591 (this is the same gear oil as the recommended SAF-XO).

 

The final drive only holds 180Ml at oil change time so a quart of gear oil will last a long time.

 

A good time to change the final drive gear oil is at rear tire change time as the rear wheel is already removed.

 

 

Good afternoon dirtrider. I am curious as too why a limited slip gear oil is ok for the gearbox but not ok for the final drive.

20 minutes ago, lather said:

Good afternoon dirtrider. I am curious as too why a limited slip gear oil is ok for the gearbox but not ok for the final drive.

Evening   lather

I didn't say LS was OK in the trans, but I guess I didn't do a good job of saying not to use it either.

Probably not the best plan to use LS in the trans either (some do though without issue) but  the pinion seal in the final drive is the known seepage point.  

Thanks for the quick reply dirtrider. I ordered a quart of Castrol SAF-XO. I was unable to find any  Syntrax longlife 75w-90 that was not labeled LS.

For gear oil I usually just get the BMW-branded stuff. I am usually a penny-pincher but since it is fussy (the spec and the non-LS), I just spend a couple dollars more and get the stuff in a BMW bottle. I'm like that with oil in general. It's cheap insurance. I can save money on other things.