K11 Owners Group

dibdob69 · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 7:21 am Post subject: What Engine Oil in UK ?

What engine oil are you chaps using in the UK ? Is there something i can get from Halfords or a local Motor discount centre as these bikes have a dry clutch ?
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BMW K1100LT 93
BMW 1150 GSA O3
KTM 690R 09

DaveVoorhis · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 8:43 am Post subject: Re: What Engine Oil in UK ?

Technician · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 1:02 pm Post subject:

Any good quality 10w/40 will do, I normally use what i can buy in bulk [25ltrs] as i change it every 6 months. A semi- synthetic is good Morris lubricants do a 25ltr drum for £106 free delivery which will do you at least 5 changes.
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Fat Ba***d with a K1100LTse
Squire D18 trailer
Garmin Zumo 660
"Run it round the block to see if the wheels fall off!!!!"

BMGraeme · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:03 pm Post subject:

Last time I got Mobil 1 semi synth which was on offer at Halfauds. 10/40 I seem to remember.
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1980 CB900FA
1994 K1100RS
2008 R1200GSA

m1ks · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2011 6:35 pm Post subject:

Shell 10/40 mineral from local garage, one of the few decent brands they had and reasonable price.
AS you don't have to worry about the clutch any bike or car 10/40 will do and be the ideal weight oil for uk use.
Don't unnecessarily buy synth unless it's cheap, mineral or semi synth will be fine
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Tim (Midland Section) · Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:44 pm Post subject:

I usually use Halfords Semi synth 15/40 (Purple can) About £19.00
3 K11's totalling about 60,000 miles. Seems a good enough test.

Not wishing to start an Oil debate again, I use Semi Synth coz that's what the bike was designed to use.

Edited 3/12/2011 Changed 10/40 to 15/40 & price to 19.00
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Regards Tim,

Grey haired riders don't get that way by pure luck
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DLBass · Posted: Mon Nov 28, 2011 6:32 am Post subject:

The brick is a car engine, so I use Halfords 10/40 semi synthetic in the green bottle
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There is only now, yesterday is gone and is unchangeable, tomorrow is uncertain. Live in the moment.

gladstone · Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2011 4:24 pm Post subject:

Castrol GTX 10/40
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1993 K1100LT (x2!)
1998 R1100R - gone
1994 R1100GS - gone
1990 K100RS 16V - gone

Motodeux · Joined: 18 Feb 2011 Posts: 18

Elf 20/50 mineral, doesn't need topping up between 5K km changes.

merlin geikie · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 7:28 am Post subject:

Down here in downunder we use a 20/50 oil for the higher ambient temps.

It is a car engine and has flat cams that need a bit of ZDDP in the oil to keep it all slippery at the cam lobe.

The Zinc levels are ideal at aroung 1200 ppm and will not poison your catalytic converter at this concentration and of course will not affect your dry clutch either.

The main thing is a quality oil and the engine is really a re jigged Citroen from the 70s era, brought to the K series in 1983.

So it is a bit of an old school motor and many say don't use synth oils in it as this is asking for rear main bearing seal leaks.

As long as you change the quality oil and filter regularly all should be fine.

Oh yeah, the motor takes about 25 miles to reach proper operating temps so that the water in the oil from startups can evaporate and reduce the harsh acid environment in the oil.

So longish trips are the go.

All the very best from downunder Oz, where it is warm and sunny for now Wink

Rafal · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:31 pm Post subject:

Hello!

To stop one for all the gossips about Citroen origins of K engines READ IT!! - The Manson Essay

And to help with oil grade - a photo from original user manual:

Best regards,
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Rafal
K1100RS is a real beast (in Marrakesh Red)
K75S is a real beauty - she has gone Sad

, but not to far Smile

.

Finn · Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:35 pm Post subject:

FWIW, Valvoline VR1 20W-50 mineral oil in my bike.
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K1100LT -93 | ex K1100LT/SE -94

hockeyshifter · Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 1:54 pm Post subject:

another OIL issues... ooohhh goody. to my friends over the pond .. cheers
you need to match the oil to the driving conditions. temps being the most important. if you can stay away from the 10w-XX stuff. its the way the oil is manufactured. since these units really are mini car set ups you can treat them as such. in the Mid Altantic region of Washington D.C. we use 20w-50 in the warm months. when the cold temps hit 30 F or lower we switch out the oil to a 5w-30/40 or even the new 0w-50 mobile1. we only use synthetic amsoil or the mobile1. we ride are bikes almost year around weather premitting.
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fix the problem not the blame ; fix what is messed up ; NO one is to blame.

Phil Marvin · Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:31 pm Post subject:

Hi, All,
I live in El Paso, Texas and here we can ride year 'round. It gets hot in the summer - over 40C/104F and chilly in the winter - last year it hit -17C/0F once. "We" have never changed to 5wXX or 10wXX in the winter. When using conventional oil, "we" use 20w50 and when using Mobil 1 synthetic, 15w50. "We" do ride when the temperature is around 0C/32F or slightly lower, at least "we" did in the past, before the current health problems occurred. In those temperatures, I prefer riding my K75RTP with electric vest, chaps and gloves instead of my K75A/3 which only has a windshield.
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Ride Safe,
Phil Marvin in El Paso, TX
'94 K75A/3
'95 K75RTP