New member, new BMW owner..

[redwing]

Nice lookin' bike... and chrome pipes.

oil... did someone say oil. Herbert's (pronounced Abear's) put a standard oil in mine...10w40 I think ... BMW calls for 20w50.??? The good news for me is the bike uses almost no oil and I got 17k. It may use a window's worth over 5000 miles but that is almost no oil. I have not added oil yet. Maybe I should switch to synthetic....probably would run cooler and add to it's longevity .???
I mistakenly checked the oil once when hot and just turned off; it looked low but was not.

So are you gonna stay with that sport shield or what? I like the sport.

Robert

[GBag]

Congrats on your new ride and welcome to the forum. Oil is certainly an ongoing debate. My '11 bike final broke in at 13K using organic oil. Mileage has improved from the 46mpg I have been routinely seeing to a very nice 50mpg now. My '09 broke in faster at around 8K. My dealer (Max BMW the largest in the US) has always suggested waiting till the 12k service before going to synthetic. Since the head maintenance guy (Tony) at my dealership has run his BMW to 375,000 mi before rebuild and now has 475,000 on it, I'm more than willing to follow his advice. No matter what route you take I'm sure you will get many miles of great riding pleasure. Enjoy!
G

[fastdogs2]

Great looking bike! The spoked wheels really make this look like a classic.

I am still running dino oil in my 2009 R1200R with about 17,000 miles. I use the BMW 20/50 or Castrol GTX, if I am on the road without a quart of BMW oil in the side case. I have read on other forums (BMWMOA and Sport Touring) that you should wait until the engine stops using oil before switching to synthetic. Mine is still using a little.

BMW cars come from the factory with synthetic oil and the three that I owned seemed to run a long time before their computers asked for an oil change. One time I went 15,000 miles before it said it wanted new oil.

Enjoy your new bike!

Bill

[r1200rclassic]

Gents, thanks for all the good welcomes and tips/advise... I'll keep the dyno until at least the 6K service I suppose and then go with either the BMW or Castroil synth... @Redwing, I will likely replace the windshield with something a bit taller so I can get the wind flow at the top of my head if possible, but I'd like to do that with the current BMW mount that I have and not have to mess around with an after market one.... any recommendations?

As for the bike, it's AMAZING... absolutely AMAZING... I'm in second heaving riding it, it's an order of magnitude more bike than the Honda Shadow it replaced.. I think the exhaust note alone is music.

[Snapping Twig]

Interesting, I came off a 1985 Virago 700 which is similar to a modern Shadow 750. My friend just got one and when we compared, mine actually had more beans and was better in the twisties, but his had WAY better front brakes.

To be honest, I replaced the suspension with WORKS in the rear and RaceTech springs and emulators in the front. It SHOULD be better in the twisties.

As far as new windshields, I got a Ceebailey that mounts on the stock sport frame.





Wind hits my helmet about the faceplate, so it could be taller, but if you ask them maybe they'll make one a bit taller for you. I wish I had asked, but I didn't think about it at the time I ordered. I don't have any idea if they will, but it never hurts to ask.

[qfman]

I run Dino oil. Don' t see the point of the more expensive stuff but opinions vary. I think the key is to run it hard. I babied my last R bike and it used oil till I sold it at 100k. I ran my current R12 hard from the day I got it and it uses no oil between services.


Tom

[BoxerSteve]

I run Dino oil. Don' t see the point of the more expensive stuff but opinions vary. I think the key is to run it hard. I babied my last R bike and it used oil till I sold it at 100k. I ran my current R12 hard from the day I got it and it uses no oil between services.

I also use dino oil, synthetic is ridiculously expensive. Allegedly it doesn't have to be changed as often though.

I agree, do not baby a new engine if you want it to break in properly.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm