BMW vs Suzuki Oil Change Intervals

[-Maverick-]

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BMW is recommending one year or 10,000 KM's on their S1000RR, Suzuki is recommending every 6000 KM's on the GSX-R 1000. Why the discrepancy? I saw one drain plug coated in metal shavings on an S1000RR...the kind of drain plug you look at and think "oh no..." I've never seen a drain plug with more than a mild residue on a GSX-R 1000 after hundreds of oil changes. Is BMW pushing their luck? I don't hear of many (any?) engines grenading.

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[Evoex]

19-22 BMW K67 motor has had issues...

That being said i don't know anyone who isn't sticking to the typical 5,000kmish/yearly oil service. The K67 drain plug is also magnetic.

Why are they different? They aren't the same motor, different engine tech, likely have different materials used in engine components.

Also, haven't euro luxury car makes been doing like 16,000km oil change intervals for years now?

 

[-Maverick-]

19-22 BMW K67 motor has had issues...

That being said i don't know anyone who isn't sticking to the typical 5,000kmish/yearly oil service. The K67 drain plug is also magnetic.

Why are they different? They aren't the same motor, different engine tech, likely have different materials used in engine components.

Also, haven't euro luxury car makes been doing like 16,000km oil change intervals for years now?

I'm used to 5000 - 6000 KM's on my GSX-R's past and present. Seeing BMW stretch it to 10,000 KM's with an engine that revs to 15,000 RPM makes me raise an eyebrow. Oil is relatively cheap...engines are not. But I don't hear of BMW engines popping off in person or from other riders or on forums. Look at this drain plug:

1:35

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[Evoex]

I'm used to 5000 - 6000 KM's on my GSX-R's past and present. Seeing BMW stretch it to 10,000 KM's with an engine that revs to 15,000 RPM makes me raise an eyebrow. Oil is relatively cheap...engines are not. But I don't hear of BMW engines popping off in person or from other riders or on forums. Look at this drain plug:

1:35

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Dunno about the reliability of the previous gen, which she has. Does she say what the mileage is on this oil change?

At a glance it looks like this gen..15-19 as i recall, also had an oil change interval of 10km.

 

[racepro171]

oil change intervals difference could be due to the volume of oil maybe? no idea but i think the BMW is almost 4L and whats the GSXR ?

 

[TwistedKestrel]

As a point of reference, Honda specs oil changes at 12800KM for many bikes, including the 2017 CBR1000RR.

Considering they all use similar technology and the same oil, it would be nice to know how these manufacturers arrive at these numbers

 

[Jayv]

I do mine every 5,000, owners manual calls for 7500kms. Bike spends most of it life commuting on the DVP, most car manufactures nowadays aren't using mileage, its more of a logathrim calculation which determines when the car is due for an oil change.

 

[danp]

Not only that, but the same bike can have vastly different service intervals in different countries. My service manual recommends an oil change every 6000 kms, but people from Europe with the same bike (same make/model/year) say their manual says every 12,000 kms. Anyone know why this is?

 

[Evoex]

Not only that, but the same bike can have vastly different service intervals in different countries. My service manual recommends an oil change every 6000 kms, but people from Europe with the same bike (same make/model/year) say their manual says every 12,000 kms. Anyone know why this is?

weather conditions?

 

[Relax]

The pessimist in me says that's the interval their engineers told them could survive the warranty period, not necessarily what's best for longevity. It helps with marketing and sales, since nobody wants to deal with frequent maintenance.

 

[-Maverick-]

oil change intervals difference could be due to the volume of oil maybe? no idea but i think the BMW is almost 4L and whats the GSXR ?

Same quantity.

I will stick to 5000 KM's. Seeing a drain plug like that with cuttings is not right. The magnetic plug should have a slight smear / stain only. 10,000 KM's is too much to ask from such a high revving engine IMO.

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[Evoex]

Same quantity.

I will stick to 5000 KM's. Seeing a drain plug like that with cuttings is not right. The magnetic plug should have a slight smear / stain only. 10,000 KM's is too much to ask from such a high revving engine IMO.

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Bring/send the video to a BMW tech and ask them?

 

[Merkid]

The pessimist in me says that's the interval their engineers told them could survive the warranty period, not necessarily what's best for longevity. It helps with marketing and sales, since nobody wants to deal with frequent maintenance.

I bought two Toyotas in the last two years. Dealer would not change the oil at the initial 5K inspection telling me its due at the one year or 10K mark. For both vehicles I insisted on an oil change at the 5K visit and they tried to talk me out of it. For the low cost of the new oil/filter, they didn't make any sense to me so ignored them.

 

[ReSTored]

On my ST I changed oil and filter twice a year, regardless of mileage, Around August 1 and at the end of the season oil and filter once more. Used Rotella T4, around $3.5 / L and the bike needed 3.4 L with a filter change. Usually did 6,000 to 10,000 km a year.

Have had the Tracer 2 seasons, higher stressed engine than the ST, still doing the the midseason change, but filter only in the fall. Motul 5100 semi synthetic. Filter is $20 locally, but Motul 5100 is not cheap, 4L jugs on sale are $63 ($15.75 / L ) and the bike needs about 2.5 L per change. Each oil change with filter is about $60 vs the ST cost of $25 with a U.S. purchased filter.

I just purchased a case of 12 L of Amsoil fully synthetic at $18.50 L, not cheap stuff.

Tracer manual says change oil at 7,000 km or every 6 months. Filter to be changed every 2nd oil change. Co-incidentally, last 2 years did 14,000 km total, or 7,000 km a season.

So, in my mind, with my annual mileage, is the mid season change really necessary, in particular now that I'm using fully synthetic? Probably not, but even with the more expensive Amsoil this is a <$50 issue and given what I spend annually on the bike and accessories this is chump change, so I'll probably keep on with the 2 changes per season.

 

[Mad Mike]

Not only that, but the same bike can have vastly different service intervals in different countries. My service manual recommends an oil change every 6000 kms, but people from Europe with the same bike (same make/model/year) say their manual says every 12,000 kms. Anyone know why this is?

Likely just marketing. In competitive markets, it makes sense to extend as the potential buyers evaluate more.

In less competitive markets, keep service intervals high to drive service revenues.

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