Vintage BMW Motorcycle Owners

Oh, boy, an oil thread! 20w50 or 10w30 doesn't sound right for a transmission. My aftermarket Clymer says to use 90W hypoid gear oil throughout the drive train, 80W in the tranny in the winter. Personally, I would use a good quality 80w90 hypoid gear oil, GL5 rated. There's been some discussion about the need for a GL4 rated oil but I don't really see that as a problem. Possibly for an early model R69S...I have a '69 model.

A copy of an owner's manual says to use 40W oil. But beginning with frame number 663565, use 90W hypoid oil. Same for drive shaft. For final drive, use 90W from frame 661445 on.

Kurt in S.A.

My R69S is # 665360. I think the year is 1969. Thanks for your input.

Chris

I've read that synthetic oil will extend the life of the transmission in my R69S. The previous owner was using Castrol 20 w 50, the owners manuel said to use 10 w 30. Also, how about the drive shaft and bevel drive oil? Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Chris Wilcox
Hampstead, NC.
cbwilcox@charter.net