Thanks Lost Rider. I saw both those sites on google. I will remember the Hexhead kit. I always forget which one our bike is.


I ended up changing the oil because WalMart only had 15w-50 in a 5 qt bottle. Wow at 2000 miles on the bike the oil looked dirty.

 

Logic would say that as long as it has the same certifications as the rebranded BMW oil then it should be fine.
I'm sure there's many high milage BMW owners that have not used BMW branded oil, I am not one of them so I can't say with first hand experience how it will fair in the long run. BMW rebranded oil and filters do certainly last for the long haul. Like I said there's good reason to buy BMW oil, if not for anything but the relationship with your dealer.

If you are concerned or think your oil was too dirty for 2k miles then get the oil analyzed next time, I've done it many times on various bikes, mostly when needing to push the interval recommendations on non-BMW bikes. Once or twice on my 07' BMW when it had 80,000 and then 110,000 miles. Came back with clean bill of health after 7000+ miles between changes. ( I usually follow normal 6k intervals or sooner but occasionally on long trips extra miles are unavoidable.)
The climate you ride in has a big impact on the oil life too, ride in dusty conditions regularly then you should change the oil and air filter more often.
Same for how hard you push the motor, if you never go through the entire RPM range then your oil will be good for longer, do track days or ride it like you stole it all the time and you should shorten your oil change intervals. Never bang on the throttle? Then don't worry about changing oil as often. Nothing with bikes is exactly the same since we all ride different in different places. The BMW 6000 mile interval is generally. 7000+ miles for long highway miles with relatively low RPM's works fine, or if you are a guy who is constantly pinning the throttle and going to high RPM's you should change it earlier than 6000 miles if you care about the longevity of the motor.
Overall from my experience it's all the other small maintenance items: air filter, valve checks, spline greasing, final drive rubber boot being clean greased and sealed, final drive oil, outer front wheel bearing seals greasing, steering head bearing maintenance, rear paralever bearing maintenance, brake pads, fresh battery, etc. That makes the difference for many happy trouble free miles, not engine oil.
Most people would be better served to keep the rear end, front wheel bearings and air filter in tip top shape than changing oil more often than recommended. Again, it depends on the kind of riding you do. Ride in the rain all the time, you should grease things more often. Have a garage queen bike that never sees crappy weather? Then don't bother with as much "other" maintenance as often.
That's my unofficial 2¢.

 

This is the OEM motor oil I found.

https://store.bobsbmw.com/product/bmw-advantec-pro-15w50-engine-oil---one-liter

I shoved my head under the bike and it looks like the oil filter part number is 1142 7673541-01, but when I google it I don't get much.

 

I just read in the manual that the difference between Min and Max in the window is .5 liter. I don't feel as bad anymore. I will stop by walmart and top her off tomorrow. And then do a full oil/filter change before she hits 3000 miles. How does that sound?

 

Try beemerboneyard, for service items and tools. They sell oil change kits for the hexhead BMW's in addition to the tools you'll need.

https://www.ascycles.com offers free shipping - no tax and is a great dealer. If you want to order OEM parts just give them a call and tell them what you want to accomplish and they will tell you what you need. Located in Sacramento shipping to Bend would be pretty quick.

Buy a service manual on eBay if you don't have one already.

Personally I buy all my expendables from my local dealer, sure it costs a few buck more than you can get otherwise but it does a few things.
First, your dealer will have a record of what you bought if they ever need to verify maintenance for a warranty claim. Also it helps you develop and keep a good working relationship with them which is good to have if you have any issues in the future. Anytime there's a warranty claim that could be in a grey area, for the most part it's your dealer that can make or break a claim. In other words they can go to bat for you when you need something from BMWNA. Coming in and knowing the service manager or writer can make a difference.

If you don't have a local dealer then just keep all the recipes for your service items.

As for the oil level you must balance the warm motor bike level to check it correctly, if you did the 600 mile service (hopefully as it's very important) then you don't need to service it until 6000 miles where you'll need to adjust the valves in addition to changing the oil.

Good luck with DIY servicing, for me it's the only way to go.

 

I just made my first purchase at ascycle.com. The customer service was great. Very helpful. Shipping was fast. They did charge me for shipping. I selected the cheap slow shipping option and got it 3 days later I think.

 

Walmart oil in a BMW?

If you want to find out how well the oil is holding up instead of eying it, next time send a sample out to get analyzed for $25.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com

 

I got a jug of Mobil 1. It was the only option for 15w-50. Is that horrible?

 

Is there a good printed service manual?

 

Mobil 1 is great oil, but it is synthetic and not recommended until break in is complete, which takes a lot of miles. Oil consumption is the issue.

 

Sh1t. Well too late for that. You say oil consumption is the issue. If I just keep an eye oil level will I be okay?

 

It's an issue because supposedly the synthetic will keep the rings from seating and the engine will continue to use oil. I did the same thing and was using oil, so I changed back to non synthetic, which I will use until it stops using oil, if it ever does. Again supposedly, there is a window for seating the rings, and if you miss it they will never seat. If it was me, I would change back to mineral oil now. Others will surely disagree.

 

I followed RR's instructions to the letter and my 2014 runs flawlessly - no oil leaks, no oil consumption, and power to spare.

Should point out that it's important to use only mineral oil for first 1,500 miles and change oil and filter according to the article below - 20, 50, 200, 500, and 1,500 miles. Check for metallic bits, but don't be alarmed at what you find. This is normal.

Warm up the engine before varying the RPM's from low-midrange to upper midrange of the power band, and back off the throttle often. Momentarily increase RPM's incrementally after each oil/filter change.

See Motorcycle Extremist - Motorcycle Extremist Home Page for more specifics.

This method really worked well for me. As I said, no oil leaks, no consumption between oil changes, and plenty of power.

Good luck!