Synthetic Oil- Final Drive

[ALIEN]

Would anyone have any comments as to what mileage it is ok to start using syn oil in the final drive and what brand and weight seem to work best.

Cheers
ALIEN

[motorhead]

You can do anti-dino with the diff oil at any time. 90 wt compatible is fine IMO.

[astuber]

Mine was change to synthetic by the dealer at the 600 mile service.

[leckhart]

Has anyone had a Final Drive failure that was using Synthetic Oil?

I just had my 05' electrohydrolic center stand and steering damper replaced under warranty. Both had leaking seals according to the technician at the dealership. I asked if he was aware of any changes or enhancements that had been made to the replaced parts and he say, "they generally don't tell us that"!

SO, is it a matter of time before I loose the Final Drive and if so, what milage might it happen so I'm not totally surprised. I planning an IBA BunBurner in about a week. the total trip will be about 3K miles. I have about 7,800 on the 05' LT now. Am I close??

[jzeiler]

SO, is it a matter of time before I loose the Final Drive and if so, what milage might it happen so I'm not totally surprised. I planning an IBA BunBurner in about a week. the total trip will be about 3K miles. I have about 7,800 on the 05' LT now. Am I close??

So far there have been NO documented failures of rear drives (other than lack of oil) in any LT made after a certain point in 03. I think you are safe... for now.

[early1]

In Both the Transmission and the Final Drive.
Shifts are smoother, can't say the life-expectancy is any higher, no proof of that.
Used by most of my racing contacts that swear their parts lsst longer than before.

http://www.redlineoil.com/whitePaper/11.pdf

[dshealey]

Has anyone had a Final Drive failure that was using Synthetic Oil? Yes, several of us.SO, is it a matter of time before I loose the Final Drive and if so, what milage might it happen so I'm not totally surprised. I planning an IBA BunBurner in about a week. the total trip will be about 3K miles. I have about 7,800 on the 05' LT now. Am I close?? This is a total crap shoot. The occurences of final drive bearing failures are WAY down on bikes from 2003 on, but there have been a couple of those that failed. Generally, the failure mileages have been highest in the 30-50,000 mile range, but mine failed at 85,000.

This is one thing there seems to be no rhyme or reason to, and nothing like frequent oil changes or synthetic oil seems to have any bearing on it.

Just ride it and hope yours is one of the 90 plus percentage that may never fail. If it does, replace it and keep riding. It wont be the end of the world, just inconvenient.

[SilverBuffalo]

Would anyone have any comments as to what mileage it is ok to start using syn oil in the final drive and what brand and weight seem to work best.

Cheers
ALIEN
It's already been answered a couple of times so I'll just agree and add a little tip.
You can change the Transmission and final drive to synthetic anytime as there is no real break in period.
On the Engine you should probably wait until about 10,000

When you fill the final drive, (or transmission) you can carefully measure off the ounces or Mililiters or you can just fill it to the bottom thread of the fill plug, either way works out to be the same.

[leckhart]

Thx for the valuable feedback everyone. Do most use the BMW 75w140 in both the rear end and Transmission? Or how about Amsoil, and if Amsoil, which one? Any issue with synthetic in transmission on LT with wet clutch? I used synthetic in my GL1500 for years without issue as may others have. BUT, a post today sites it is not recommended to use in it the transmission ( http://www.bmwlt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15033&highlight=synthetic).
Thx in advance,

[astuber]

There seems to have been a change in BMW's specifications for the transmission and rear drive fluid over time. My 2003 LT owners manual recommended 80-90 gear oil. It seems now that BMW recommends 75-140 gear oil for the later models. The dealer swithched mine to synthetic at the 12K service-not sure what viscosity or brand lube they used. I noticed that shifting was easier using the synthetic lube and have used it ever since.

Not sure where the info about the 'lifetime' rear drive lube came from in the post you cited, but my maintenance schedule has always called for changing the rear drive lube at 12K. I have made it a point to change mine at 6k when doing the oil change given the low cost and piece of mind I get from the more frequent changes. My LT now has 28K on it and the rear drive lube has looked almost new when I changed it the past 2 times.

BTW the LT doesn't have a wet clutch. Most other motorcycles use the motor oil to lube the clutch. There have been many discussions about oil requirements on the LT since it has a dry plate type clutch.

[ibbones]

T Or how about Amsoil, and if Amsoil, which one? Any issue with synthetic in transmission on LT with wet clutch?
Thx in advance,

I have Amsoil in mine. It was put there at my 12K this last April and I am about to get the 24K done. It will be Amsoil again. It is the 80W-90 in both. I change it out at 12K intervals.

[leckhart]

Alan, thx for the correction, you are absolutely right! So using 20W50 Synthetic in my 2005 should be just fine. I can't figure out where all this varying info comes from but I will call all the dealers in my area and see what they say. In the mean time, 75W140 Synthetic is going in the rear and 20W50 in the engine now that I have about 10,500 on it. If anyone would like to add to this discussion, please do so.