G'day from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. I bought a 1984 K100RS about 6 months ago and are just in the process of getting it on the road. I have ridden my BSA M21 (1952) for the last 5 years so I will have to get used to a bike with the gear lever on the left, and the brake on the right. I will also have to get used to a bike that doesn't need to be kick started and one that goes faster than 47 miles an hour flat out. I hope to get a few miles out of the K100RS  over the next few years, but as a mechanic I make a good Shearer, so if i ask a few questions that may appear silly, forgive me. The first is what are the good oils to use in a 1984 bike in Australia? Thanks for having me in the Forum, Bernie.

welcome Bernie



there is lots of discussion about oils

for me up here in brissy  20 - 50  works well
a good option for further south could be the 15 - 40

traditionally mineral oils , but nothing wrong with the synthetic

have fun with the rs

cheers

Hi Ya Bernie good to have you on the forum.
With regards to oil, use the best oil you can justify buying.
I have been using Shell HX5 for many years and have had a good run but am gradually changing over to synthetic Penrite 10W 40 because the synthetic oil has a longer life and tolerates the extreme heat better.
There are lots of good oil out there and the only ones to avoid are the cheap home brand stuff from supermarkets which is usually re-manufactured from old oil collected by charities from workshops.

Welcome onboard Bernie!
I bought my RS in September last year, so fairly new myself. I live in France however. 

For oil I run a mineral oil, which is what I can find at the nearest gas station. I currently run an engine oil meant for cars (ACTIVA 5000 15W-40), though many people have told me this is not smart and that I should run a motorcycle engine oil. 

I use 15W-40 in the winter and 20W-50 in the summer. I have this habit due to my boxer engine bike that is oil-cooled, and has a prominent change in behaviour when the temperatures creep toward 30degC.

In my opinion many people don't pay enough attention to the oil's viscosity range. It's informative to look at the viscocity chart in the service manual.

For most motorcycles the advice would be to use motorcycle oil. That's because clutch and gearbox also share the engine oil.

But the K100 has a dry clutch and separate gearbox just like a car so it doesn't need motorcycle oil.

Thanks for that clarification Olaf ! Much appreciated.

(Oh,oh, another oil thread starting here)...

Welcome!  My machines(I have three) don't seem to mind running on heavy duty diesel engine oil.  Synthetic Shell Rotella T6 15W40.  I figure that if over the road trucks can run up to a million miles on it, it should work in my bikes. 

I like to use Shell oil products because I am one of several million owners of the company.

I use 20-50 mineral oil all season from 100ºF to 20ºF. My coldest riding days are few because gravel road riding becomes unattractive when the roads turn slimy just before freeze-up.

Welcome mate.
   I'll be using Delo 400 in my next change. The motor being a seperate unit from the clutch means a dedicated motorcycle oil isn't really needed. If it was you could still use a car oil as long as it doesn't have friction modifiers in it which most don't anymore. Plus Delo can be found in ant Caltex servo if needed.

 Cheers
 Andrew

Welcome, Bernie!