I suspect that this has been beat to death. But I'm now buying for three K's and shopping around for the most economical but still decent filters. And wanted to see if there's an unbiased evaluation of the  Bosch Oil Filter - BMW Oilhead, K Bike & Moto Guzzi; 11 42 1 460 845 and the EnduraLast fuel filters Fuel Filter - BMW Oilhead, Hexhead,K Bike, Scooter, Ducati, Triumph; 16 14 2 325 859 / EnDuraLas. Sold by EME. I've not heard of any negative reports but now that I'm buying in (for me) bulk I thought to ask before I start assuming.

I use Bosch 72161 oil filters and NAPA 3032 fuel filters in my Ks.

(Get the 72161, not the 72161WS.)

For my 4 Ks I buy my oils and my oil filters in my local Honda dealership. Best price by far.

92KK 84WW Olaf wrote:For my 4 Ks I buy my oils and my oil filters in my local Honda dealership. Best price by far.

Now that's interesting and worth checking out. Don't happen to know the oil filter numbers off hand do you?

I just went through a bit of tussle locating oil. I've preferred using Mobil 1 15-50 10-40 or 20-50. Simple truth is that at 80 I'm not riding as much as I used to and wanted the extended service period Mobil 1 provides.  Tried the local parts store, Walmart, Costco with no success. Finally found it on sale at Napa auto parts for $7.60/qt. Never did find the 5 qt bottles. Looked for Amsoil and Liquid Moly but didn't find them either. I'm sure that as soon as everything is electric we won't need oil as much or in the same way. But until then.... Both Red and Silver need their servicing.

jjefferies wrote:  Tried the local parts store, Walmart, Costco with no success.  Never did find the 5 qt bottles.

You need to go to the San Leandro Walmart for 15w 50 in 5qt bottles. Their website indicates if ordered, pickup could be tomorrow. Are they playing head-games with the populace out there, J?

Laitch wrote:

jjefferies wrote:  Tried the local parts store, Walmart, Costco with no success.  Never did find the 5 qt bottles.

You need to go to the San Leandro Walmart for 15w 50 in 5qt bottles. Their website indicates if ordered, pickup could be tomorrow. Are they playing head-games with the populace out there, J?

Hmm, I went there last night and searched. Didn't find any of the oil I was looking for. They did have standard oil in 5 qt jugs. Seriously I really don't like Walmart in general or at least that one which is the closest as the lines are always amazingly long and slow. And while I'm not a regular customer I have tried to order from them before and the order as delivered wasn't what was specified. And the product was pop-tarts.   Ok, my secret vice. I like Raspberry Pop-tarts and I don't take kindly to having Strawberry substituted. That may be acceptable to others.

I run Mobil 1 in my bikes. Since Walmart ships free on orders over $35 I just have it delivered to my house. Good price and very convenient since they don't always have it in stock on the shelf.

If you are trying to save a few bucks and still get good parts, try Carquest.

I have been using Carquest oil filters which are made by Wix in my family's vehicles for over 30 years.  I drive 35,000 miles/year and my engines routinely go 300-350,000 miles before the car is sold on for rust issues(I live in New York), the engines are still tight and use little to no oil. 

The filter I use in my Bricks is the Carquest 85348.  Last I Looked they were about $8.  Nice thing is that they are always in stock and the shop is right in town.  Advance Auto Parts also has those filters.

Over here we get HiFlo HF163 most of the time. Hondas use these on some bikes.

I use Motul 3000 20W50 in all the Ks. Never any issues but I found anything 40 the oil pressure light flickers in very hot weather. Interestingly too it seems best for sprag clutch issues.

Am I the only one still using dinosaur pee?  (Castrol/Halfords Classic 20/50).

I run a 50/50 mix of:
Mobil 1 15-50
Mobil 1 10-40 High Mileage

The high mileage oil has additives to reduce sludge and rejuvenate seals. My theory is that those additives will keep the starter sprag from getting gunked up and help keep the clutch nut O-ring, rear main seal and water pump seal from failing.

Dai wrote:Am I the only one still using dinosaur pee?  (Castrol/Halfords Classic 20/50).

I use mineral 20W50 in all my petrol 4 stroke engines - motorbikes and cars.
Oil changes are done frequently.

Dai wrote:Am I the only one still using dinosaur pee?  (Castrol/Halfords Classic 20/50).

At least you're using the best dino pee. Castrol 20/50 is the way to go there.

Dai wrote:Am I the only one still using dinosaur pee?  (Castrol/Halfords Classic 20/50).

The Motul 3000 is a fairly similar spec, its mineral but the seals don't seem to like the synthetic. I did try it and was getting a mist coming out that never comes with the mineral oils. I was happy to go back to the 20W50 and change the oil twice a year as my bikes do generally see more than 5,000 miles a year.

With IBMWR being put to rest I went back and data mined.
Here are some posts from way back as you can tell from some of the prices quoted.
Also I don't trust FRAM::

Mahle OC-91 (@ Amazon) is apparently the BMW OEM filter, sans logo.
    EME price $16.99
Bosch 3330 and 72161 are the same filter,  
       3330 in mfg'd by Purolator in the US, under the Bosch brand.  
       $3.50 a pop for either from rockauto.

Six oil filter manufacturers for K oil filter
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999 19:01:50 -0700
As info, the pressure relief valve on the BMW oil filter is rated at 9-11 psi,  
       same as the Fram 6063. The Fram 3614 is rated at 9-12 psi.
Other alternative filters for the K-bike include:
Amsoil ASF-57
AC Delco PF-53
Hastings 157A, LF157
Motorcraft FL-271, FL-793
Purolator FCO-201, PER-241
Wix 51348, 51785
HF (HiFlo) 163ZZ

Sseven oil filter manufacturers for K100 spark plug and oil filter
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 1999 08:08:24 -0500
Gathering together information to service my '85 K100, I found some details that didn't seem to be on the current parts list:
Oil Filter:
There was a lot of discussion on this ca '95-'96,  
       with the engineering specs for the FRAM coming  
       out as good or better than the BMW filter.  
       Someone else pointed out that BMW does not manufacture their filters, but outsources.
Per Joe Senner:
•   AMSOIL: ASF-57
•   AC DELCO: PF-53
•   FRAM: PH-3614, PH6063
•   Hastings: 157A, LF157
•   Motorcraft: FL-271, FL-793
•   Purolator: FCO-201, PER-241
•   Wix: 51348, 51785
************************************************************************
I'm looking at that "Bosch 3330" wondering why the hell that rang a bell with me.
It finally clicked.
It's what almost all Toyota's 4cyl run. I quit using them (Bosch) because the  
       anti drain back is not good and on a toyota that leads to a lot of  
       start up rattle and timing chain noise since it uses oil pressure  
       on the 22r motors to tension the timing chain. Went back to the toyota filters.
No stickers on them to scrape off.  
*************************************************************************
Some will say to only use the BMW filter. I will not debate this, but since you asked

À Purolator PL10241 / PL25230
À Mobil1 M1-102
À Bosch 3330
À AMSOil SMF 122
À EMGO 10-26740
À Fram PH6063
Purolator ML16825

I personally use the Super Tec ST 3614 from Wal Mart.  
       I remove the sticker and have never had any paint  
       degradation of the filter. This filter is made  
       by Champion and has 98% single pass efficiency.  
       The only filters with claim higher filtering are the Purolators.
       I bought a Valvoline plastic filter wrench and turned it down to fit the K bike hole.
*************************************************************************

Either somebody on here or on a Youtube video opened up a barely-used Fram filter and the inside had collapsed almost completely. I'm in the UK (never! ) but they instantly went on the 'don't go anywhere near' list.

In an earlier life I was a field engineer for a company that made hydraulic servovalves.  I was a member of the American Fluid Power or some such professional organization. 

Around the late 80's they sponsored a test of oil filters.  They tested and compared filter efficiency(Beta) and pressure drop.  As I still recall, the absolute worst of the dozens they tested was the Fram, and the best was surprisingly the K Mart house brand.  

WIX, makes almost 2/3 of all the filter brands sold in the U.S.  If you grab a house brand filter it's a pretty good chance it is a WIX with a house label on it.  Not all of the WIX manufactured filters are the same, there are subtle differences often specified by their customer, but for the most part the media and the construction is up to the requirements of the application and will give excellent service.

As a rule of thumb, the car manufacturers private label filters like AC Delco or Motorcraft can be relied on to be of good quality.  This is because they are used in new vehicles and in the dealer service network where the cost of potential warranty repairs far outweighs any savings on things like filter cost.

To be clear, any FRAM oil filter made specifically for BMW motorbikes are made by Knecht, an OEM supplier, in Austria. This is the PH6063 for Oilheads and early K bikes, not an auto filter that happens to 'fit'. I sold them in the '90s from Filterwerks of Albuquerque, and they're still supplied by Knecht. I have known Fram's US importer since the '80s. I don't use their car & truck oil filters, personally. I have seen them blow up like an excited puffer fish on a cold-started engine.

I started this thread as I have 2 bikes coming up for maintenance and one that is in rebuild process. Then I made a ride out to Martinez VA Hospital to see about some glasses. During the ride I had some heart stopping moments when the bike would hesitate/surge. After I got it home my diagnosis was blocked fuel filter. So no riding while I checked the fuel filter. Finally got a filter and changed it out today. Well a quick ride revealed the problem was fixed. Then when I got home I took a dremel and cut the old filter apart. The filter material was black. Oooh wonder why it went bad so quickly.
Then I just found this on you tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZuta8hpd0o

And yes I do buy cheap fuel.

Well, if the State laws make it so that you get charged $8 to dispose of a $4 gallon of gas, someone is going to find a way around it. Tyre disposal is a problem around here - you get charged a disposal tax per tyre (which I have no objection to). However, if you take the tyre off yourself there is nowhere to dispose of the carcass, so I either have to make a 50 mile round trip to have the tyre removed by a shop or leave it to rot in the garage (twenty-two years and counting for an Avon Roadrunner Mk1 that's about thirty-five years old). The shops won't take a tyre you've removed yourself because (the excuse I was given multiple times) they can't be sure the tyre tax was paid so it would cost them to dispose of it. Many times I have thought about simply chopping it into small pieces and feeding bits of it on a weekly basis into the black bin*.


*We have a household waste disposal system in the UK. Blue = dry recyclables, brown = compostible materials, black = landfill if it won't go in one of the other two.

Dai wrote:. . . I either have to make a 50 mile round trip to have the tyre removed by a shop or leave it to rot in the garage (twenty-two years and counting for an Avon Roadrunner Mk1 that's about thirty-five years old).

You could always start sandal-making and use your old tires for sole material. Be sure to make some with the thongs that tie around the shins or calves. Those are the bomb!

Recycling depots charge and tire dealerships charge 7USD per passenger/motorcycle car tire around here. Some of them are still being used in making asphalt paving.

Dai wrote: Many times I have thought about simply chopping it into small pieces and feeding bits of it on a weekly basis into the black bin*.

*We have a household waste disposal system in the UK. Blue = dry recyclables, brown = compostible materials, black = landfill if it won't go in one of the other two.

Duh, Yeah. As a single individual (with two felines) I generate a great deal less waste than some. So my black can often is not completely full. So wood products get broken up and  disposed of this way. Or my neighbors help me fill it. Sadly it is my recent understanding that recycling really isn't recycling in this area. Rather the companies often lump it all together and try to bury it or ship it overseas to less regulated lands.

The 'local' Beemer shop takes my old, worn tyres without cost. They collect them inside the warehouse and every coupla months a scraggly looking dude and his equally crusty companion turn up in an overloaded stake body truck, piled high with old rubber, and haul them away. A hard-working pair indeed. Whether they end up as boat bumpers on a wooden dock in Commencement Bay, tomato or potato planters in a less-than ecologically friendly garden, or shredded and mixed into the latest stretch of bitumen (highly likely), is left for all to wonder about.

I noticed that several others here as well as myself use Mobil 1. The following youtube video may be of interest to US riders as it is a comparison of Mobil 1 vs Kirkland oil. For non-US Kirkland is the house name for products sold through a big discount store chain here in the US, Costco. Kind of took me back and made me question whether I would trust the impartiality of the youtuber who made the video. Damn but it's getting so that I am questioning everything I run across as being fake. Blame it on Trump and Russia. But for your interest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Ch98SxEyY

Back in the 90's i learned that your old tires are ground up, frequently by members of organized crime and shipped to Greece, Turkey, or India to be used as fuel in cement kilns.  This is because your old tire has about the same heat value in BTU's as the equivalent weight in diesel fuel when burned. 

The beauty is that there is a disposal fee that follows the tire in New York, and you can sell the shredded tires to a broker for about half the price of an equivalent weight of diesel fuel.  You get paid at both ends of the deal.  At today's prices I'm guessing that you can gross about $7-8 for every tire you process.  A $70,000 machine can shred up to 200 tires per hour.

I learned about the possible connection to organized crime when a friend and I tried to start a business shredding tires and selling the shreds.  In the course of contacting possible customers for our material we were warned by a gentleman wearing an expensive silk suit and heavy gold jewelry in an office on the Buffalo waterfront that our business plan had some serious problems that he wouldn't expand on.