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I was at my local dealer the other day, Cycle Werks in Barrington IL. The parts guy Dan told me that BMW are changing the recommended final drive oil for all their bikes. Instead of the Castrol SAF-XO, which costs about $23 a liter when I bought it a while back, BMW are now recommending something else. I can't remember what the new oil is called, and I did not take a photo of the bottle he showed me. On the MAXBMW fiche the recommended final drive oil now shows as HYPOID AXLE OIL G3, so I'm guessing that is it. The price on the fiche currently say N/A.
Dan told me the price is $80.00 for half a liter. Yikes! Must be some magic stuff.
I see some selling it online for $70.00 per half liter.
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02-20-2021, 04:16 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-20-2021, 04:55 PM by Lee.)
I just bought a liter in November $25.80
I'm not going to throw it away 
It's the same black bottle with grey label that I've been buying for a long time.
Bottled by BMW and probably made by Castrol.
Lee
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(02-20-2021, 12:39 PM)mspratz Wrote: MAXBMW fiche the recommended final drive oil now shows as HYPOID AXLE OIL G3,
The old stuff was rated GL 5.
Lee
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(02-20-2021, 03:26 PM)MrVvrroomm Wrote: https://www.beemerboneyard.com/lqmsgo1500ml.html
Don't overthink it. I'm not looking for a recommendation, I have plenty of the Castrol stuff left which I intend to use. I just thought others might find it interesting that BMW decided to change the recommended oil to something eight times the price.
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I Googled Hypoid G3 and see the BMW bottled stuff is 70w80.
I also saw a ADV thread stating the G3 is recommended in the 1250 manual.
Surprised this is the first I've heard of it.
Lee
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More Google
G3 is just a name BMW is using.
The G3 is a GL-5 oil like we use now except it's 70w80.
There may be some other differences but I did not read that far.
Lee
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(02-20-2021, 12:39 PM)mspratz Wrote: I was at my local dealer the other day, Cycle Werks in Barrington IL. The parts guy Dan told me that BMW are changing the recommended final drive oil for all their bikes. Instead of the Castrol SAF-XO, which costs about $23 a liter when I bought it a while back, BMW are now recommending something else. I can't remember what the new oil is called, and I did not take a photo of the bottle he showed me. On the MAXBMW fiche the recommended final drive oil now shows as HYPOID AXLE OIL G3, so I'm guessing that is it. The price on the fiche currently say N/A.
Dan told me the price is $80.00 for half a liter. Yikes! Must be some magic stuff.
I see some selling it online for $70.00 per half liter.
Maybe it fixes the shaft / yoke / spline issues that may or may not happen. 
A quick Google search shows prices as low as $49. Still pricey.
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(02-20-2021, 04:16 PM)Lee Wrote: I just bought a liter in November $25.80
I'm not going to throw it away
It's the same black bottle with grey label that I've been buying for a long time.
Bottled by BMW and probably made by Castrol.
Same here. I will continue to use the old stuff. Bike is out of warranty anyhow. Thanks Michael for the note about the change though. I wonder what is the real reason for the change.
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They probably changed their lubricant provider. I know on the car side BMW LL1 designation moves around with the supplier at the time. New stuff does seem awfully pricey though. 
Chris
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(02-20-2021, 07:14 PM)Grumpy Goat Wrote: Maybe it fixes the shaft / yoke / spline issues that may or may not happen.
How would it help the splines?
Lee
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(02-21-2021, 09:19 AM)Lee Wrote: (02-20-2021, 07:14 PM)Grumpy Goat Wrote: Maybe it fixes the shaft / yoke / spline issues that may or may not happen.
How would it help the splines?
I was being sarcastic. It wouldn’t help any of those components which is what “needs” to be changed, if anything.
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(02-21-2021, 10:01 AM)Grumpy Goat Wrote: I was being sarcastic. That's a relief! I thought you maybe you were losing it.
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(02-21-2021, 11:25 AM)mspratz Wrote: (02-21-2021, 10:01 AM)Grumpy Goat Wrote: I was being sarcastic. That's a relief! I thought you maybe you were losing it.
Not yet.
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At that price, I am guessing it will improve gas mileage and tire wear. ;-)
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Hi all,
I will be staying with Castrol and as I usually do, change at 6000 miles.
This I feel will be much better system and cheaper than the revised BMW way.
Just look at the colour of 12000 mile oil.
The job only takes 15 mins and 1 litre will last 36,000 miles this way!
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(02-23-2021, 04:53 PM)Olgry1 Wrote: I agree. Castrol for me!
The remains of my first bottle isn’t enough for the next change so today my new bottle arrived - with fancy new graphics.
This will outlast me I think
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I've got one more change left in the bottle, just.
I change every 6,000 too or annually if more frequent. I'm surprised how dark the oil gets in that time.
No significant debris on the magnetic plug.
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(04-20-2023, 03:35 AM)sanemancured Wrote: I've got one more change left in the bottle, just.
I change every 6,000 too or annually if more frequent. I'm surprised how dark the oil gets in that time.
No significant debris on the magnetic plug.
My first FD oil change was pretty black, but over the years it has cleared up a significant amount. Now it is darker than original but not much. I did upgrade the magnetic drain plug with one with a stronger magnet, and that clearly (no pun intended) helps.
Dimple Magnetic Drain Plug: https://tinyurl.com/t8yzz3ef
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