R65 Dipstick types and models

[Goldentie]

The previous owner had fitted an aftermarket dipstick with an oil temp gauge on the top. I decided to replace it with the original type and I bought a second hand piece through Ebay. The seller claimed it came from an 1982 R65 so I assumed it would fit nicely to my 1983 model with the deeper oil pan. Recently though, I did discover that the later models came with a black plastic head dipstick while the one I bought has the usual aluminium one. I did measured the total length and it seem to be right according to the following site http://www.largiader.com/tech/oilpan/. So did the length of the max and min points with some light variation (the 284 is 283 instead and the 263 is 262 instead). Is it the correct item or it comes from an earlier model? Which are the numerical differences between let’s say a 1979 R65 and a 1984 one? I suspect that such small differences hardly matter, do they?

Thank you for your patience

Stavros
Athens-Greece

1983 R65 127000km
1989 K75S
1981 P200E

[Barry]

My understanding is a metal handled dipstick is from a 78 - 80  model which had a shallower pan and shorter dipstick. Mine measures exactly the dimensions suggested on Anton's web page - 247 mm to max mark and  274 mm to min mark.

If your dipstick measures 262 and 283 Then it must be OK regardless of the type of handle. Almost no one fills to the max mark anyway so being 1 mm out when filling halfway is not a big issue.

[Ed Miller]

I like the aluminum one.  I would do an oil change, fill with the right amount of oil, run the bike a bit, let it cool, and check the oil level with the new stick.  If it's at the full mark you're fine, and can probably let it drop down some in between changes.  

Is it just me, or is 2.5 quarts a fairly small quantity of oil for a 650 cc motor with a 5,000 mile change interval?  

[Goldentie]

Dear Barry thank you for your reply. As I described above my confusion is due to the fact that althought the lenght of the dipstick seems to fit the description the head is metal and not plastic. On the other hand, from the same web page, the lengths you are describing seem to fit the /5 series...the first stick from the top. The 1978 model thought (the third from the top) has just a slight difference from the later ones (287 compared to 288, 282 compared to 284 and 260 compared to 263)...I must miss something here!

[Barry]

The top dipstick part No 11 43 1 252 661 described as /5 is also the correct one for an early R65.

As you say there is not much difference between the metal handled 78 - and the type A plastic handled one. I wouldn't worry about it as 1mm difference in level is only approx. 40cc of oil.

[Bob_Roller]

My '81 R65 and '82 LS came with an aluminum top dipstick, my '84 LS has the plastic top type .

Both are the same length and the markings for low and full, are the same .

I know one thing for certain, the aluminum top dipsticks are a lot hotter than the plastic one, if you remove the dipstick after just running the engine for any length of time .

[montmil]

... I know one thing for certain, the aluminum top dipsticks are a lot hotter than the plastic one, if you remove the dipstick after just running the engine for any length of time.

A big Roger That.  

Burned the punk outta my fingers -as a newbie- one time and one time only on the aluminum dipstick knob on my '81 R65. The 1983 R65 also has an aluminum upper as does my 1978 R100S.

[Barry]

I know one thing for certain, the aluminum top dipsticks are a lot hotter than the plastic one, if you remove the dipstick after just running the engine for any length of time .
Back to top  

I suppose the plastic ones are more functional in that respect. The alloy ones look very nice polished up though and there's precious little else to polish.

[bruce_launceston]

Is it just me, or is 2.5 quarts a fairly small quantity of oil for a 650 cc motor with a 5,000 mile change interval?

Unlike a UJM the oil in the bmw crankcase only lubes the motor, not the gearbox as well so my guess is it's plenty of oil.

[Barry]

I think that if you run with a lower oil level this should be taken into account when deciding change intervals.

My early model takes only 2.25 litres to the full mark so if I run at half dipstick that's only 1.83 liters. I have no concerns that this is insufficient oil or that it gets too dirty or that it gets too hot (quite the opposite in that it  helps the oil get hotter). The only issue is additives like ZDDP to mention only one getting depleted quicker than they would with a full fill. I change somewhere between 2000 - 3000 miles.  Cheap enough with such a low volume.