This thread comes more out of desperation than pure curiosity but may be interesting for others in a similar situation.
I'm the proud new owner of a BMW G310GS , a really outstanding bike perfectly suited to the mix of twisty mountain roads and gravel/sand side roads which lead off down to the many beautiful beaches here in Palawan.
However living on a seemingly 'paradise' tropical island, albeit a rather long one with a 10 hour drive end-to-end, comes with it's own problems.....AVAILABILITY!
I bought my bike slightly used with only 3000km odo and 14 months of use. It's had it's first BMW service at 600km but now is a little overdue for it's 12 month service. Personally I would have done this before I sold it, but the original owner didn't want to spend out to have it done. However it's now down to me.
Getting the oil is no problem, in fact I have enough Mobil 1 fully synthetic left over from my VStrom service. The problem is the OIL FILTER. There is NO BMW dealer here on my island province (in fact there are NO dealers of ANY bikes apart from a Yamaha dealership). There are 1 or 2 Japanese car dealers and that's about it. So here comes the crunch! For me to buy an official BMW oil filter on-line and have it shipped from the dealer in Manila will cost me just short of $40!!!! (actually 1950 Philippine Peso). OK I realise I'm paying for the 'BMW' badge, but this seams ridiculous for what is a pretty standard looking and rather small filter.
Then my friend (a Husqvarna Nuda 900r owner who had a similar problem) told me that he used 'alternative' oil filters which were more readily available and only a few hundred peso!
So, my question is - what are the issues with using a 'similar' oil filter, maybe from a car, which is the same diameter, has the same oil-seal diameter, the same internal thread (M20x1.5?) but maybe slightly different length (8 or 10mm longer) on your bike?? For example the readily available oil filter for my Mazda CX5 is same diameter but 10mm longer than my BMW G310GS bike, and is 1/3rd of the price!
I'm the proud new owner of a BMW G310GS , a really outstanding bike perfectly suited to the mix of twisty mountain roads and gravel/sand side roads which lead off down to the many beautiful beaches here in Palawan.
However living on a seemingly 'paradise' tropical island, albeit a rather long one with a 10 hour drive end-to-end, comes with it's own problems.....AVAILABILITY!
I bought my bike slightly used with only 3000km odo and 14 months of use. It's had it's first BMW service at 600km but now is a little overdue for it's 12 month service. Personally I would have done this before I sold it, but the original owner didn't want to spend out to have it done. However it's now down to me.
Getting the oil is no problem, in fact I have enough Mobil 1 fully synthetic left over from my VStrom service. The problem is the OIL FILTER. There is NO BMW dealer here on my island province (in fact there are NO dealers of ANY bikes apart from a Yamaha dealership). There are 1 or 2 Japanese car dealers and that's about it. So here comes the crunch! For me to buy an official BMW oil filter on-line and have it shipped from the dealer in Manila will cost me just short of $40!!!! (actually 1950 Philippine Peso). OK I realise I'm paying for the 'BMW' badge, but this seams ridiculous for what is a pretty standard looking and rather small filter.
Then my friend (a Husqvarna Nuda 900r owner who had a similar problem) told me that he used 'alternative' oil filters which were more readily available and only a few hundred peso!
So, my question is - what are the issues with using a 'similar' oil filter, maybe from a car, which is the same diameter, has the same oil-seal diameter, the same internal thread (M20x1.5?) but maybe slightly different length (8 or 10mm longer) on your bike?? For example the readily available oil filter for my Mazda CX5 is same diameter but 10mm longer than my BMW G310GS bike, and is 1/3rd of the price!