K&NMotorcycle Oil Filter: High Performance, Premium, Designed to be used with Synthetic or Conventional Oils, Wrench Off Nut: Fits Select BMW Motorcycles, KN-163

K&N does it again....after having to hammer and pry the old filter off (NOT a K&N BTW) putting this one into the old R1150GS was a cinch! I will only ever buy these filters for my bike now. Never go to the STEALERSHIP for an oil change! Check this out:STEALERSHIP - $79.95 special for oil change (probably + tax and whatever up sell you get suckered into) Call it $400 since you will do be impressed with them oiling the kickstand too...* Stamp in your yuppie book to prove you did maintenance.* Maybe a loaner bike - Maybe a ride from a friend - Either way PITA* Minimum 2 hour wait - likely bike gone for most of a business day.HOME - $28 for Gal oil; $10 for filter = $38 (delta - at least $42 possible $362 savings if you don't go for the works on the up sell)* Stamp your own book if you care. Explain it during resale and the guy will think you really took care of the bike since you know what you are talking about. Damn, do twice as many oil changes and he may think the bike is brand new... lol* No rides or transport needed* Less than 30 minutes* Need a socket and Allen set; some rags and bucket.* Put old oil into the empty oil jug and recycle at Auto-zone (or place of your choosing)I read some reviews about people torquing off the nut --- to that I say 6 ft/lbs of torque guys. That is the spec and only minuscule more than finger tight. Even if the nut was held on with bubble gum (it's not - seems to be pressed or spot welded) that is enough to hold it for 6 ft/lbs.

The addition of the nut on the bottom of this filter allows you to easily remove and replace with a normal socket driver and wrench. Was purchased for a R1150GS. Much easier and cheaper than buying and using the filter specific end cap tool BMW sells. Synthetic filtering media, not paper. It’s a quality filter.

Good quality replacement filter

The nut on the the bottom makes installation a breeze. It is not quite as big as stock(BMW motorcycle ) filter but Much easier to install to the correct torque setting.

I choose K&N filters because of their quality reputation, but this one makes life so easy. I have a BMW R1100RT that has its oil filter tucked tightly in place where a normal oil wrench cannot get to. The welded on nut on the bottom of this filter makes removing and installing the filter a breeze. My old oil wrench is packed away for good! I have not seen any other manufacturers besides K&N who designs their filters this way.

Here's a situation where you have to trust the brand. Without a scientific lab, there's no way to verify that the filter is actually doing what it's supposed to do, or whether this filter justifies a higher price than a generic one. But there are some out there that don't have that hex head on top, and that's important for my machine. Millions of people pay a little extra for K&N, let's hope it's worthwhile.

I use it on my 2002 BMW R1200CL. When i bought the bike it had a traditional filter (without the wrench tip) so I had to use a specific filter socket wrench to remove it. What a pain. With this filter I can use a standard socket or wrench to remove it. There's no going back to traditional filters for me.

Without the K&N KN-163 filter it requires a specialized (or, customized) oil filter removal tool to get the old filter out of a BMW K-bike. K&N saw through the ridiculousness of that and added a 17mm nut on the bottom of the filter making the job simple.I suspect BMW designed the filter system that way to lure you into the BMW dealership to get your oil changed - the other options are to wander about town for a metal oil-filter wrench and grind it down until it fits in the tight clearance between the filter and the engine block. To remove my old (non- K&N) filter I tried a ground-down plastic took but it was too thin and flexed rather than un-screwed the old filter. I ended-up driving two awls into the bottom and pried the filter around and out - uggh what a mess!These filters allow you to grab the filter with a 17mm socket or end wrench and get 'er done - they are a great thing! Cudos to K&N.