Blue vs Red hydraulic fluid

[justjoe]

I have a question regarding the differences in the BMW blue and red hydraulic fluid for the clutch. My local stealer couldn't tell me what hydraulic fluid I would need. They said the parts fiche called for the red fluid but my bike has the blue in it. What's the difference? What would it hurt if I bled the blue and replaced it with the red? My thoughts are the stealer doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground and I'm concerned with putting the red in if it'll mess things up.

[wildbears]

And whether they're compatible....

[justjoe]

If there is a flush of the system, does it matter? That is what I am doing, flushing the clutch fluid (and other systems but this is the current dilemma).

[cabnfvr]

Joe, flushing is almost never 100%. I would go with what's in it. See my reply below.

[cabnfvr]

If it has blue and has been working just change it with blue.

This is an interesting note from Bob's BMW
BMW Hydraulic Clutch Fluid Blue V10, 4 oz. For use in BMW motorcycles with hydraulic clutch systems*
*Red is for K1200GT, K1200R, K1200R Sport, K1200S, K1300GT, K1300R, K1300S
Never mix clutch fluids, Do not use contaminated clutch fluids. Keep container tightly closed when storing.

So now that we know what BMW says is correct, here is a word from our sponsor.... "Das farking fluid in das K1300S in das farking garage is farking BLUE. Dat is farking baswards from das instruction from BMW. Das chit is confounded confusing."

SO I go back to my original replay before I got curious, "If it has blue and has been working just change it with blue."

[cabnfvr]

Joe, See this thread from AdvRider, post #4. Like Spock says, "It is logical."

[justjoe]

This is for the K12S. The GSA uses the blue so maybe it just makes sense to keep running the blue in both bikes.