Oil in a Harley

[YBiker]

Coming up on doing my first oil change in my harley (05 superglide), what oil do you guys recommend?. Cheers.

[Akzle]

i recommend you RTFM.

[YBiker]

Yea I did, and read online, 20w50 synthetic, with amsoil & mobil 1 being the best. But that oil is ridiculously expensive over here. So just wondering what you guys use.

[jellywrestler]

But that oil is ridiculously expensive over here.

but so are harleys....

[Drew]

Yea I did, and read online, 20w50 synthetic, with amsoil & mobil 1 being the best. But that oil is ridiculously expensive over here. So just wondering what you guys use.

Ring a Harley dealer. I dunno about the current bikes, but good oil fucks the old ones. I'm not joking.

They have roller bearings at the big end of the rods. High quality oil means the rollers slide on the crank rather than roll. Once they do that for a bit the rollers flat spot and develop play...then really really bad shit happens.

[awayatc]

Yes oils are rediculously expensive here
as is just about everything else.....

Fwiw i put in mobil v twin oil.....
Have used mobil 1 previously as well

riding bikes in NZ is not for the poor

[YBiker]

Im just going off of those 2, like 30 - 40 a liter, but i look on other sites and e.g. castrol you can get 4l for that price. Do you guys all use the expensive stuff or something? are other brands not as good?

[skippa1]

Im just going off of those 2, like 30 - 40 a liter, but i look on other sites and e.g. castrol you can get 4l for that price. Do you guys all use the expensive stuff or something? are other brands not as good?
I have always used Mobil 1 V Twin on my Harleys (past) $30/litre at Ripco. The V rod always used oil if I used anything else, dont know why but never used oil when I used Mobil 1. My manual says synthetic is ok, never gave me any issue.
The way I look at it is, youve invested a shit load on a bike, feed it the best you can with oil and gas. Tyres are the same, why risk your life on cheap shit?

for what its worth, I have run commercial boats, trucks, loaders and excavators, cars and bikes on synthetic for years and have never had a lubrication failure cost me a breakdown or engine failure.
The old saying, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[YBiker]

Cheers for the advice skippa. Im pretty new to bikes in general, and by the sounds of things everyone rolls with those oils.

[Banditbandit]

321178

+the obligatory 10 characters ...

[Drew]

321178

+the obligatory 10 characters ...
It's cheap too.

[nodrog]

Diesel oil is the go.

[AllanB]

Amsoil is good shit. But you pay for it.

How many kms on the clock of your ride?

[mrchips]

I use the genuine 20/50 harley stuff from the dealer.... not the fancy synth stuff & it's cheap (y)

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk

[Flip]

Cheers for the advice skippa. Im pretty new to bikes in general, and by the sounds of things everyone rolls with those oils.

Yo. Another Gisbonite with a Harley.

I use Syn 3 the harley oil or Mobil 1 V2. It depends if I do the service or the shop does it.

My bike has just done 100,000 and is running perfectly well on synthetic lube. I like just having one oil for all 3 cases. I dont have any experience with dino based lubes in HD's.

[AllanB]

Here is a comment I read recently online (Cycleworld) as a conclusion to the what oil synthetic or conventional.

Most engine wear takes place in the first minutes after cold-starting, as a result of the time it takes for oil to circulate to all parts. Thus wear prevention is mainly a function of the additive package, and not of the molecular origin of the oil itself.


Me - I like my synthetics. But shit do I pay for them!

[Ocean1]

Here is a comment I read recently online (Cycleworld) as a conclusion to the what oil synthetic or conventional.

Most engine wear takes place in the first minutes after cold-starting, as a result of the time it takes for oil to circulate to all parts. Thus wear prevention is mainly a function of the additive package, and not of the molecular origin of the oil itself.

I once built a 250cc accumulator for my hot Mini, just sat in line on the pressure side of the oil pump. It had a solenoid valve wired to a relay fed from the ignition, turn key and wait until the oil pressure gauge came up to 30lbs or so and began to fall, then start engine.

I had great plans of selling thousands of them. Went the same way as the pornographic garden gnomes I tried to flog.


Me - I like my synthetics. But shit do I pay for them!

Aye, I use Mobil 1 V2, bought a dozen 5L packs at a damn good price several years ago.

[AllanB]

I'd be in for a pornographic garden gnome or two . What a hoot to have in your front yard - instead of a gnome holding a fishing rod maybe a massive ... ah ..... rod. Topless female gnomes with saucy grins on their faces.

[Ocean1]

I'd be in for a pornographic garden gnome or two . What a hoot to have in your front yard - instead of a gnome holding a fishing rod maybe a massive ... ah ..... rod. Topless female gnomes with saucy grins on their faces.

Started with a gnome face down in the house herb garden, with a knife in it's back. And a pixie almost wearing a tutu in the orchard. Visitors tended to think it was either hilarious or horrible.

You can buy unpainted, normal ones at the garden shops and apply epoxy putty and paint to suitably modify them. I went as far as taking scans from modified gnomes and cleaning them up in a cad app. Never had the time or energy to get moulds made, and the files are long gone.

[Mr Revhead]

Diesel oil is the go.

If you want cost effective oil, then this man is correct.
Also synthetic will not hurt an engine. Ever. Unless it's the wrong grade.
Synthetic will last longer, that's why it's becoming so popular with cars, everyone wants 20k services, so you need oil that will last. Synthetic resists shear and temperature better. So is good for air cooled. Just beware if you have a wet clutch that a lot of modern synthetics have friction additives that will ruin clutch plates.

For something like a Harley, cheap diesel oil will be fine. Just remember to change it on TIME. I say time because we all know Harley riders don't do big ks ;)

[Old Steve]

Just beware if you have a wet clutch that a lot of modern synthetics have friction additives that will ruin clutch plates.

Not quite right, some synthetic motor oils have an inherent slipperiness, they don't contain friction modifiers but are just naturally slippery - like Esters and Polyolglycols. Poly Alpha Olefins (PAO) don't seem to have that problem though.

I use synthetic API SL, JASO MA2, SAE 10W-40 in my bike, change at every 5,000 km - but then I get my oil from where I work. Pay full retail for my filters though and change it every oil change. I buy K&N filters with that hex nut on the top so I can get them off - the Suzuki M50 is a pain to get filters off (same for every bike isn't it?) and the K&N filter makes the task much easier.

[AllanB]

the Suzuki M50 is a pain to get filters off (same for every bike isn't it?) and the K&N filter makes the task much easier.


Nah - my Honda Hornet was a breeze to remove - nicely positioned at the front of the engine - wrap a strap and go. My Ducati is easily accessible and I've a cup-tool ready that slips over the oil filter and attaches to a wrench. Will need to wait until I use it as it's under warranty for some time yet :niceone:

[pritch]

Most engine wear takes place in the first minutes after cold-starting, as a result of the time it takes for oil to circulate to all parts. Thus wear prevention is mainly a function of the additive package, and not of the molecular origin of the oil itself.


I don't like that. My reading siuggests the synthetics have higher surface tension and will stick to the metal better and so give better protection on start up.
My vote goes to the Mobil 1 V2 for a Harley. It's specifically designed for the job.

As has been pointed out oil and tyres could be really expensive places to start saving money.

[AllanB]

As has been pointed out oil and tyres could be really expensive places to start saving money.


They are not areas I skimp on. Bike or cars.

[awayatc]

I don't like that. My reading siuggests the synthetics have higher surface tension and will stick to the metal better and so give better protection on start up.
My vote goes to the Mobil 1 V2 for a Harley. It's specifically designed for the job.

As has been pointed out oil and tyres could be really expensive places to start saving money.


They are not areas I skimp on. Bike or cars.


Oil is cheapest possible preventative maintenance repair ever...

[AllanB]

Oil is cheapest possible preventative maintenance repair ever...

Yep. Yet often ignored. Purchased a couple cars in the past year - walked away from lots due to evidence of lack of oil maintenance down the oil filler hole.

[Old Steve]

Have revisited this thread, we're talking air cooled Harleys here aren't we. So the engine runs hotter, the oil needs increased oxidation resistance, no wet clutch so no need for a JASO MA or MA2 oil. A synthetic gives greater thermal stability, also has a higher viscosity index (the rate at which an oil changes viscosity with change of temperature, a high VI oil like a synthetic will be thinner at low temperatures and thicker at high temperatures compared to say a mineral oil of the same viscosity grade.

I'd use a synthetic motor oil, SAE 20W-50. And I think that's what Harley Davidson recommend.