Engine Oil Poll

smitty901

I know that there is a lot of talk about weather syn3 is the best for the cost.
But there is not a darn thing wrong with HD oil. Now you can make a case that there are better oils and other lubes out there. And do they really make a difference. Thicker oils may make something run quieter but thats does not mean it lubes better. Stuff we put in farm equipment today is thin as water.
My 96 FB 45,000 mile has never had anything but HD oil and lube in it. It has never had a failure and I expect it to keep doing well for a long time.
Alway remember he that pays the bill writes the reviews. it is almost impossable to find a truly indepant review today.
Tech at dealer I go to runs HD oil and lube in his street bike but red line in his racer. There is alway a cost trade off.
Example if all these new great make it last forever lubes were as great as they say, why don't large fleets use them. reason no cost benift.
We have alot of GE fleet equipment they do not even change drive line lubes ever. reason is one failure in couple thousand trucks is cheaper than doing the sch changes. We have never seen a drive line failure with this program.
New product should be looked at and we have come along way. SYN oils do provided better protection in many cases as do sny lubes. But we need to think back on all the greatest new products that fell by the side of the road.
It you research Amsoil you wonder why there is any other products left on the market. It does it all for everything ever built. A little more research you find they write 99% of that stuff.
Companys pay people to come in sites like this and rant about how great their product is. Not just for motorcyclces but everything you buy.
I am currenly researhing Spectro GL5 it sound intresting and the claims are beleaveable. I have concerns that the sny3 I am currenly runing in my RG may not be up to the job in hot wearther (in trans). I understand the reasoning on why you should not put sny in the primary. HD SNY 3 is not a true SNY oil if I am paying for SNY then I should get it. Does sny3 work well I know alot that run it with not problems.
Amsoil claim that the purple stuff is not as good then they all claim M 1 has it faults then in another report they gang up on red line. it would be nice if they had to print the truth but in our world you can print your point of veiw no madder how far you streach the truth.
the old way of looking at what those around you are using and there long term results are still the best.
In the end the very best may not get us one more mile of riding in.
If you use almost any of the quialty products on the market you will be fine.
So change the oil it's been a long winter and lets ride.

__________________
The Infantry leads the way

glider

Smitty

Not knocking your choice of syn 3 in your bike but why would you pay $9 for a hydro cracked oil that is hardly better than dino oil when there are full synthetics available of the same money or even less. Using it in the trans is also a very poor choice. I have seen blued shifter forks as well as bearings going out from the use of the syn 3 in the trans. It's a 20/50 engine oil! If it was so good for the trans, then why did HD come out with the formula + now? (food for thought)

Dollar for dollar, you are better using the HD360 dino oil than the syn 3. It's a better choice here and a better oil too. It just will not stand up to the higher temps as well as synthetics will.

I do not have any affiliation with any oil companies and do not make a penny from the sale of any of them but I try to share what I have learned in working on these bikes for most of my life with others. After pointing out the faults or weak points of a product and if a person still continues to use that product, they usually learn after it is too late that the product was not sufficient for use as a lubricant, in this case syn 3 in the transmission.

For years, Harley snickered at synthetic oils in these bikes because of "bearing skate", now they got on the band wagon because of profits and had Hugo Chavez (Citgo) brew up a synthetic oil that they sell at $9 a quart that is a hydro cracked dino oil and everyone thinks it's great oil. Quite frankly any oil above mazola will do the job, It's just that they will not do it as well as some other oils do and people do not realize this until the damage is already done.In most cases the bike may have changed hands before the problems arise.

Myself after investing a good sum of money in a vehicle be it a bike or a car, I don't believe in short cutting the oil or the changes with a filter and realize after being a mechanic for over 35 years that one oil will not do the job and do it properly in the different areas. If you do some research on the molecular structures of engine oil verses gear oil, you will find the differences in the two and why It isn't advisable to use a product that was made for engines in the transmission. A gear oil is the only way to go in a transmission and if you don't feel the same about this, they you are only fouling yourself and nobody else.

If you check on the Amsoil pages (thankfully we don't see posters posting that here) you will find that they also have changed their outlook on what can be used in the different areas of the bikes and I feel it is to expand their market for their product. I have said it before that I will never use Amsoil because of the pyramid selling practices and the way it is marketed by it's jobbers and resellers. You have to join a "preferred customers club" for a fee to get a better price. This is fine if you buy cases at a time but for the average customer, there is little or no savings at all plus the fact that if you need a quart on the road, where do you get it?

You stated "tech at dealer I go to runs HD oil and lube in his street bike but redline in his racer." why do you think the redline goes in the racer? Maybe because of the stress imposed on the racing engines for better protection and the desire for better lubrication?
To me this statement says that the HD oil will get by on the streets but for better protection, don't use it for anything but "getting by" as far as a choice for lubricants.

Here's a bit on oil.

Oil Groups Explained - Harley Davidson Community.

__________________
Psssst!
Please stop by the "self help section" for maintenance tips, diagnostic codes and much more.
click me!>>Self Help Information and Tips<< click me!

smitty901

I do not doubt your honesty Glider. I respect your knowlage and for that reason I am looking at products I have used. As fo Hugo Chavez I will stop using the HD for that reason alone. I did not know they made the oil.
I have taked with the dealership, I have used for many years and I do trust them they have served me well. I have ask them to look into stocking or at least setting it up so we have the option of buying Spector from them.
I never want to end up buying my bike products from walmart even if I pay a few % more.
good techs should be paid for their skills thats why I use them and not a discount, I learned it all by the seat of my pants shop.
I changed the primary yesterday to HD form+ in a week on so I will drop it agin to make sure I get all the sny out. the plug had a small amount of fuzz on it. Only had a chance to ride 200 miles and it was cold 37 degrees so not the best ride to tell if if felt any different.
Because of the Hugo Chavez thing I changed the engine oil to Vtwin M1. (yesterday) The plug had no fuzz on it. I cut the HD filter open nothing to note in there. I will not support Hugo Chavez . Ordered two cases no one stocks it here.
I did order Spectro GL5 to try it out it still has not arived. Found some at a boat dealer 100 miles from here. I do ride in cold weather alot so I am concerned it may be to thick in winter riding. Lube can be cold on the out side of case and hot in the middle in extrme cold, or in some cases never even really warm up.
I will honestly report how these products work for me.
I have made these changes because of your honest posting and the fact you back it up.
Come on try amsoil one oil change you'll gain 50 hp your tried old engine will run like new it will rebuild worn bearings. I heard yesterday you can use the drianed amsoil to make your tress grow.

__________________
The Infantry leads the way

glider

Don't be picking on my trees now, I just spent the day yesterday trimming them up and cleaning up around the yard, They are all set for another season now.

I haven't noticed any problems with viscosity with the Spectro and I have been running it for a while now.

__________________
Psssst!
Please stop by the "self help section" for maintenance tips, diagnostic codes and much more.
click me!>>Self Help Information and Tips<< click me!

smitty901

planted another 200 last spring and the deer those sweet lovable cute pain in the neck animals killed off 80% of them this winter. what do deer have agisnt motorcycles and trees? Plant more trees less grass to cut. When it starts cost 40 dollars in gas to cut the grass trees look real good.

__________________
The Infantry leads the way

smitty901

hello glider,
I Put M1 V twin in engine mainly becase Hugo Chavez can go fly a kite.
I switched the trans to Redline for now Spectro is proving very hard to get and the other dealer near me carries redline..(over in the rich town down the road)
they recommended the red line heavy so what the heck I went with it.
When I drained the sny 3 out is was clean and a very small amount of fuzz on the plug.
Took it for a ride it was 27 degrees out so I doubt it warmed up much in 20 miles.
It did feel different. Sound is hard for me sence they blew my hearing up. And wear hearing aids while riding is not good.
I will say that putting the HD F+ in the primary does make the clucth feel different.
I changed that the other day and got a couple 100 mile ride in.
I have not given up on trying spector just have to find some.
now lets get some good weather so I can run the heckout of it and see how it really feels

__________________
The Infantry leads the way

glider

The Redline shockproof heavy is a good oil too. I use to use that until I found the Spectro platinum. The only thing I didn't like about the Redline is that in colder weather , it made the trans shift hard until it warmed up. Other than that , it's a great oil IMO

The trans oil will drain out looking clean because there are no products of combustion like in an engine to cause it to turn dirty. The fuzz on the magnet will be present to different extents depending on how good the trans oil is that you are using.

__________________
Psssst!
Please stop by the "self help section" for maintenance tips, diagnostic codes and much more.
click me!>>Self Help Information and Tips<< click me!

smitty901

if this weather ever gets with it .., will not take me long will be due for another chnage.
For many years my time was owned by others so I had to pick work on it or ride. Riding wins everytime. The joke at the dealer was i rode one in picked up the other.
I can say they never let me down. In all the years I have been riding I can not remember the last time I did the services. I looked bike over every ride but doing them was left to dealer.
Now I have to go talk with the owner about stocking other products.

__________________
The Infantry leads the way

smitty901

Glider
Hows this for a good HD dealer. I went in today sat with the owner ask him to consider stocking Spector gear lube,for no other reason than as I customer I would like the option of buying it from them.
He picked up the phone had his office people dial spectro ordered 4 case to be shipped next day air.
While your at it how about some M1 Vtwin motoroil , why not push it when your on a roll right his responce was done.
There are some good dealers out there.

__________________
The Infantry leads the way

glider

Good deal, there's a dealer that knows how to keep a customer happy. Hope he ordered the GL5 (platinum) for you.

__________________
Psssst!
Please stop by the "self help section" for maintenance tips, diagnostic codes and much more.
click me!>>Self Help Information and Tips<< click me!