I have a 96 Sportster Custom and I posted a thread awhile back about oil and if synthetic was good to use. I went o Advance Auto Parts to see if they carry oil I can use in my bike and also to see if they have Primary oil also. I found 20-50 Mobil for a V-Twin 4-Cycle. Is my motor a V-Twin 4-cycle and will this work in my bike? Im still learning this, I have a good idea of what my bike is but this is an area I will not be 99% sure and with my luck it will be the 1% wrong. And one more question for ya! Will this oil also work for my Primary oil? It says on the bottle it can be used for motor oil, crankcase and primary oil. Thanks for any responses given on this!!!:newsmile106:
An easy ? to be answered, but I dont know for sure!
- Thread starter BillMull
- Start date
Yes that would be a suitable oil for the engine for the transmission i would look for something made specifically for the sportster transmission as it has the primary and the gearbox all sharing the same oil and a gearbox oil may not be good for a wet clutch and an engine oil may not work well with a gearbox
Harley formula+ is one suitable oil but there are others
Brian
Harley formula+ is one suitable oil but there are others
Brian
I also used the sportstrans fluid when it was available i think it is 3 or 4 years since i last managed to get it i have been using formula+ since then for the sportster
Brian
Thanks for the info from all of you!! Glider, your explanation helped clear up issues in all kinds of areas for me. I now understand the 2 stroke oil thing now. I now know what kind of motor a lawn mower has when it uses oil/gas mixture.....lol....I dont think I saw the answer or I must of over looked it. So my bike is a V-Twin? Also, its not recommended to use Mobil 1 V-Twin 4 Stroke motor oil in the Primary even with it saying you can use it? I did understand I can use the oil in the motor but I think "FIN" said its best not to use it in the Primary. I may be asking crazy questions or just being to paranoid over this subject but I dont want to mess my bike up! Thanks a million fellas!!!
BUBBIE
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the info from all of you!! Glider, your explanation helped clear up issues in all kinds of areas for me. I now understand the 2 stroke oil thing now. I now know what kind of motor a lawn mower has when it uses oil/gas mixture.....lol....I dont think I saw the answer or I must of over looked it. So my bike is a V-Twin? Also, its not recommended to use Mobil 1 V-Twin 4 Stroke motor oil in the Primary even with it saying you can use it? I did understand I can use the oil in the motor but I think "FIN" said its best not to use it in the Primary. I may be asking crazy questions or just being to paranoid over this subject but I dont want to mess my bike up! Thanks a million fellas!!!
That makes sense to me,,,,
Once you find out the ALL you want to know, You'll Become SET in YOUR Ways the same as Most of Us Are..
signed....BUBBIE
Thanks "Bubbie", I appreciate your support! I guess my pride is a problem with me. I dont want to seem stupid to people. I guess, I just seem very un-experienced to many. Thats ok with me, its the beginning of the learning stages.....lol.....Thanks again for the help you have provided me since I have been a member here!! I mean that!!:s
nakkers
Junior Member
Thanks for the info from all of you!! Glider, your explanation helped clear up issues in all kinds of areas for me. I now understand the 2 stroke oil thing now. I now know what kind of motor a lawn mower has when it uses oil/gas mixture.....lol....I dont think I saw the answer or I must of over looked it. So my bike is a V-Twin? Also, its not recommended to use Mobil 1 V-Twin 4 Stroke motor oil in the Primary even with it saying you can use it? I did understand I can use the oil in the motor but I think "FIN" said its best not to use it in the Primary. I may be asking crazy questions or just being to paranoid over this subject but I dont want to mess my bike up! Thanks a million fellas!!!
Indeed you have a V-Twin.
The "V" is the configuation of the cylinders. Some motorcycles have parallel twin or in-line configuation. There are other configurations as well. Such as flat or "boxer".
As for the primary/trans, I'm reluctant to say you can use motor oil there. What the bottle says and what the motorcycle requires can be different.
In regards to the Sportster, using HD's own product for this application is a pretty safe bet. It's specifically formulated for this use.
Thanks for the info from all of you!! Glider, your explanation helped clear up issues in all kinds of areas for me. I now understand the 2 stroke oil thing now. I now know what kind of motor a lawn mower has when it uses oil/gas mixture.....lol....I dont think I saw the answer or I must of over looked it. So my bike is a V-Twin? Also, its not recommended to use Mobil 1 V-Twin 4 Stroke motor oil in the Primary even with it saying you can use it? I did understand I can use the oil in the motor but I think "FIN" said its best not to use it in the Primary. I may be asking crazy questions or just being to paranoid over this subject but I dont want to mess my bike up! Thanks a million fellas!!!
Just a simple explanation between engines.
There are 4 stroke engines which have many configurations like flat 4 cylinders as used in subaru and VW's of yesteryear which are mostly opposed 4 cylinder engines because the cylinders are 180* opposite each other.
Then the "V" twin engines and let's not forget the straight 2-3 and 4 cylinder straight engines in the import bikes. Most but not all of them use a straight gas but a few use an oil/gas mixture.
Then comes oil injection. These are mostly two stroke engines and the reason for the injection is to not have to mix the oil and gas. It makes it a bit neater to use and operate,
Four stroke engines as the name implies have 4 strokes to complete one cycle of the engine, They would be an intake stroke which pulls the fuel into the cylinder on it's downward stroke with the intake valve open, then comes a compression stroke with both valves closed at this time. This is where the the fuel charge is compressed on it's way to get ignited by the spark plug.
After that the piston gets forced downwards from the ignition/combustion stroke to the bottom and this is where you get the power from.
After that the exhaust valve starts to open and the spent charge is forced out the exhaust. This type of engine similar to the HD engines takes two revolutions to complete one power stroke.
In a two stroke engine, the cylinder had two ports in the cylinder wall. One for intake and one for exhaust. As the piston moves downward, it draws in the fuel from the upper port and it gets ignited by the spark plug. As the piston nears the bottom of the cylinder, there is an exhaust port there that will take the burnt charge and send it out the pipe. It is then referred to a two cycle because that is how many cycles it takes for one complete "cycle'' of the engine through every stroke. It will generally have one complete revolution to accomplish a power stroke.
The four cycle takes naturally 4 cycles or two revolutions to do the same thing. That's where the 4 cycle name comes from.
Hope I didn't confuse you to much!