Whats a good petroleum based oil i should run in my 103". I haven't heard good things about harleys brand oil

 

Welcome.

Nice first post.

Get ready!

 

Run what's convenient for you to purchase, and what fits your budget.
Plenty of good oil brands around at much lower prices than at the stealership.

It's about changing your oil frequently...not so much what brand you run.

As to what thickness oil...that depends on which engine you have (twinkie/evo/shovel/etc)...and what climate you ride in.

As to synth or dino...that's your call..I'm a dino person.

 

 

Thanks for your input! I was up at the bassani exhaust warehouse yesterday and i was talking with derryl bassani an he was telling me i should change my oil every 2500 miles instead of 5000 like harley says to do. He also told me petroleum based is better but didnt give me a brand i should go with

 

If you go dino oil every 2500 to 3000 on an oil change , run syn 5000 miles between changes. Dino based the engine rattles less also. Brand wise I've been running Valvoline in my bikes the last 40 plus years with no oil related issues . There's a boat load of more expensive brands out there that claim all kinda stuff, Scamsoil comes to mind so it's your choice after that.

 

I'm not sure on intervals of current twinkies. I'm sure synthetic lasts longer 'tween changes (can go more miles 'tween changes)...but I had how the engine sounds when running that watery stuff. Too much clackity chatter from the rocker boxes. Sounds much better (to me) when running thicker dino oil.

I'm sure synthetic is technically superior...holds better at wicked high heat, but...in my opinion...a Harley engine is low tech, not tight tolerances, low revving, low compression. In other worlds...not a single thing that requires that ultra high performance watery synthetic oil. So when I had my twinkie...I tried synthetic..and a week or two later hated the sound so much I drained her and put Castrol vtwin back in.
Currently I ride a Shovel and I just use straight weight 60 dino....the cheap Twin Power..and I get the Milkwaukee twins brand for the wifes Sporty...dino oil for that too.

Like I mentioned...greater engine life is about keeping up with your oil changines, doing it regularly. Not about the brand or how much it costs.

 

Welcome to the forum.

Oil, tires, and batteries are probably the most posted subjects.
Search the forum and you'll fine thousands of post on each subject.

After you've read all the oil related threads you probably will still not know which direction you should go.

Other than I'm a Synthetic person, I'm with Stonecat:

 

If it's a 103" in here guys you can be 99.9 % sure it's a newer twinkie the man's got.

 

you can never change the oil enough, personally I am a 3000 mile engine oil interval with a HD filter, and I use the Mobil 1 bike oil.

I use synths in the other holes and change them every other oil change.