Hi Guys,
I hear many different things about synthetic vs regular oil. Can anyone clear up the mystery? My bike is brand new, but I am coming up on my first oil change and want to know if I should get the regular oil or use synthetic. One dealer told me that the synthetic will keep the bike running cooler but it also has a tendency to find flaws in gaskets and is more prone to find leaks. Is this something I should be concerned with since my bike is new? Any advice is helpful! Thanks.

 

You just opened up a big ol' can of worms! Try a search on the forums for "synthetic oil" there's alot of discussions on the toppic. With that said, synthetic will be just fine after the break in period. Some folks change it right at 1000 miles. Some folks wait 'til the next service at 5000 miles. It took H-D a while to come around, but they even have their own synthetic now.

 

Synthetic will handle more heat as well before it breaks down. As far as leaks, don't normally happen with new technology but if it does, the flaw is what it is, a flaw and it should be fixed. While some claim a bit more noise in the engine with syn, some will , some won't be noisier. Syn will creep into tighter places than dyno for better lubrication and it will migrate up the cylinder give a bit more cold start lube protection. Amsoil, Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Redline in my view would be better choices than Harleys Syn3 which is not in the same class due to it being a group3 oil, meaning it's a mix of dyno and syn.
Ron

 

AIM (American Iron), has a few articles on Oil and cooling, (Sep./current) by Donney Petersson who is the most known authority so far on EVO/TC engines around.

His words are (more or less) "I can not believe there is still an argument on Synthetic Oil, it is just better in every aspect .. etc..".

I hope you find this helpful, for me it did end the discussion.

 

Please, not again!!!!!

 

I just did the 1000 mile service w/ synth oil and it's quieter (motor) and smoother than before.

 

Synthetic for alot of reasons, but mainly longer drain intervals.

 

Synthetics do perform better than dino oil especially at higher temperatures. However, I think the main point is do you want to do what is best for your bike?

 

Finally someone had enough ***** to ask this question!

My vote is for Synthetic, which doesn't break down as fast from the heat, and doesn't get like molassas in the colder weather like dino oil does.

 

http://www.roguechopper.com/
Frank, I use Amsoil in all three holes. It will drop your temps and smooth out out your engine. Check out the link, this thing allows you to change all of your oil, watch the video. People on the forum have seen the oil question millions of times, that is okay, if you are a thinking person that will be one of your first concerns.