[quote=HighestHD883;12975778Do i need to run anything through before/after starting with Synthetics to clean the system out?[/quote]
That's a big no.
Treat it like a regular change.

 

while we're on the subject of fluids.. i think i may have figured out why my bike has been running shitty - too much oil! been running like **** since I changed my oil, so i checked the air filter, sure as **** theres oil in the HAM CAN!- not alot, but enough. (this combined with the 35-40C ambient temp)

let about 1/2 Liter escape and then added a 100mL so she should be just right now - after i go get a new air filter lol

so now how do I trust my manual that said 2.8L and it really takes closer to 2.23L? lol

i could be wrong, maybe it's just part of it, but I checked both battery connections (tightened the -), replaced both spark plugs and metered my battery at rest and under load (bike running) - 12.6 and 14.2 respectively. It seems like it's still the rear cylinder more so than the front so what the **** do i know? sometime it sounds like the rear pipe is letting off inside a fishbowl, if that makes any sense...like an echo-y popping type sound.

 

Yes you can use it in the engine and in the trans/primary but you will need 4 quarts total, 3 for the engine and 1 for the trans.

 

I just asked the guy at HD and he said no, you need gear oil - who's lying to me?

either way, I grabbed a Liter of Formula + and a new derby cover gasket.

 

Ask him why it says right on the oil bottle that it can be used in the engine/trans/primary??

That's what it says right on the bottle of HD 20w 50 synthetic oil, I just bought at my Harley dealer, for my primary/trans oil change...

SR

 

I prefer gear oil with gears.
Engine oil in the engine.
There are some differences between engine and gear oil.
Otherwise they wouldn't sell it as such.

Besides.... the Harley engine oil is more expensive than the Formula+.
Wouldn't be saving anything by putting in engine oil.
3 qts. engine oil.
1 qt. Formula+ for the tranny/primary.
One filter and you're done.

 

The air filter is cleanable. No need to waste money on a new one.

 

That's the way I was thinking of it.. it also says on the Formula + that it's not to be used as engine oil - to me that means they aren't exactly interchangeable.

def. appreciate all the input fella's

SR wasn't calling you a liar, was making a joke.
Dusty, when I had it serviced at HD when i first got it, i think they just washed the one that was in there ( i asked them to keep the cost down) so who knows how old it is. Sometime's I don't mind spending a few hard earned bucks on myself eh!

 

some confusing shnit here about what is what. I like to as many things myself as I can, but this is my 1st Harley, and it is difficult to see a concensus here. By the by, I prefer synthetic... Mobil 1 v, so that is what I will go with. was hoping I could see a trend as to if I was right or not.

 

First of all, there's no problem at all using the HD engine oil in the primary... The reason I bought HD synthetic instead of some other is, you only use ONE qt., and you don't change it that often...

HD says you can use it, my manual says so, it says so on the bottles and I have mechanic friends that ride Harleys, (a lot) that have been using it for years...

I like synthetic oil, and to me, the cost is really is no big deal, at one qt. every 8 to 10k miles!

SR