Nobody that I know of has done the amount of R&D that the MOCO has for their bikes. Nobody. So I see no reason to disagree with them on their lube recommendations. Is it all that critical? I don't think so. Formula + works just fine. Would just plain 30W work too? Probably. And in a pinch I would use it. Are there better products out there than what HD supplies? Maybe. Maybe not. Who is the authority that decides? I'll just stick with HD.

 

I found synthetic oil quieted my compensator down but caused clutch slip. I went back in with Formula+ recently. Seem to hear the compensator again now.

 

Been using Formula+ for almost 50k miles. I tried redline primary and it clunked harder when going into gear especially when hot that the F+ did. I was running 110 hp back then now Im at 124 and Im going to stay with the F+. I spoke to seasoned indys and they all agreed that F+ is excellent to use, so Im staying with it.
It is very important to change primary fluid often as the clutch material will degrade the oil, more so if youre a local bar hopper when all you do is stop n go riding.

 

I remember when Syn3 first came out. The marketing hype was all about "Same oil in all three holes". They really wanted to boost the Syn3 sales and apparently figured we were too simple to keep track of 3 different types of lubricant.

Well, I tried it, during a service on my Heritage. Before my next service, I switched out the tranny and primary the proper fluids.

Been using Formula + in the primary and synthetic gear oil in the tranny (currently mobil 1) since I've been doing my own services for many years. No problems...

 

 

I changed over to Shell Rotella T 15w40 many years ago from 20w50 Syn oil, Much better clutch performance and cheap.

 

You running that in all three holes?

 

As far as the primary chaincase is concerned, Formula+ works just as good as anything else people are using, and since that's what was in there when it left the factory, I see no reason to use something different.

 

I think the primary and transmission have completely different requirements. One needs lots of lube and the other has clutches to keep cool. I don't think a do it all product is the best for either. I believe F+ is a compromise for both in the name of convenience. That is why I use different lube in the two holes.

 

I've purchased a case of RL motor oil plus 4 each of the Shockproof Transmission and Primary oils. I'll start using them at next (first 3000 mi) oil change. I've E-mailed Red Line for their feedback regarding 2 concerns.

1) Seals; I expect this is a non-issue with synthetics these days but since I was E-mailing anyway,,,.

2) Condensation; in my part of the world this issue is real and I understand ester based oils are prone to hydrolysis and acid formation in the presence of water. Again, as versatility is a characteristic with ester formulations I expect RL has dealt with this but I'm interested in what they have to say.