Simple question, what oils should I use in my bike.(engine, trans,primary)

 

brino, you're relatively new in here, so something you need to learn is that oils are probably the most discussed subject in HDF! Please do a search, but get yourself a long drink first. You will never get to the bottom of this one.

 

OH OH OH, Mr, Kotter....let me answer.

20-50 Semi Synthetic in the motor. That way no matter how the debate over synthetic vs Dino plays out, you win. I use Castrol

Harley Tranny/Primary in the transmission...only the trans.

Ford ATF in the Primary

There, I said it............let the wars begin!

 

Harley Dino in the motor, Mobil 1 synthetic ATF in the primary, Mobil SHC 630 in the transmission.

 

I'm not even going there again. Do a forum search and you will get thousands of different answers... take your pick.

 

I'm staying on the sidelines!

 

We have a friend who loves meringues. We keep chickens, get lots of eggs and meringue is a house speciality. This friend doesn't like our meringues, so we googled looking for alternative recipes. There really should be a limit to the different ways it is possible to mix together a little egg white and sugar, but NO! Bottomless pit of variations. Same with Harley oils, even though there are only three ingredients....

We carry on making meringues OUR way. Life is too short to try out any other recipes. I suggest the same applies to Harley oils. Find a recipe and stick with it, they all work!

 

Find a 20W-50 that you like and use it in the engine. Then find a good ATF and use that in the primary. Next find a decent tranny fluid(at least 80-90W) and use that one. I use either 20W50 or 25W-60 in the engine depending on how hot it is outside, Castrol typeVI ATF in the primary, and Royal purple again viscosity depending on temps. This way if I get a leak the colors help me track it down quickly. The best oil is the one that you are comfortable with as we change fluids frequently. Hope this helps.

 

Because you asked, here's my 2 cents. Harley makes the bike and recommends their oil for it. They don't make the oil, just the specs and send it out for bid. Now, if you look at a VOA of their oil you'll find it's nothing special, but it will do the job. So my thought on this is if their oil that is used by thousands of bikes and keeps them working, using oils that are more expensive and have more additives is really not doing anything more for the bike. Because the bike doesn't need it. It would be like eating a whole bottle of vitamins. Sure your body can use them ,but cant use a whole bottles worth at one time. Your body would get rid of what it can't use, or in the case of oil it would be dumped in the drain barrel. There are lots of oils available with lots of claims. Most people don't keep their bikes for a lifetime, some only a few months. Use whats spec'd as far as weight,and type, and don't experiment with every fluid the sell in the auto store. And your bike will performed as designed.,,

 

" Most people don't keep their bikes for a lifetime"

I must not be "most people". I've had mine for 17 years and counting. It's weathered the last 17 years better than I have.