Syn 3 Oil
Grand HDF Member
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 4,585
Likes: 673
From: Rolla
Auto manufacturers save the synthetic for their more premium sports cars, same as HD uses synthetic on the CVO 110 engines.
It all comes down to cost.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 9,243
Likes: 3,267
From: west Michigan
I prefer breaking-in new engines with dino oil. When I bought a new BMW bike about ten years ago, the dealer told me to run non synthetic oil in it until it was broken-in, about 20,000 miles. There's nothing wrong with non synthetic Harley oil; I ran it for about 1,500 miles after I did my 95" build. Enjoy your new bike and try not to worry too much.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 5,132
Likes: 228
From: Garland, TX
If you look on Harley's website at the syn3 it says that you can use it during all stages of engine life, including break in. I'm not trying to start an argument, but don't listen to people from northern climates that tell you your Harley won't benefit from synthetic. You live in Texas like me, your bike will definitely benefit from synthetic due synthetics ability to control heat better than dino oil. I won't run anything other than synthetic in my bike or truck.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 3,515
Likes: 887
From: Upstate New York
If you look on Harley's website at the syn3 it says that you can use it during all stages of engine life, including break in. I'm not trying to start an argument, but don't listen to people from northern climates that tell you your Harley won't benefit from synthetic. You live in Texas like me, your bike will definitely benefit from synthetic due synthetics ability to control heat better than dino oil. I won't run anything other than synthetic in my bike or truck.
Big Kahuna HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 35,506
Likes: 27
From: Calgary eh
Problem with running synthetic in hot climates is that due to it's heat transfer properties Synthetic will run about 10 degrees hotter than dino oil.
We had a long lengthy argument about heat transfer in oils and I lost the argument. I read the data and tried it in my bike and sure as hell it's true. Synthetic oil will transfer heat from the engine more effectively than dino oil. Therefore it runs hotter.
To me, it's a bad thing to have your oil running too hot. Under all indications, you should stick with good ol dino oil.
I run Synthetic in my Diesel truck, but with the high compression and the turbo, it's a requirenment. The Harley doesn't have those high specs so they don't require that level of oil. But they will glady sell it to your for the extra bucks.
We had a long lengthy argument about heat transfer in oils and I lost the argument. I read the data and tried it in my bike and sure as hell it's true. Synthetic oil will transfer heat from the engine more effectively than dino oil. Therefore it runs hotter.
To me, it's a bad thing to have your oil running too hot. Under all indications, you should stick with good ol dino oil.
I run Synthetic in my Diesel truck, but with the high compression and the turbo, it's a requirenment. The Harley doesn't have those high specs so they don't require that level of oil. But they will glady sell it to your for the extra bucks.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 4,922
Likes: 589
From: Running with the gators
Run your bike at least 1,000 miles then change it yourself. There are a lot of us on this forum that do are own oil changes. I use Mobil 1 V-twin, others use various popular name brands. Doing the oil change myself cost me about $50.00 including filter and gaskets.
Im on my second Harley. Just got my Heritage new back in March. Ran the bike till almost 1,200 miles then changed it myself. The bike does not explode if you go over a little and if you wait to switch to synthetic after the first 1,000 miles. I think lot's of people waste money changing their oil before factory recommended mileage. Hell with Mobil 1 I'll probably wait till I get just past 5,000 miles before I begin to think about it.
Im on my second Harley. Just got my Heritage new back in March. Ran the bike till almost 1,200 miles then changed it myself. The bike does not explode if you go over a little and if you wait to switch to synthetic after the first 1,000 miles. I think lot's of people waste money changing their oil before factory recommended mileage. Hell with Mobil 1 I'll probably wait till I get just past 5,000 miles before I begin to think about it.
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 1,522
Likes: 351
From: Holly Springs, North Carolina
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Joe Kucinski
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 987
Likes: 1
From: Maryland
I only switched to Syn-3 on my FXST because in the winter, when it got down in the 20s, the bike would be hard to start.
Read up on it and asked the service manager, and he agreed syn would help it start easier in the cold weather. The trade off is that you may notice valve noise (I did) and once you put in syn, you really shouldn't go back to dino.
Other than that, like Zeus pointed out, I have noticed my oil tends to run a tiny bit hotter in the summer, but also a little cooler in the winter. It seems to want to take on and give up heat much easier than dino oil.
Read up on it and asked the service manager, and he agreed syn would help it start easier in the cold weather. The trade off is that you may notice valve noise (I did) and once you put in syn, you really shouldn't go back to dino.
Other than that, like Zeus pointed out, I have noticed my oil tends to run a tiny bit hotter in the summer, but also a little cooler in the winter. It seems to want to take on and give up heat much easier than dino oil.
