I cannot find any ratings for Schaeffer primary oil? Is it JASO MA?

I did find that it is a straight 30 weight oil...that's molasses in cold weather...I'd rather have a multi-grade that is JASO MA rated.

I've also found that Harley Formula+ is a 40 weight oil...so Schaeffer is thinner than what Harley recommends...I'll stick with 10w40 4T from Mobile!.

 

Don't know about that one. Several, myself included have run Mobil1 15w50 in Honda Shadows for thousands of miles with zero problems. I put over 16,000 miles on the VLX I had running it. The rule of thumb is, if it has 'energy conserving' on the label, do NOT use it with a wet clutch. Mobil1 15w50 does not have that on the label.

Unless Harley Davidson's wet clutch setup/clutch material is somehow different than the metrics are, Mobil1 15w50 should be fine to use with a wet clutch/primary in a Harley. You have no choice but to run motor oil in the transmission of a metric bike, you do with a Harley. Seeing how motor oil is not really formulated to lubricate gears, I choose not to in my Sportster.

 

In the UOA section there are several UOA's for Redline and Amsoil. Do you have any UOA's to compare with the other oils you have tried? I have not used Redline oil but the Amsoil has held up well with UOA's to provide an accurate opinion of oil.

 

Mobile1 tech straight out said that is a no-no.

Only Mobil1 Racing 4T 10W40 and Mobil1 V‐Twin 20W50 should be used in clutch applications; which you use depends on what the manufacturer defines...Harley primary fluid is 40 weight oil...so I use the 4t 10w40 which is the only Mobile1 oil that is JASO MA & MA2 Certified.

Here's the Mobile1 application chart:
https://mobiloil.com/~/media/amer/us...pecs-guide.pdf

I've seen "the wrong oil" used in clutches cause zero problems, cause slippage, and I've seen it totally lock the clutch plates...If a manufacturer isn't willing to get a JASO certification, or if the oil can't pass the tests...no thanks...it's not worth the risk to me.

JASO is very a-nail about their specs for clutch oils; if you care about your bike, why use an oil that doesn't meet JASO specs?

 

Not looking to start an argument but, Harley Formula+ isn't JASO certified either. At least not as far as I can find. I won't argue with what the Mobil1 tech told you, but an awful lot of people are running the 15w50 with no problems. You are correct about the 'wrong oil', some can run 10w30 with no problems, in some bikes it ruins the clutch in just a few miles.

Part of my post was about the fact motor oil is not formulated to lubricate gears. The constant meshing in the transmission shears the additive package down until your 20w50 is no longer 20w50. In a test I saw, of the oils tested Mobil1 held up the best, and Castrol GTX was second.

Why run motor oil, JASO certified or not in an application it is not designed for when you don't have to? I had to in the VLX, I don't with the Sportster.

 

>Harley branded oil is aimed at Harleys; so why spend the money/time/effort to get JASO certified? They're working off trust; do you trust them to make a proper oil for the Harley clutch? I think most do, so the oil sells just fine without the JASO rating..me...I'm too much of a cynic...Harley only needs to make an oil that keeps the primary running until the warranty expires; they're not concerned with 100,000 miles...actually, 100,000 miles isn't good for sales of new bikes..and the more often a clutch wears out, the more money they make...so, do you trust the CEO to not get into the "planned failure" game...

For everyone else making oils aimed at Harley riders, if they can't/won't get a JASO rating, why should I trust them? Like I said, JASO is strict and is focused on optimal clutch performance; isn't that what everyone should want..and if you were selling clutch oil, wouldn't you want to proudly state a JASO rating? I would.

>Agree with the gears; I always use specific purpose oils. Both Amsoil and Mobile tried to make "just one" oil to keep things simple and "idiot proof" their products. Mobile1 is sticking with "just one", but Amsoil gave in to pressure and started making 3 products. I use Amsoil Transmission in my Harley.

To sum it up, "what works for me", if someone is looking for a starting point combo:

1. Mobile1 15w50 in the engine - latest SN rating, 15w for cold starts, reduced ZDDP to limit carbon buildup and catalytic damage. Mobile1 recommends this oil for the engine of a Harley. CHEAP per quart price at $5/quart retail and $4/less with a rebate they often offer = you can change often without breaking the bank.

2. Mobile1 4t racing 10w40 in the primary - JASO MA/MA2 rated for superior clutch performance and the latest Mobile1 synthetic technology for excellent lubrication. $9/quart at Walmart and ~$7/quart if you use a Mobile1 rebate offer = low cost means you can feel better about changing often.

3. Amsoil V-Twin Transmission - pricey at $15/quart, but can easily go 5000 miles or more and I trust Amsoil products.

4. K&P reusable oil filter - superior oil filtration, near zero resistance to oil flow for instant lubrication at startup and superior cold weather start lubrication. You can remove it and clean it as often as your obsessive/compulsive heart desires...saves you $15 at every oil change...love being able to clean it between changes!

 

NO idea what all this means..http://www.schaefferoil.com/documents/273-240-td.pdf

lol...

Im using Schaeffer 20-50 in my engine, no issues...purchase by the case...


Using the F+ in my primary...this time lol...

 

Didn't read the thread but here goes...

My shop has used Amsoil as our synthetic of choice for the 10 years we have been in business. We like it the best so it is what we use. We do not have anything against Redline and believe it is great oil as well, but we use Amsoil. We run 20-50 in the engine and primary and Severe Gear 75-110 in transmissions. Oil weight can vary a bit especially in the summer months and with Amsoil coming out with a new 15W-60. For what it is worth, our house conventional oil is Bel-Ray.

I run Amsoil in almost everything I own. Cars, trucks, bikes, lawn equipment, etc all get it. The exception to this is my '05 FLSTN with a 117" in it. In this bike I run Redline 20-60 in the engine, their tranny fluid with shockproof and their primary fluid. I did this as at the time I built it a good friend started working for Redline and I wanted to help him out. I like the redline in the tranny because of the color. I was easily able to detect a tranny fluid leak because of the color with out any teardown.

 

I also live in FL and use Redline 20w60 in the crankcase and Redline Shockproof in the gear box. Love the stuff but it ain't cheap.

 

20w60..,the bigger the gap between those two numbers, the less actual oil in the bottle...in order to make a "multi-weight" oil, you have to add chemicals to force that 60 weight oil to act like 20 weight oil at 100 degrees.

If riding conditions dictate a 60 weight oil, you'd probably be better off with a straight 50 weight oil in the engine.