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What Brand Engine Oil do you use in your bike
#1521
12-07-2017, 07:18 AM
Outstanding HDF Member
Best deal is to buy big quantities while on sale. JMO
#1522
12-07-2017, 07:55 AM
Also, if I have to in an emergency, I will use an automotive "syn" or diesel oil. Thankfully I've never had to.
Last edited by GARY DYER; 12-07-2017 at 08:01 AM.
#1524
12-12-2017, 12:40 PM
" Ever know anyone who had an engine wear out prematurely or suffer damage because the oil failed to do its job? "
YES!
When wrong oil is used.
I have seen that happen 1st hand mult times since back in approx 2005-06 when zddp/zinc & phos (anti wear agents.) lvl's were significantly reduced in the majority of todays motor oils due to it fouling cat converters causing emission issues.
The problem is the reduced anti wear agent/zddp in oil mfg'd post 2005-06 in some cases when in older flat tappet cam'd motors like for example classic muscle cars that require the higher anti wear/zddp lvls for the flat tapept cams to survive,esp when running aftermarket cams with higher spring rates and more aggressive lobe profiles woiuld prematurely wear out .
So if you run todays oil with low zddp lvl in an old school flat tappet cam motor (esp with perf cam) the metal contamination/particles produced as the cam lubes & lifters wear out prematurely the metal contamination is sent thru the motors entire oiling system which isnt good.
That results in trashing the bearings,crank & scratch cylinder's in the process too requiring a rebore,crank cut and total clean out and total rbuild in most cases.
BTW,oil with higher zddp not only provides additional anti wear protection it also protects better from excessive heat too which all HD v-twin experience at times & is why i always run motorcycle specific oil in my HD for the additional anti wear agent protection in times of excessive heat most motorcycle oils provide that the avg pass car or truck oils doesnt anymore.
Thats why i run spectro 20w-50 motor oil (Semi blend or full syn) specifically formulated for HD v-twins that has approx 1500ppm zddp in my HD.
Other oil i'd rec for our HD's is are mobile 1 v-twin 20w-50 (1700ppm zddp)/mobile 1 15w-50 (1300ppm zddp) & Amsoil MCV 20w-50 (1400ppm zddp) are also good high quality oils for our HD vtwins too.
Any 20w-50 in general that has a minimum of approx 1250-1300ppm zddp/anti wear agent lvl to max of 1850-1900ppm zddp should be a decent choice for our HD's.
Also,valvoline VR1 20w-50 race oil has 1400-ppm zddp and in a pinch diesel or 4 stroke truck fleet oil like HD recs using like for example Chevron delo 15w-40 still has a decent 1300ppm zddp too when talking avg oils avail over the counter when not special ordering.
Sheel rotella `15w-40 had zddp reduced to approx 1100-1150ppm when i had it tested @ Blackstone post the 05-06 gov mandated reduction in zddp/anti wear agent lvl that was 1st only in lower visc fuel conserving grade oils that has now yrs later made it into many many higher grade non fuel conserving oils too.
Scott
YES!
When wrong oil is used.
I have seen that happen 1st hand mult times since back in approx 2005-06 when zddp/zinc & phos (anti wear agents.) lvl's were significantly reduced in the majority of todays motor oils due to it fouling cat converters causing emission issues.
The problem is the reduced anti wear agent/zddp in oil mfg'd post 2005-06 in some cases when in older flat tappet cam'd motors like for example classic muscle cars that require the higher anti wear/zddp lvls for the flat tapept cams to survive,esp when running aftermarket cams with higher spring rates and more aggressive lobe profiles woiuld prematurely wear out .
So if you run todays oil with low zddp lvl in an old school flat tappet cam motor (esp with perf cam) the metal contamination/particles produced as the cam lubes & lifters wear out prematurely the metal contamination is sent thru the motors entire oiling system which isnt good.
That results in trashing the bearings,crank & scratch cylinder's in the process too requiring a rebore,crank cut and total clean out and total rbuild in most cases.
BTW,oil with higher zddp not only provides additional anti wear protection it also protects better from excessive heat too which all HD v-twin experience at times & is why i always run motorcycle specific oil in my HD for the additional anti wear agent protection in times of excessive heat most motorcycle oils provide that the avg pass car or truck oils doesnt anymore.
Thats why i run spectro 20w-50 motor oil (Semi blend or full syn) specifically formulated for HD v-twins that has approx 1500ppm zddp in my HD.
Other oil i'd rec for our HD's is are mobile 1 v-twin 20w-50 (1700ppm zddp)/mobile 1 15w-50 (1300ppm zddp) & Amsoil MCV 20w-50 (1400ppm zddp) are also good high quality oils for our HD vtwins too.
Any 20w-50 in general that has a minimum of approx 1250-1300ppm zddp/anti wear agent lvl to max of 1850-1900ppm zddp should be a decent choice for our HD's.
Also,valvoline VR1 20w-50 race oil has 1400-ppm zddp and in a pinch diesel or 4 stroke truck fleet oil like HD recs using like for example Chevron delo 15w-40 still has a decent 1300ppm zddp too when talking avg oils avail over the counter when not special ordering.
Sheel rotella `15w-40 had zddp reduced to approx 1100-1150ppm when i had it tested @ Blackstone post the 05-06 gov mandated reduction in zddp/anti wear agent lvl that was 1st only in lower visc fuel conserving grade oils that has now yrs later made it into many many higher grade non fuel conserving oils too.
Scott
#1525
12-12-2017, 03:59 PM
#1526
12-13-2017, 01:34 PM
" Ever know anyone who had an engine wear out prematurely or suffer damage because the oil failed to do its job? "
YES!
When wrong oil is used.
I have seen that happen 1st hand mult times since back in approx 2005-06 when zddp/zinc & phos (anti wear agents.) lvl's were significantly reduced in the majority of todays motor oils due to it fouling cat converters causing emission issues.
The problem is the reduced anti wear agent/zddp in oil mfg'd post 2005-06 in some cases when in older flat tappet cam'd motors like for example classic muscle cars that require the higher anti wear/zddp lvls for the flat tapept cams to survive,esp when running aftermarket cams with higher spring rates and more aggressive lobe profiles woiuld prematurely wear out .
So if you run todays oil with low zddp lvl in an old school flat tappet cam motor (esp with perf cam) the metal contamination/particles produced as the cam lubes & lifters wear out prematurely the metal contamination is sent thru the motors entire oiling system which isnt good.
That results in trashing the bearings,crank & scratch cylinder's in the process too requiring a rebore,crank cut and total clean out and total rbuild in most cases.
BTW,oil with higher zddp not only provides additional anti wear protection it also protects better from excessive heat too which all HD v-twin experience at times & is why i always run motorcycle specific oil in my HD for the additional anti wear agent protection in times of excessive heat most motorcycle oils provide that the avg pass car or truck oils doesnt anymore.
Thats why i run spectro 20w-50 motor oil (Semi blend or full syn) specifically formulated for HD v-twins that has approx 1500ppm zddp in my HD.
Other oil i'd rec for our HD's is are mobile 1 v-twin 20w-50 (1700ppm zddp)/mobile 1 15w-50 (1300ppm zddp) & Amsoil MCV 20w-50 (1400ppm zddp) are also good high quality oils for our HD vtwins too.
Any 20w-50 in general that has a minimum of approx 1250-1300ppm zddp/anti wear agent lvl to max of 1850-1900ppm zddp should be a decent choice for our HD's.
Also,valvoline VR1 20w-50 race oil has 1400-ppm zddp and in a pinch diesel or 4 stroke truck fleet oil like HD recs using like for example Chevron delo 15w-40 still has a decent 1300ppm zddp too when talking avg oils avail over the counter when not special ordering.
Sheel rotella `15w-40 had zddp reduced to approx 1100-1150ppm when i had it tested @ Blackstone post the 05-06 gov mandated reduction in zddp/anti wear agent lvl that was 1st only in lower visc fuel conserving grade oils that has now yrs later made it into many many higher grade non fuel conserving oils too.
Scott
YES!
When wrong oil is used.
I have seen that happen 1st hand mult times since back in approx 2005-06 when zddp/zinc & phos (anti wear agents.) lvl's were significantly reduced in the majority of todays motor oils due to it fouling cat converters causing emission issues.
The problem is the reduced anti wear agent/zddp in oil mfg'd post 2005-06 in some cases when in older flat tappet cam'd motors like for example classic muscle cars that require the higher anti wear/zddp lvls for the flat tapept cams to survive,esp when running aftermarket cams with higher spring rates and more aggressive lobe profiles woiuld prematurely wear out .
So if you run todays oil with low zddp lvl in an old school flat tappet cam motor (esp with perf cam) the metal contamination/particles produced as the cam lubes & lifters wear out prematurely the metal contamination is sent thru the motors entire oiling system which isnt good.
That results in trashing the bearings,crank & scratch cylinder's in the process too requiring a rebore,crank cut and total clean out and total rbuild in most cases.
BTW,oil with higher zddp not only provides additional anti wear protection it also protects better from excessive heat too which all HD v-twin experience at times & is why i always run motorcycle specific oil in my HD for the additional anti wear agent protection in times of excessive heat most motorcycle oils provide that the avg pass car or truck oils doesnt anymore.
Thats why i run spectro 20w-50 motor oil (Semi blend or full syn) specifically formulated for HD v-twins that has approx 1500ppm zddp in my HD.
Other oil i'd rec for our HD's is are mobile 1 v-twin 20w-50 (1700ppm zddp)/mobile 1 15w-50 (1300ppm zddp) & Amsoil MCV 20w-50 (1400ppm zddp) are also good high quality oils for our HD vtwins too.
Any 20w-50 in general that has a minimum of approx 1250-1300ppm zddp/anti wear agent lvl to max of 1850-1900ppm zddp should be a decent choice for our HD's.
Also,valvoline VR1 20w-50 race oil has 1400-ppm zddp and in a pinch diesel or 4 stroke truck fleet oil like HD recs using like for example Chevron delo 15w-40 still has a decent 1300ppm zddp too when talking avg oils avail over the counter when not special ordering.
Sheel rotella `15w-40 had zddp reduced to approx 1100-1150ppm when i had it tested @ Blackstone post the 05-06 gov mandated reduction in zddp/anti wear agent lvl that was 1st only in lower visc fuel conserving grade oils that has now yrs later made it into many many higher grade non fuel conserving oils too.
Scott
Once again big brother is mandating this along with low sulfur fuel...all in the name of emissions.
Ken
#1529
01-02-2018, 04:34 PM
Tourer
I’ve read a lot in this thread and the Service manual but I’m going to be a newb and ask anyways. This is my first oil change since I got the bike and I want to make sure I do it right. I’m thinking I will do Mobil 1 v-twin in all 3 holes. Is this a good choice? Also, based on numbers from the manual I’ll need a little over 5 quarts to complete the job? Thanks in advance.
Garrett
Garrett
#1530
01-03-2018, 08:08 AM
Harley says you can - but only with their oil. 
Lots of riders do it.
I and many others wouldn't dream of it. There are 3 different applications with different requirements. So 3 different oils. IMHO
I doubt if your engine will self destruct if you use the same oil, but for the same price or even lower, why not use a better oil made especially for each application?
Lots of riders do it.I and many others wouldn't dream of it. There are 3 different applications with different requirements. So 3 different oils. IMHO
I doubt if your engine will self destruct if you use the same oil, but for the same price or even lower, why not use a better oil made especially for each application?
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1LargeDog (01-09-2018)