Hey all,

I wanted to post my experience with Lucas oils as I don't see a lot of reviews on Lucas. If you are like me, of course you want to run the best, but that is a mixed bag of opinions

A little background, I have had 3 Harley Davidson motorcycles in my life, 4 if you count the POS Buell 1125R I had....... I have ran almost every top oil brand you can imagine and I am an Amsoil dealer.

I bought a new 2014 HD Softail Breakout on 07-13-2014. I put 680 miles on the factory oil before I did my first change. I went back and forth between Amsoil, Mobil1 V-twin, Royal Purple, Valvoline VR1, etc. I finally was in O'Reilly's auto and saw the Lucas 20w50 Full Synthetic Motorcycle Oil. I purchased 6 quarts and 1 quart of Lucas Synthetic 75w140 Gear Oil.

On my 2008 Night Train, I bought it new as well and did a change with Amsoil 20w50 as soon as I got it home and many times after. At 50 miles, 200 miles, 450 miles, 650 miles, and then at 1000 miles. I wanted to make sure all of the metal, etc. was out of the oil.

That was a big mistake and one that I read that you should do. My night train started using about a quart of oil a month. Yes, I broke it in properly, etc. It finally slowed down, but still always used a little bit of oil. I think that changing the oil that soon and that much, hindered the break in process and the rings actually seating. I am sure using synthetic that early didn't help a lot either, but that shouldn't make a huge difference in today's engines.

For the Breakout, I waited until 680 miles. When I drained the engine oil, it was fairly clean until right down to the end of the drip and it started coming out a little powdery looking, hard to describe. No metal shavings period on the drain plug, which was different.

The transmission seemed like it only drained about a half quart. It wasn't even reading on the dipstick. There was some metal shavings on the trans drain plug, nothing crazy, but it was there.

The primary had some shavings as well, actually more than any of the other drain plugs. I assume from the clutch.

This is the smoothest Harley engine I have ever owned. It doesn't run extremely hot like my Night Train did, it isn't overly noisy in the engine or trans. Just very smooth.

It does have a very distinct gear drive sound while moving. I used to have a Pete Jackson noisy gear drive in my street/race cars and it sounds similar to that, just not as loud. I like it

Now while riding down the road as new, you would feel a little bit of engine roughness. I don't want to alarm you with that, it is just something you have to experience. I have rode all of my life and notice things others don't normally. Still smooth, just that harley engine and probably a bit on the lean side, so you hear a lot of stuff almost like pinging in heat.

So I took my time and drained all the other fluids very good. All went without any incident. I do recommend using the 5/8 and not the hex bit on the transmission drain plug. It is wedged a bit to one side of the shocks, so it makes it really hard to get the hex to go up in the slot good, easy to strip.

I used Lucas 20w50 synthetic motorcycle oil in the engine and the primary. I used the Lucas 75w140 synthetic gear oil in the transmission for the record.

The next day I had to stop and get a long funnel to fill the transmission. That dipstick is WAY down in there and hard to access. After filling and letting it idle to make sure there were no leaks, I set off on a 180 mile round trip ride.

The transmission has always had that big CLUNK when putting it in first gear. From the factory, Neutral was harder to find that any other motorcycle I have ever owned. On the Lucas Gear Oil, the transmission shifts very smoothly while moving. It still has that first gear clunk that makes me shiver every time I hear it. I suppose that is normal.

Now for the most impressive thing. I am not exaggerating on this and I am not a Lucas oil paid rep or anything like that. As I started down the interstate, I couldn't hear ANYTHING but the wind. It was almost like I was coasting, never experienced anything like it. I don't think that you could get any quieter of an engine with this oil. Zero engine noise, it even stopped the weird pinging on hot days, etc. It smoothed the engine out more than anything I have ever used. If there was any trace of heat before (there wasn't a lot), then there was an even smaller trace after the Lucas. Just incredible.

Again, I have used Amsoil, Mobil1, Syn3, Royal Purple (Not in Harley Engine), and about every other brand out there. I have never used Red Line in a Harley.

Initial reaction for Lucas 20w50 synthetic motorcycle oil

I will send the oil off to Blackstone Labs after a period of time running in the bike and see what they say. It should give a decent outcome, but the bike is new, so I am sure there will be some wear of course.

The Lucas is hands down the most impressive oil I have ever used in a motorcycle engine.

A few pics for you, click on them to make larger:

 

jpowell490....i must agree w/ you ....been running the Lucas in my 05' road king sense new ...it's a built 107" , wielded crank , etc now.... when the crank was done in 2009, the guys at the crank shop called and asked what oil i used because the bearings were some of the best they've seen ...
because of where we live , (in the deep south,gulf coast) and the heat here in summer, i add a qt. of the Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer (non syn) to the motor oil and haft and haft (11oz Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer to 11oz Valvoline 85-140 gear oil) to transmission . Run ATF in primary due to Bandit clutch being used .
Good stuff , !!! regular oil and syn 3 is just too thin for this climate !!!

 

Lucas,Spectro,sny3 on and on and on put all the quality brands in a brown bottle and pass them out other than the color and way they smell they are all just a good as the next.
Comes down to who's fancy logo you like best

 

Smitty,

That is true to an extent. However, I have used them all and never any as smooth as this Lucas, that includes Amsoil. Who knows how the Blackstone Labs test will turn out, but as far as running and sound, it is second to none.

 

Posting a follow up to this. My first change with Lucas was at 680 miles. I just did the 1k service at 1204 today. I changed the oil & filter, trans fluid, and primary.

I went back and forth again on the Lucas decision just because you don't see a lot of reviews or oil analysis on it. I was 1 click away a few times from ordering Amsoil or Red Line. I just kept thinking about how good the Lucas has been.

So, went out today and picked up the same Lucas Synthetic 20w50 motorcycle oil and the Synthetic 75w140 gear oil. Again, the bike runs perfect and just super quite.

Sticking with the Lucas from now on, it has made a believer out of me. I took a sample for Blackstone that I am sending in. It only has about 700 miles on it, but we will see.

 

I will probably switch to Lucas at some point. Because they support 2 sports I participate in.

 

Racer,

Weren't you going to change to synthetic and test the temps?

Lucas has been great for me. Rode another 200 miles yesterday and quite as could be.

 

It's a matter of choice and experience.
I don't like LUCAS and never will but if this is your choice and if you are happy with it... good for you!

 

Yes I bought mobil 1 as i found it for 9@qt at my local o'reillys. I may try to do the test this weekend. I use lucas fuel treatment in my diesel fuel to up the lubricity to try keep my pump and injectors alive. If I determine that a synthetic oil actually does lower the temps on my bike I will run it from that point on. If it does not, then i'l stick with vr-1 or brad penn as always.

 

Just a heads up. My experience with Mobil1 vtwin, is that it will make the top end sound like a jar of marbles, lol. Does to work and protect? Sure does.

The full syn Lucas cycle oil is on sale at O'Reilly's for 8.99 a quart.

Zeus55, tell me why you don't like Lucas? Have you ran it?