castrol 20w-50 oil
Road Master
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 863
Likes: 1
From: Dover, DE
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
Cheapest insurance you can buy!
ORIGINAL: OldFenderGuy
Change your oil and filter frequently and just about any oil will work perfectly fine in your Harley.
It's the bike owners (not the bikes) that fret and argue about the 'best oil', and why anything other than <insert favorite oil> is inferior.
I use Mobil 1 20W50 V-Twin for the most part only because it is available locally, but I've also used Amsoil and other brands. My bikes don't seem to care less about what is put in them, even if it's not the latest undisputed synthetic leader confirmed by the latest independent study.
My old Shovelhead has used nothing but straight 50W since day one, and has never had one oil related problem. But for that matter, in all the years I've been riding I don't know of anyone that has had oil related problems no matter what they used, as long as they performed regular maintenance and kept fresh oil in their bikes.
Just my opinion, but I could care less about these 2,436 Independent Studies and why in their opinion so in so oil is rated 'The Best'.
I don't run 25,000, 15,000, 10,000, or even 5,000 miles between oil and filter changes. Never have and never will. I have always changed oil and filters on my bikes (and my cars and trucks) between 2,500 and 3,000 miles.
Sure, maybe it isn't necessary to change oil that frequently, but it's my choice.Makes me feel good putting in fresh fluids, and the cost isn't going to 'break the bank'..
But anyway, I know a number of people that are running Castrol 20W-50 in their bikes, and none of them have had any oil problems either.
Just my opinion, and nothing personal towards anyone or whatever oil they want to use, but these oil thread and all the fret and worries are something else.
Change your oil and filter frequently and just about any oil will work perfectly fine in your Harley.
It's the bike owners (not the bikes) that fret and argue about the 'best oil', and why anything other than <insert favorite oil> is inferior.
I use Mobil 1 20W50 V-Twin for the most part only because it is available locally, but I've also used Amsoil and other brands. My bikes don't seem to care less about what is put in them, even if it's not the latest undisputed synthetic leader confirmed by the latest independent study.
My old Shovelhead has used nothing but straight 50W since day one, and has never had one oil related problem. But for that matter, in all the years I've been riding I don't know of anyone that has had oil related problems no matter what they used, as long as they performed regular maintenance and kept fresh oil in their bikes.
Just my opinion, but I could care less about these 2,436 Independent Studies and why in their opinion so in so oil is rated 'The Best'.
I don't run 25,000, 15,000, 10,000, or even 5,000 miles between oil and filter changes. Never have and never will. I have always changed oil and filters on my bikes (and my cars and trucks) between 2,500 and 3,000 miles.
Sure, maybe it isn't necessary to change oil that frequently, but it's my choice.Makes me feel good putting in fresh fluids, and the cost isn't going to 'break the bank'..
But anyway, I know a number of people that are running Castrol 20W-50 in their bikes, and none of them have had any oil problems either.
Just my opinion, and nothing personal towards anyone or whatever oil they want to use, but these oil thread and all the fret and worries are something else.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,032
Likes: 9
From: Alabama
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
Changed every 3k miles, plain old $1 a quart Castrol 20W-50 dino will likely only give you 125,000-150,000 miles from your Harley's engine. If you need it to last longer you might want to look at using a quality synthetic... 
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 2,615
Likes: 31
From: Charlotte Area
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
My buddy has always used Castrol 20w50 dino in his 97 RK. He just tripped over 206,000 miles. I use the same oil and have 137,000 on mine. Both have plenty of compression and neither smokes. Now, we both change at 2,500 miles religously and change primary and tranny at every other change. I use formula + in the primary and Mobil 1 synthetic in the tranny. As others have said, it's often not what kind but how often you change. As for surveys, I tend to take any survey that puts a companies product as best when that company pays for the survey. Amsoil is probably a good oil, maybe the best but I can't go into the local store and pick up a quart or 4 if I need some. Just too agravating to find a dealer and catch him at home and then go get it and ......get the picture? I have thought about going synthetic especially since we are in the throes of 100= heat here and the synthetic should hold viscosity better but then a littel Lucas in the oil does the same thing.
Just my results and thoughts , yours may differ. Not saying my way is better, it just works for me.
Bubba
Just my results and thoughts , yours may differ. Not saying my way is better, it just works for me.
Bubba
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,032
Likes: 9
From: Alabama
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
ORIGINAL: 55Bubba
...I have thought about going synthetic especially since we are in the throes of 100= heat here and the synthetic should hold viscosity better but then a littel Lucas in the oil does the same thing...
Bubba
...I have thought about going synthetic especially since we are in the throes of 100= heat here and the synthetic should hold viscosity better but then a littel Lucas in the oil does the same thing...
Bubba
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Burnsville, Minnesota, USA
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
ORIGINAL: OldFenderGuy
Change your oil and filter frequently and just about any oil will work perfectly fine in your Harley.
Change your oil and filter frequently and just about any oil will work perfectly fine in your Harley.
That's the best advice I think I've read in this whole oil section of the forum! - Good for you
When I was a teenager I had the privilege of working for Valvoline rapid oil change for almost 3 years – before I even had a driver’s license! ... Don't laugh, it was probably some of the best experience I could get as far as learning and respecting vehicle maintenance and I plan on encouraging all 6 of my children, girls and all, to work at a oil change shop for at least one summer ... the things I saw there really put things into perspective as far as engine oil, transmission fluid, GL5 and filters goes (I even learned how to duck when a girl drove the front end of her husbands Corvette straight into the pit I was in )
The Valvoline instant oil change I worked at offered all brands of oil, including synthetics like Mobil-1, Amsoil, Valvoline and Castrol Syntec ... strangely enough, we never 'pushed' the Valvoline brand because the profit was the same across the board … most people just used the Valvoline brand dino oil
One thing I took careful notice of were the repeat customers - the guys that changed their oil within 5 miles of the 3000 mark ... you could set your watch to some of these guys they were so **** about it … even if they had a POS car, they were right in there for an oil change right on time without fail
Anyways, after a while, I noticed that the guys that were running Castrol Syntec seemed to always have cleaner oil when it was time for the 3000 mile change (we took samples of the drained oil and showed it to every customer, so this wasn't something that was out of the ordinary) ... the Castrol guys swore on their oil and I began to see why … when it was drained, it usually had some of it’s honey tint to it, and it was rarely black
For what it's worth, this was12-15 months of study by the time I got interested enough to take notice of it, and probably 70-80 regular 3000 mile **** customers that I was paying attention to … sometimes we changed 70-100 cars per day, and only had 4 guys working there, so there was plenty of used oil to be examined ... we disected and crushed tons of filters also, but that's a whole different conversation about filter quality
Because of this, I've always considered Castrol to be a really good oil, especially the Syntec ... but that was in car engines, not V-Twins, primaries or transmissions, so it could be a whole different matter … getting a few used oil analysis reports from different types of oil would be the sure way to tell
One important thing to consider with this data is that hardly anyone used Amsoil because it was more expensive and unless the customer knew all about it, they didn't want to touch it because it isn't a well known oil ... I wouldn't be surprised if Amsoil, Redline or Royal Purple would yield better results than the Castrol Syntec
However, there were a lot of Mobil-1 customers, especially in Corvettes and Porsches that specified it right on the oil cap, and I was paying attention to them along with the other 'regulars' and the Mobil1 was always black when it came out of the oil pan, even at 3000 miles
[font=arial]So ... take this with a grain of salt - if you're deciding between generic oil or Castrol, I'd go for the Castrol in a heartbeat - but I can't recommend it
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,032
Likes: 9
From: Alabama
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
ORIGINAL: uktzero
That's the best advice I think I've read in this whole oil section of the forum! - Good for you
...Wait ... I just remembered something ... I wouldn’t, under any circumstances, use Pennzoil ... I won't go into the specifics right now, but I wouldn't use that to lube a door hinge … nuff said
ORIGINAL: OldFenderGuy
Change your oil and filter frequently and just about any oil will work perfectly fine in your Harley.
Change your oil and filter frequently and just about any oil will work perfectly fine in your Harley.
That's the best advice I think I've read in this whole oil section of the forum! - Good for you
...Wait ... I just remembered something ... I wouldn’t, under any circumstances, use Pennzoil ... I won't go into the specifics right now, but I wouldn't use that to lube a door hinge … nuff said
Uktzero, I'd also appreciate it if you could tell us a little more about your negative experiences with Pennzoil. As a mechanic I've seen a lot of engines last a lot of miles on Pennzoil and always felt it was a good product, but I definitely value the informed opinions and experience-based observations of others. And I agree with your idea that kids (or anyone for that matter) could learn a lot in one summer at an oil change shop...
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 6,336
Likes: 67
From: SW Minnesota
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
A high school buddy took over his dad's Phillip's 66 station, back in the late 60's early 70's. We were all into muscle cars back then, and he did most of the work on them that we couldn't do ourselves.
He had the valve covers off of two different cars--his, which of course, he ranPhillips 66 oil in, and another, that ran Pennz. The inside of his valve covers were nice and clean, covered with a film of oil, whereas the other's were visibly dirty.
Now, that's a long time ago, but I've never run Pennz in anything because of that one visual lesson.
He had the valve covers off of two different cars--his, which of course, he ranPhillips 66 oil in, and another, that ran Pennz. The inside of his valve covers were nice and clean, covered with a film of oil, whereas the other's were visibly dirty.
Now, that's a long time ago, but I've never run Pennz in anything because of that one visual lesson.
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Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 3,306
Likes: 5
From: Bellville, Tx
RE: castrol 20w-50 oil
ORIGINAL: Lost1
Changed every 3k miles, plain old $1 a quart Castrol 20W-50 dino will likely only give you 125,000-150,000 miles from your Harley's engine. If you need it to last longer you might want to look at using a quality synthetic...
Changed every 3k miles, plain old $1 a quart Castrol 20W-50 dino will likely only give you 125,000-150,000 miles from your Harley's engine. If you need it to last longer you might want to look at using a quality synthetic...
Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 106
Likes: 0
My 04 fxdx has been running castrol 4t 20w50 for almost a year. It had the bel ray semi synth previously, but the shop here ran out of stock. So i thought why not try castrol. But i googled it first just to make sure they match the api rating. The castrol has SL but it's not CF, so it's newer than SJ on mobil vt.
Anyway, i live in tropical area, humid, more to hot temp, some times run into moderate to heavy traffic. I ride about 1 hour mostly on weekends. Went on some short distance tours. So far no problems, everything is quite normal.
Anyway, i live in tropical area, humid, more to hot temp, some times run into moderate to heavy traffic. I ride about 1 hour mostly on weekends. Went on some short distance tours. So far no problems, everything is quite normal.