I am almost due for a service. And last service I used the HD brand oil all the way around. A local mom and pop shop told me to use Redline oil that is made for the primary and trans, and not the engine oil. He said to me, you don't put Castrol in your transmission in your car, why put it in your bike?

Is this true, should I run different oil? He was an amzoil dealer, but told me redline was far superior to use. Can anyone verify this? Or should I just stay with the HD stuff. My issue, is from another thread, I do not wish to support HD items on my bike anymore for a lack of customer service I have had. I would rather support a can of Pepsi if I knew my bike would run with it.

 

Like many others, I run Redline 20W-50 in the engine, their MTL Synthetic in the Primary and their Shockproof Heavy in the tranny.

The engine oil gets changed at 5000 miles and from the clarity of the primary and tranny oils and after talking with Dave the tech at Redline, both the primary and tranny oils can go many miles more than the 5000.

Redline is excellent lubrication!

 

I for one like to use the appropriate fluid for there intention. Redline is a great product but there are many great products out there. I just switch over to Redline MTL in the primary and boy what a difference. Previously I used AFT in the primary with great results, but feel the difference when switch to MTL. Switch to Redline you won't regret it. Run motor 5k, primary and trans 10k+. Right now I have Mobil1 in the motor, Amsoil in the trans, and Redline in the primary. Just happens to be what I had available.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Ive never had anyone who sells a product tell me their product is not good. Ill bet Mobile would not say our oil is not good to use. Ill bet an Amsoil dealer would not say their oil is not good to use.
I can say I have used Mobile 1 in all three holes of past bikes and have had no problems. I would say if you use a good quality product Amsoil, Mobile, whatever you will not have any problems if you maintain an eye on the oil and change when it looks, smells, etc. Or at the mileage limit's. But here is some thought for you, I run Moble 1 20-50 in my Cessna. So I will trust it in my Harley.

 

one good reason to use r/l shockproof in the tranny is its pink in color, so if you see pink in the pprimary oil when you change it then you know whyou have a leak. also their 20x60 syn motorcycle oil is the only x60 wt oil i can find. you need that in jul,aug.

 

I believe in "good" oils for engine and tranny. ( Mobil 1 20W -50 and Mobil 75-90 in my case.)

But in the primary, I run just Wal-Mart 10W-40 or 20W-50 at $2.67 a quart. (Been doing that for 128,000 miles so far.)

 

I have been using Valvoline 20W50 motorcycle oil in the primary at about $4 a qt.

I see no need to use $9 + a qt. for the special primary lubes.

 

Being it's give your opinion time , here's mine. Harley specs their oil and says their synthetic oil is ok to use in he motor , trans, and primary. That tells me those separate compartments aren't too particular what goes in there. If they would cause harm or damage, Harley would be fixin a buttload of bikes for free. Oil sellers want your money, so they tell you their stuff is the best. So alot of guys believe them and buy their product. Do many have premature wear or failures? Not really. So what does that tell you?. Harley's transmissions are pretty reliable and really only need a 40-50wt oil to be happy. Motor oil works fine in them. Motor oil has more detergents and additives then the trans needs, but will it hurt it? nope. It is a gear box that for the most part can handle more horsepower then most bikes make. So they last a long time. A cheap gear oil will protect the gears as good or better then motor oil because that's what it's designed to do. But do you need to pay $16.95 a qt for it? nah. It can't tell the difference. Look at the view of your primary internals in your manual. What's in there? A few gears, a chain, and the clutch pac. The clutch gets oil and so does the chain. Will spending $18.95 for a qt of top grade oil make a difference? I've tried it and I couldn't tell any difference, beside some added drag on the clutch which caused the trans to crunch when shifting into first gear. 10/40 or 15/40 wt oil work great in the primary, and you won't beat the cost. Lastly does spending top dollar for oil so in your mind your bike will last forever, make much sense when alot of guys trade up in a few years anyway? If you want to feel good about your choices use what you want. But I can tell you I personally feel better knowing I can spend $6 a qt for real gear oil, and $3 a qt for a 10/40 wt oil that performs as good as what boutique oils claim to.,,

 

I use Valvoline VR1 Racing dino in 20W/50 at about $5 qt in the engine. Started using this a few years ago when I saw UOA's on BITOG that rivaled those of boutique syns at $12+/qt.
Shell Rotella 15W/40 in the primary gives the same clutch feel as Formula+ or Syn 3 for about $3/qt, and I use Redline Shock Proof Heavy in the tranny because it helps quiet the 5th gear whine I have. Wix filters round out the package, and I've had zero problems in the 5 yrs I've run this combo.
There are many good options out there besides HD lubes. BITOG is a good source for real-world results.