I called the Red Line oil folks in California for engine oil and trans fluid/oil. They recommended the 20-50 synthetic for the engine and 75-90 synthetic gear oil for the transmission. Thoughts?
Thanks!

 

Yeah I've been running Red Line 75W90 GL5 gear oil in my trans with great results. Easy to find neutral. Really good clutch hook up. I recommend it highly. Harley recommends Formula + for the trans which is a gear oil.

 

Same here. I didn't expect such a noticeable improvement switching from HD stuff but everything he says about red line is absolutely true.

 

Was active on a forum for almost a year and the main topic was Red line engine oil, a motor oil enthusiast.
Red line oil is made from group 4 (olifin) & group 5 (ester) base stocks which are considered high end compared to off the shelf synthetic oils that are now blended from group 3 base stock,
except shell/ Pennzoil platinum plus, which is synthesized from natural gas and is considered group 3+.
Red line is the only USA blended oil that contains group 5.
Red line has a very high content of MoS2, which is in solid in suspension. It is deposited on contacting surfaces and is considered an anti friction additive.
Remember the EVO engine has roller bearings on the rods and not babbit bearings as using found automobile and truck engines.
The HD oil both conventional and full synthetic has special additive to prevent the rollers from sliding.
Sliding rollers can damage the crankshaft journal and piston pin.

 

Amazing. What is that additive? Some kind of hi-tech grit that gets between the roller and the crankpin and gives the roller enough traction to make it turn rather than slide? Or is it more like a glue that sticks teh roller to the crankpin and makes it turn?

I've seen car oil containers saying they contain friction reducers. Does the HD oil have some kind of friction increaser so the rollers don't slide over the crankpin but are caught by the friction and made to spin?

And how do the rollers affect the bronze bushing on the piston pin? I'm having trouble seeing that one. Or have the new models got needle roller piston pin bearings? I used to have a Yamaha that had them, but it seemed to run ok on regular car oil without any friction increasers etc.

 

Old wives tale...lol Harley came up with that **** and bull story to try and keep people from buying synthetic oil when they did not have any synthetic oil to sell. When they finally got synthetic oil to sell, they kinda went silent on that claim. There is no secret ingredient in Harley oil to keep the roller bearings from sliding. Its a myth and who do you know that had an engine failure due to synthetic. I don't know any one, and I know people who have run syn oil in their Harleys for over 100,000 miles.

http://www.oildepot.ca/does-syntheti...ring-problems/

 

Hey Mass. brother, I love your Seafood, every Friday ! What's that Big Block in, got flat tappets, need zinc oil !

AMSOIL & Red Line are the only Blenders using Basestocks #4 & #5 ! A Big Oil Company, bought RedLine in the last year or 2 ! Usually when there's a New Owner they cut corners, Blendown ? In the past 10 years, S&S has gone from giving a motor buyer a gallon of Mobil V-Twin, after 10 years or so, they went with their own Brand, made by Spectro, when that happened, I said to myself, IS Spectro going to make a BETTER oil for S&S, than they make for themselves ? I doubt it, just a New bottle, with S&S on it ! Now, a year or 2 later, S&S has gone with a Private Blender in Minnesota, they'll even put your name on the Bottle ! So, S&S has had 3 Oil Blenders in 5 years, What's up with that ?

My understanding is that H-D, Dino Oil has been made by Sunoco, since 1984 ! The Syn 3, is made by Citgo, deceased Dictator, Hugo Chavez's, Oil Co., from Venezuela ! So, if anybody's buying that crap, you're still supporting that Regime !

One other point, ALL the CVO Bikes, all 3 Holes are filled with SYN 3, from the Factory ! There is NO Gear Oil installed in the Big Dollar, CVO Bikes !
I personally use AMSOIL 20W-50 in the motor, & AMSOIL 10W-40 in the combo primary/trans unit. A lot of guys are using ATF, that's a far cry from Gear Oil ? If you're under warranty, Be Careful ! Find the Best Indy Tech in the Seacoast area, Good Luck, BJ

 

+1 - This is the real story.

Think about the claim; an oil so good that it creates a zero friction environment and roller bearings no longer need to turn.

FYI - The term used at the time was Bearing Skate. HD's bearing skate claims disappeared the day after HD came out with Syn3.

EDIT: This discussion is really pointless in this thread since the topic "Trans Fluid", where friction reducers cause clutch slippage which is not a desirable condition.

 

Hey Hopper, Welcome ! Here's my take on the subject ! There are 4 major oil company's that sell Base stocks, & 4 major company's that sell additives ! Two of those company's sell both, so we are Dealing with only 6 company's , total !
I once had a Oil Expert tell me that Friction Modifiers is a term, it can mean more friction or less friction ? Most V-Twin motor oils state, NO Friction Modifiers, meaning Good for the motor & clutch, No clutch slipping. On the other hand, Mobil 15W-50 car oil & AMSOIL Dominator 15W-50 Race Oil HAVE FRICTION MODIFIERS, less friction, more HP ! But, it's NOT to be used in the primary, the clutch will slip ! I know Erik Buell was factory filling his Bikes with AMSOIL Dominator 15W-50, for the Horsepower. I had read that he had a dry clutch, then I read, he was using the 15W-50 in the primary, because he had designed special clutch plates, so, I don't know what he's doing at the moment ? He is Back ?

 

Interesting stuff. How much extra horsepower do you get by running that Amsoil 15/50 race oil in your engine?