Just got back last Sunday from a 21 day, 7,500 mi trip out to the west coast and back. Thought I would share my experience with an oil issue I had.

Leaving Oh and heading to Sturgis is about 1,400 mi for us. I left on 7/5 and it was in the mid to high 90's all the way out. At about half way through S.D. I started hearing more engine noises, especially lifter noise. After we got to Sturgis and checked into the motel we wanted to head up to Deadwood. Went out to start the bike and the motor made so much noise I thought the motor was going to self destruct. Lifter noise was really bad with a very loud top end rattle or primary noise when when I revved it up.

Decided to head for Black hills HD to have it checked out. The head mechanic came out to hear the motor and he said, " that's the most noise he ever heard a motor make". Well, I had to have the motor taken apart to see what had happened. When he drained the motor oil, the oil was as thin as water and was black as tar. This after 1,400 mi. In order to make sure no damage was done to the motor, the motor was disassembled, removing the top end, cams and primary cover (as it sounded like it was rattling in the primary).

After taking a mic and checking everything, no damage was found and everything was normal. I felt I had to at least do this much tear down to make sure I had a motor that would finish the 7,500 mi trip.

Conclusion: The Amsoil probably lost it's vicosity in the high 90 degree heat and had literally burned up, even though I maintained oil pressure (thankfully). The engine noise's I had were from the viscosity not taking up the engine tolerances built into all motors. The motor was put back together and HD syn was put in. I completed my trip, across the desert twice and riding in temps over 110 degrees, with no more problems. Was it bad oil? You make the call, I am only giving the facts as it happened. I have since replaced all three holes with Redline and will now see how this oil runs. Sorry for the long story.

 

Sorry to hear your having this problem Dave. Did you save a sample of the oil? I would send it to Amsoil and explain what happened. I'm having the opposite effect. I just switched from Mobil 1 to Amsoil because I couldn't keep it in my 08 UC and now with the 2010's my wife and I have, we get less engine noise. I guess like they say, every engine is different.

 

No Ron, the mechanic had already contaminated the motor oil with the primary oil before I had a chance to save some. Not only that but, I don't care to litigate with an oil company over their oil. It would be just more money to fight it in court and not worth it in my opinion. Like my signature says, " Some things you just have to learn yourself ". I am done with Amsoil.

 

What weight oil were you using? I had my oil changed yesterday and had been looking all over for Amsoil but found no one in Pensacola carries it on their shelves but a few were willing to order it if I was willing to buy a case. So I opted for Mobile 1 V-Twin 20-50 and 75-90 for the gear box. I'm heading out Sunday for the hills of western NC and the temps are predicted to be in the low to mid 90s. This will be my first experience not using HD Syn 3. Just hoping I don't have the same experience as you.

 

Wow Dave - suprising story and not in a good way. My Ultra Limited makes a little more noise with Amsoil but nothing like you describe! I recently had an oil analysis done and am attaching here for whatever relevence it might have. I was pleased with the outcome.

 

I didn't mean litigate with them Dave. I meant they would probably appreciate the chance to see what happened to the oil. And it would tell you exactly what happened. I'm not taking Amsoil's side. I'm saying with a statement like you just made on this forum. It could change a lot of Biker's mind's about using Amsoil. Just Saying!

 

I hope you're as happy with Redline as I am. I've been running Redline 20W50 Synthetic Oil, V-Twin Transmission Oil with Shockproof, and V-Twin Primary Case Oil for a year now; they are excellent products.

 

What was the condition of the oil when you started your trip? Did you do the oil yourself or have it done?

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with us. I wonder if Amsoil had a bad prodution run of the oil you were using. Were you running the 20W-50? I've never heard (but I don't dispute your claim) of Amsoil shearing back in viscosity like that before. Fuel dilution came to mind but your mechanic would have smelled that I would think. Was that new oil that you put in just before beginning your trip?

Thanks, Dave for taking the time to respond to some of our questions.

 

What kind of oil did they replace it with for you to finnish your 7,500 miles? Did you hear the same noises on the rest of your trip?