During Sturgis week I replaced my engine oil from the 20w50 to the Amsoil SAE60...which I liked...it made my engine much quieter...my question is... what exactly is the difference from the HD SAE60 oil which is $8 and the AMSOIL SAE60 which is $13....does anyone know the "technicalities" of the oil and why such a price difference.
By the way I loved Sturgis/Black Hills, my first time there with 10 other couples...will definately do it again next year...loved the roads/curves, scenery and fellow riders.

 

do not use a conventional oil in your bike.

use a synthetic made for air cooled motors. conventional 'dino" oils do not tolerate high temperatures as well as synthetics...and can crystalize from heat-- this stuff is like sand when it collects in the pan and recesses of the motor.

remember the twin cam sprays oil at the underside of the pistons and the cylinder bore...the hottest parts of the motor- oil's job is not only to lubricate, but to remove heat

the SAE60 is what i use in my 60 year old FLF.

New motors demand better technology.

Old motors cannot take advantage of it


putting a heavy grade oil in your bike is not as bad as putting sawdust in a tranny to quiet it down...but almost.

a heavy oil will not flow well on start up- metal on metal ... mutligrade oils such as a 20w50 rating flow like a 20W when cold, but act like a 50 w when hot.




Mike

 

 

Adding to that: There are tiny ports in the Twin Cam engine that will allow a 60 wt oil to flow only at temps over 80 degrees F Anything cooler ,( thicker,) and those ports will starve somewhat.

Best of both worlds would be a 20W/60 engineered to flow more readily and still protect like a 60 wt.

'Straight" 60 is for hot climates only.

 

Ok but the manual states my '11 96ci TC can use 60w if exterior temperatures are 80degrees> (average temp when I wake up is 82-90) and 50w if it's 60degrees>, which around here in Phoenix I rarely ride when it's below 60 degrees (what can I tell ya my fricken bones ache it's why I live here). With that said, and riding a newer TC, I should be able to run 50w for what we call Winters and 60w for what we call Summers with my riding habits.....I'm not making up my own oil viscosity formulas it's in the manual as an option?
Mike, I consider you extremely knowledgeable but I've got to disagree with you about using conventional oil or it too would be discouraged by the manual....sorry dude.

 

for those who are interested, Lake Speed jr talks about oil, science, new oil and old motors etc at the adam carolla carcast podcast.

which can be downloaded from here:

http://www.adamcarolla.com/CarCastBl...ed-jr-audi-r8/

or at itunes

he's smarter than I am




mike

 

Mike, dyno oils are fine in our bikes and there are plenty of suitable ones out there for our Harleys. Dyno oils are recommended by the factory, which should be good enough for all of us! Synthetic oils are far more useful in modern plain bearing engines, but less so in our Harleys.

 

There are a number of advantages that synthetic oil has over conventional oils and that is why I only run synthetic. First is the lubricity of synthetic and it ability to "hang on" on metal. Protects much better during start ups. It also has higher "shear" strength then conventional motor oil, thereby adding additional piece of mind for me while I put the motor under load (heavy acceleration). Synthetic withstands high heat much better then dino oil. There are more benefits too so I am confused when people "fight" against the use of it. I think it comes down to dollar and cents. It is a better oil, but if you can't justify the additional cost or can't afford that's ok. For the rest of us that use synthetic oils we understand.