Just wanted to share some experiences on (or abuse to?) Harleys and maybe ease some minds out there for those who fret over this oil or that oil, how frequently to change, etc. I worked for Radio Sound for over 8 years and rode the touring bikes extensively from model year 97 (a pre TC bike with TC head design on an Evo motor that would cook your thighs) to 04. Radio Sound supplied the radios to Harley for 20 years prior to the HK radio. We were provided with Harley fleet bikes that were typically built "offline" during pre-production builds and as such were not legal to sell, for us to use for testing and product development. Harley told us to "ride the hell outta them" and don't change oil or do any maintenance whatsoever as they wanted to see how the bikes held up under the worst conditions. Most of the bikes we sent back to them were crushed or cut up to review wear & potential failures.

I may sound like a heretic to some of you by telling this, but I have beaten Harleys like I stole them. I have been toldby Harley employees that they've done the same things as we laughed about it over drinks. I have flogged bikes, somewith less than 500 miles and some with30k or more,and red-lined them in every gear; even a 95ci SE Road Glide and a pre-prod SE 103" Electraglide. I've done more burnouts than you can count. I've done vibration & shock testing and deliberately hit every pothole, manhole cover and railroad crossing that I could find over and over and over, so bad once that a passenger told me she bounced a foot off the seat and thought she was a goner. I've scraped footboards, slid both tires, rode with fairings removed and every manner of electronics duck-taped or wire-tied on the bike. I've ridden countless hours in the middle of the summer going a mile then stopping to change something, then another mile and stop to change something. I've seen the bikes sit in our parking lot idling for hours at a time when we were chasing electrical noise or vibration issues. I've hammeredfloorboards & handlebarsback into position after being bent when someonedropped the bike, and kept right on riding it. We'veremoved and replaced fairings on them so often that the inserts fell out and we glued more in. I rode a 2003 special anniversary edition to the west coast so hard and fast that I knew it could not survive (this was one that Radio Sound bought for the 100th anniversary Ride Home) - 95mph in August heat on thefreeway mile after mile. One guy broke the bottom case on one bike where the oil plug is and we fixed it with JB weld and kept on riding the bike. The only time we ever got in trouble regarding use of the fleet bikes was when we stripped one down before returning it (like we always did) only to find out that this particular bike was going to be sold instead of crushed!! And the only thing maintenance-wise I ever did to one was tighten the primary tensioner when the chain was slapping so bad it sounded like a thrown rod.

In conclusion, I honestly doubt that anyone who takes even mediocre care of their Harley will have many problems with it; it was my experiences that allowed me to feel comfortable buying a used bike with higher miles on it. Would I recommend anyone treat a bike like this? No. Would I treat MY ownbike like this? No. But, if they were prone to problems, believe me I would've seen failures because of the things I did to the bikes and I NEVER saw a single failure other than needing a spoked wheel replaced after too much aggressive shock testing as described aboved. The wobbly ride to the dealer was interesting...! Anyway, stop worrying so much, use whatever motorcycle oil you like & change it at least once a year, and ride knowing that guys like me have done far wors

 

much wisdom here....guys get too **** about thier bikes..use common sense and ride them..chances are most of you willhave a new one well before you see any lubrication related issues regardless of oil type

 

Some sanity here from the oil wars. Good post.

 

I agree. Harleys just seem so heavy duty and well built, to me anyway, and the technology is proven over many years. I change the oil when they suggest, and just use Harley dino since that's what it came with and I figure they should know, but I sure don't baby it when I ride. When you're worried about every little thing that could go wrong, it takes away form the enjoyment of riding it This is my first Harley and it really is surprising to me what big beasts they are. Just seems like the original post has a ring of truth to it.

 

Great post! It's true, Harleys have become such a fad, people treat them like delicate babies. Most have forgotten that a Harley, although a beautiful work of art, is a rugged reliable workhorse. These things are not "chinese scooters", They are built to be ridden, and ridden hard! Not only that, but if you do need a part....any part, from a chrome screw to a whole engine, it is available, in any city across the whole country....and alot of smaller towns too. And another thing....they are designed and built in a simple straight forward fashion....easy to work on. Just not so on the other bikes. They realy are great bikes and that greatness is much deeper than most will ever know, even among those who ride them.You get what you pay for....The looks are great, and the ride is alot of fun, but it's that hidden beauty in the engineering and testing that takes us cross country for thousands of miles,over and over without incident.

 

I have no doubt that oil of all types has improved greatly over the years. But....

Years ago, 1972 to be exact, I got got in heavy stop and go traffic in 95 degree weather, leaving the Anoka/Coon Rapids dragstrip, north of Mpls, when Evel Knievel's jump that dayset an all time attendance record. Riding a '70 Bonneville and running the recomended (at the time) Castrol oil, I scored the cylinders and pistons so bad it took a .040 bore to clean them up. I've always wondered if that would have happened had we had the synthetics back then. I find it interesting that today's Triumphs recommend only Mobil 1.

 

reminds me of a story.....I bought a '72 bonneville when I was going to college....I was into a lot more things than bike maintenance but anyway I had it parked in the dining room of a house 4 of us were renting (ya, kinda like animal house)..took it apart, painted it, fixed it up...rode it around forthe school yearand then back home ( about 120 miles down the hiway) for the summer break...rode it most the summer....friend of mine bought it from me that summer, and wondered why the thing struggled to break 55mph...I told him I think the thing just doesn't have much power..turns out I had never checked the oil since I boughtit and the bike was essentially bone dry...he said " I can't believe that thing even runs!"..heput some oil in it and it ran great!.... man I was screwed up back then

 

That's probably true for most, but at the rate I'm going, I'll have 100K on mine before it's paid off, and wasn't really planning to sell it, so I'll continue being **** about proper OCI's, synthetic lubes, and other maintenance. It's gotten me very dependable high mileage on every vehicle I've owned.

 

Great post. I ride the snot out of my stock '05 Dyna, I don't beat it but I run it up to 5k before I shiftand ride it almost everywhere I go, change the oil with Mobil 1 15-50 every 5k, wash it when it gets embarrassingly dirty and generally treat it as what it is, a street motorcycle.. Some people seem to think they're made of glass and can't be ridden hard, not so, they're as well built if not better built than anything out there with the advantage that you can buy and repair any part on them. I rode my two AMF Shovelheads the same way as well as my two AMF Sporties, believe me they can take a likkin' and keep on tickin' and if and when they wear out, 99% of the parts you need are right there on the shelf. Try buying parts for a 10 year old Japanese bike.....

There was a thread about "What I love about Harleys" awhile back that I didn't post on but this touches on it. They're durable, reliable and just plain fun to ride, I've rode a lot of different bikes over 40 years and I always come back to HD. To me they're just more fun and the older and slower I get the more fun they are specially the Dyna series because they run and handle pretty good and you can fit them to your particular style or needs. I have the bars and foot controls off a Wide Glide for comfort and I have a set of bags and a windshield on the shelf if I want to tour, the bikes carburatedso I can cam it and carb it till the cows come home if I want. The only reason I leave it stock is because I have always hot rodded my other Harleys and I want to actually ride a stock one for a change,I have a K&N airfilter in the stock football housing and Harley Script Baloney cuts because I like the look plus a braided stainless front brake line and GT501's for the handling and I have a ball everytime I ride it.

They're made to be ridden guys and gals, not kept in a box like a Christmas tree ball

 

You have really hit home with me, Im sorry to say Im one of those fretters, and I need to be a lot less.. Very Well Said, Thanks Tim

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