Harley Davidson and Motor oil, what grade do you use?

I am in New England as well. I use Mobil 1 20W-50 V-Twin Synthetic Motor Oil for my 2010 Fatboy.

 

10W40 for the Hayabusa here in Colorado. I will say that in the coldest weather, if I don't ride it regularly it'll be hard to very difficult to start. It'll crank until doomsday but something is keeping it from catching. Once it warms up enough or if I put a space heater in the garage, it'll start and of course if I ride it often (at least every other day), it starts regardless of the temp (in general; I had to walk home one time but I think it was a weak battery as well ).

Carl

 

I have 2 v-twins... both heavily modified and... one, is very high strung, being based on one of our race motors. I use Twin Power 25W60 in both at $8/qt. I change them out at 2500 miles + filter. These days, I pretty much only ride when its above 50*F.

I've NEVER subscribed to recommendations for the same oil in all 3 holes.

I use a good 75w140 in the trans and plain old primary oil in the primary.... or you can also use ATF in primary case too. You do not want to use oils with friction modifiers in there, they play hell with the friction plates.

 

During the summer, 20w50 for my old Yamaha Seca here in Northern New Mexico.
10w30 the other three seasons.

Steve

 

20/50 Castrol GTX year round here in Nebraska in my 94 Electra Glide.

 

My brother uses the Harley oil they sell at the dealer ship it costs the same as regular oil.

 

The 20-50 spec started with the Evo motors I believe. I run straight 60 wt. in my flathead WL and used the same in a '75 Sporty. 60 wt. is getting harder to find so I'll opt for 50wt. if need be.

 

I've always used Castrol GTX 20-50W in my Norton and in my Evo. About 35 years all together. I did use the Harley oil when I first got the Evo, but it's way expensive.

 

Synthetic motor oil is pretty much a waste of money in an air cooled v-twin.

 

20w50 Kendall when I was riding...year round, save for the occasional snowstorm and hurricane.

 

How so? I thought it made my twin cam run a bit cooler in high temps.

 

Have you ever had your TC tuned by a knowledgeable tuner? If not, the stock ECU map is quite lean, to pass EPA requirements. The downside to this is, they run hot. When tuned properly, the oil should not go above 240*F, even in the worst of conditions.

I have 2 v-twins, one is a TC. It's a 117" motor, at near 11:1 static compression and tuned. The oil on the hottest summer days has never been north of 235*F. Normally it's 210*F. By the way, I get 40mpg, when my right hand behaves.

I recommend changing oil and filter in the v-twins at every 2500 mile interval. Thus, synthetic is not a benefit there and if the oil never goes above 235*F, that is another unused feature.

Just use a good oil to the current v-twin API rating. I happen to use Twin Power 25w60, since I'm a warm weather rider these days. $8.00/qt.

 

I was told NOT to use synthetic oil in a vintage (i.e. - old) motorcycle.
As it would leak through the engine seals like a sieve.

Not 100% sure IF that is true?
But wasn't gonna take any chances to prove that theory....wrong.

 

Funny. Must be why Harley Davidson ships its 35K plus CVO's direct from the factory with Synthetic oil. They love paying warranty bills.

 

That's pretty much true. It will get out of places that Petroleum base won't.

 

When Birth Certificates on a new bike are done at the dealer at the time of set up, Digital tech will not even start recording info until the bike reaches 325 degrees. The new HD oil filters filter down to 30 Microns. The oil (Pet base or Syn) does not break down, but it does get dirty. Changing oil @ 2500 miles is a waste of money. If you have an old shovel running Pet base go along with the Old schools guys or feel their wrath!!

 

I use HD Synthetic in my 2010 Street Glide. I like that you put the same oil in all 3 holes. I used in my 2005 before. No trouble with either.

 

Their Syn stuff is a blend from Citgo, i.e. Venezuela national petroleum company. It's not the greatest. I don't like it and certainly don't subscribe to using it in all 3 holes. That's just dumb!

Good petroleum oil is cheap and yes, change it every 2500 miles, with filter. Synthetic is a big waste of money and everyone nowadays gets sucked into the synthetic oil hype. Don't need it for longevity or higher temp ratings in a air cooled v-twin.

Digital tech is measuring head temp, not the oil temp. In a properly tuned twin cam, the oil temp should never exceed 240*F.

We've been servicing and racing v-twins for over 30 years.... we may have learned a thing or two over the years. Our Pro Mod race motor is a Twin Cam.... 120" running mid 8's in the 1/4. We tried Bel-Ray synthetic in it once... that was a mistake, we never could get the rings to seat. We run nothing but petroleum oil in it now.

We've also torn down countless broken street Harley motors that were using Syn and the cross hatch was never broken through to seat the rings. This is not how a motor should be.

Do what you want but I'm simply saying synthetic is not needed in these engines.