~Linda~ ^-^
New member
OK, here are my opinions about choosing oil. Its pretty long, better get a drink.
I feel that the big reasons that you get so many different opinions about oil is:
1. Weather conditions in different parts of the country. I'm in central Florida, so my riding season is all year round. In the winter I don't really get freezing temperatures, but in the summer I get 95 degrees and 95% humidity for a couple of months. City riding for me, with a lot of stop and go traffic, is brutal in the summer. In contrast, up in New Hampshire where my Dad is, the riding season is a lot shorter and temperatures get a lot lower in winter. Up there, even in the heat of the summer, the temps and humidity are not as bad as Florida.
2. Riding style and habits. My bike is my commuter vehicle, I ride 80 miles roundtrip 5 days a week plus whatever mileage I get in on the weekend.
3. Your goals. Do you have the extended service warranty? Do you plan to run the cheapest fluids and get Harley to fix any problems under the ESP? I put at least 15,000 miles on per year and plan to keep the bike for many, many years. I want to use fluids that will protect the engine, tranny, and primary in the conditions I ride.
So, where I live and ride I need oil that will handle the heat. Your riding conditions may be a lot different than mine, so different fluids may work better. Personally, I use Redline 20W50 in the engine, Redline Heavy Shockproof in the tranny, and Redline Primary case in the primary.
Here is why I use Redline. Back in 2008 I bought a new Heritage. Redline Heavy Shockproof was recommended to me by an indy that put in a Stage 1, cams, and dyno tune when the bike had about 500 miles on it. My original goal was just to quiet down the tranny and the first gear clunk.
I was already going to use the Redline Heavy Shockproof, so I also put Redline oil and primary case fluid in at the 1K service. Once it was in, I became curious about how well the Redline was holding up in the engine. To see how the oil was doing, I started getting oil analysis done regularly when I changed the oil. Blackstone labs will do it for about $20.
I changed the Redline oil in the Heritage regularly at 5,000 mile intervals, and every oil analysis came back showing less engine wear than expected. A quote from the oil lab at the 30,000 mile test really sums things up, "Just to review, universal averages for wear for the Twin Cam 96 CI are based on 3,700 miles on the oil. This oil was used longer, and yet wear metals still beat average pretty much across the board, showing a continuance of proper wear inside this engine. Recent wear trends have been low and flat, which is what you want. Try 7000 miles next run on the oil."
I wasn't interested in running the oil for longer periods, because I wanted low wear on the engine. Sure, I could try some of the other oil brands, and might get the same result, but then again I might not. I continue to use the Redline because it is proven to give me lower engine wear, which hopefully will let me put more miles on the bike before a rebuild is needed.
In January 2010 I traded the Heritage (had about 30,000 miles) in for a 2010 Limited. Wifey was never happy on the back of the Heritage, and as you know, if Wifey ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. At the 1K service on the Limited the dealer used Syn3 in all holes. The dealer threw in the 1K service when I bought the bike and I figured it was OK since the engine was still breaking in. When I did the 5K service I changed over to the Redline products. I have just now done the 10K service and will be sending an oil sample off for analysis.
My recommendation for picking an oil brand is this:
1. Pick an oil brand you like and run it for 3K to 5K miles
2. When you change the oil, send a sample to an oil lab for analysis. Blackstone labs can be found on the Web at http://www.blackstone-labs.com/
3. If the oil analysis shows either normal or excessive wear, change the oil brand to something else. I found that using Redline products resulted in lower than average wear, but YMMV
Remember, my riding conditions and style is different from yours, so my choices may not work well for you. However, if you test the oil you use, you can then decide if its doing what you want.
I feel that the big reasons that you get so many different opinions about oil is:
1. Weather conditions in different parts of the country. I'm in central Florida, so my riding season is all year round. In the winter I don't really get freezing temperatures, but in the summer I get 95 degrees and 95% humidity for a couple of months. City riding for me, with a lot of stop and go traffic, is brutal in the summer. In contrast, up in New Hampshire where my Dad is, the riding season is a lot shorter and temperatures get a lot lower in winter. Up there, even in the heat of the summer, the temps and humidity are not as bad as Florida.
2. Riding style and habits. My bike is my commuter vehicle, I ride 80 miles roundtrip 5 days a week plus whatever mileage I get in on the weekend.
3. Your goals. Do you have the extended service warranty? Do you plan to run the cheapest fluids and get Harley to fix any problems under the ESP? I put at least 15,000 miles on per year and plan to keep the bike for many, many years. I want to use fluids that will protect the engine, tranny, and primary in the conditions I ride.
So, where I live and ride I need oil that will handle the heat. Your riding conditions may be a lot different than mine, so different fluids may work better. Personally, I use Redline 20W50 in the engine, Redline Heavy Shockproof in the tranny, and Redline Primary case in the primary.
Here is why I use Redline. Back in 2008 I bought a new Heritage. Redline Heavy Shockproof was recommended to me by an indy that put in a Stage 1, cams, and dyno tune when the bike had about 500 miles on it. My original goal was just to quiet down the tranny and the first gear clunk.
I was already going to use the Redline Heavy Shockproof, so I also put Redline oil and primary case fluid in at the 1K service. Once it was in, I became curious about how well the Redline was holding up in the engine. To see how the oil was doing, I started getting oil analysis done regularly when I changed the oil. Blackstone labs will do it for about $20.
I changed the Redline oil in the Heritage regularly at 5,000 mile intervals, and every oil analysis came back showing less engine wear than expected. A quote from the oil lab at the 30,000 mile test really sums things up, "Just to review, universal averages for wear for the Twin Cam 96 CI are based on 3,700 miles on the oil. This oil was used longer, and yet wear metals still beat average pretty much across the board, showing a continuance of proper wear inside this engine. Recent wear trends have been low and flat, which is what you want. Try 7000 miles next run on the oil."
I wasn't interested in running the oil for longer periods, because I wanted low wear on the engine. Sure, I could try some of the other oil brands, and might get the same result, but then again I might not. I continue to use the Redline because it is proven to give me lower engine wear, which hopefully will let me put more miles on the bike before a rebuild is needed.
In January 2010 I traded the Heritage (had about 30,000 miles) in for a 2010 Limited. Wifey was never happy on the back of the Heritage, and as you know, if Wifey ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. At the 1K service on the Limited the dealer used Syn3 in all holes. The dealer threw in the 1K service when I bought the bike and I figured it was OK since the engine was still breaking in. When I did the 5K service I changed over to the Redline products. I have just now done the 10K service and will be sending an oil sample off for analysis.
My recommendation for picking an oil brand is this:
1. Pick an oil brand you like and run it for 3K to 5K miles
2. When you change the oil, send a sample to an oil lab for analysis. Blackstone labs can be found on the Web at http://www.blackstone-labs.com/
3. If the oil analysis shows either normal or excessive wear, change the oil brand to something else. I found that using Redline products resulted in lower than average wear, but YMMV
Remember, my riding conditions and style is different from yours, so my choices may not work well for you. However, if you test the oil you use, you can then decide if its doing what you want.