Primary Lube Poll

[Fierofly]

Put Amsoil 20w-50 in today at 4700 miles

 

[DixieRambler]

Any 10-30 , 20-50 oil that is not energy conserving will work in the primary. I don't recommend any synthetics in there.

Glider,

Was wondering why you don't recommend any synthetics in the primary. I was getting ready to change mine until I started reading the oil threads. I have a couple of quarts of Lucas semi-synthetic 10W-40. Have you got an opinion on this? Thanks for your time and help!

Jim
New Heritage Owner

 

[glider]

Many different schools of thought on this one.

I don't like using a synthetic in the primary because as the clutch plates get a bit of wear on them., the synthetic could promote clutch slippage due to the slipperiness of the oil itself. A regular dino oil without the energy conserving label will be a good choice or the Formula+ from Harley will do the job well .

As far as your semi synthetic oil, you could get away with it if the bike has low miles on it but I don't recommend it.

 

[DixieRambler]

Many different schools of thought on this one.

I don't like using a synthetic in the primary because as the clutch plates get a bit of wear on them., the synthetic could promote clutch slippage due to the slipperiness of the oil itself. A regular dino oil without the energy conserving label will be a good choice or the Formula+ from Harley will do the job well .

As far as your semi synthetic oil, you could get away with it if the bike has low miles on it but I don't recommend it.

Thanks for your suggestions and quick response. Wasn't sure about this one. Your explanation sounds perfectly reasonable!

Thanks again,

Jim

 

[myanoch]

New cvo softail 110 ci

runniny sn 3 for now
probably switching to mobil 1 20/50
run it in big dog s&s motor117 works fine

swtched to MB syn trans fluid in primary
easy to find neutral and shifts great
works great syn3 (EDIT)

sy3 in trans not so good too much clunk
switched to red line with shock proof good stuff
also like spectro 6speed works great in baker trans

Please read and understand the info in this link...

A Friendly Reminder - Harley Davidson Community

 

[cycleman11]

Thanks, I'll probably take your advise. I was a bit confused as to the brand and now that I have access to the bottle I see it is Valvoline full synthetic motorcycle oil 10W-40 that I used. From the jug," Superior Wet Clutch Protection" and "Outstanding wet clutch protection for maximum power transfer & smooth shifting" Then there's this from the Valvoline website, "Valvoline does not offer a synthetic motorcycle oil that meets the API specs SF/SG/SJ or the JASO MA specifications for wet-clutch applications." Curious eh? I changed oils because I didn't know when it had last been done. I've no doubt the Primary and tranny were overdue. I'll be sure to switch next time to non synth for the primary.

As long as the oil is rated JASO MA it is fine for wet cluthes. Millions of bikes that run shared engine/clutches use this oil with no issues. It doesn't matter if the oil is dino or sync as long as it has this designation.

The ones you want to stay away from are any auto oils that show energy conserving on their lables. They will mess with your clutch.

 

[Knott]

Torco Primary oil here.

 

[cgff]

Formula+ here, my TC seems fine no problems
cgff

 

[Rubyred]

How did I miss this poll? HD+ for me, works great no problems.

 

[dsmithjr_1960]

20/50 Castrol or any 20/50 dinosaur oil used synth but made my stator plug leak so went back to Dino 20/50.