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[motor1]

 The last thing I want to do start a thread on what is the best fluid… And be banned from this website forever. The catch is I came across this at my dealer and I am in the process of doing a flush of clutch and brake systems. This fluid is being used for all the bikes affected in the most recent recall. Service  advisor felt this fluid was not a good idea on a newer bike but couldn’t say why other than it contains too much detergent. Does one of you chemical engineer types have thoughts on this new stuff? Harley calls it premium, is this typical HD marketing?  I know Dot 4 is hydroscopic, if this is less so, I think it’s a good idea.

[Twolanerider]

The DOT4 (and DOT3 and 5.1) are hygroscopic.  They absorb moisture. 

When this new brake fluid came up a couple months or so ago no one knew what might be different about it.  The concern seemed to be is some new pretty new label whose only real purpose to legitimize the service bulletin on flushing the ABS systems.  That is legitimize the service bulletin in such a way that it justified fixing failed brake parts with just new brake fluid.

Let the fluid cans tell the tale though.  See what FMVSS, SAE or other claimed certifications are cited on the old and new bottles for any claimed differences.

[Para Bellum]

The short answer:  Yes, this is just HD marketing to convince customers to pay even-higher Harley taxes.  They have so much practice doing damage control, they've developed a strategy of trying to convert their screw-ups into sales opportunities.

Nearly every DOT4 fluid sold in the U.S. has approximately 3% of a "proprietary" rust-inhibitor mixture.  Over time, the rust inhibitor is used up, and rust can start to form.  As long as the fluid is changed regularly (or when prematurely degraded by air leaks, excessive heat, etc.), there won't be any problem.

As we on this forum know, HD had a problem with bad seals in their brake and clutch master cylinders, probably b/c the foreign manufacturers used materials incompatible with DOT 4 fluids.  The problem would be magnified by depletion of the rust inhibs.

If HD was offering me a free flush with the new fluid, I would probably take it just in case there had been some internal damage to the ABS pump, etc.---that way, if the damage shows up, HD wouldn't be able to weasel out of responsibility by pointing to our failure to accept their offer. 

OTOH, if HD isn't paying, I wouldn't pay the extra money to use their high-priced stuff.

[Unbalanced]

I did the fluid change on them, unfortunately it didn’t help.   ABS module had to be replaced.  800 dollars later and 10 Days .   Had to wait 6 weeks for the “fluid” then had to go through a whole testing process to even have the order approved to get the new module.   Then wait on tech services to ship the new module.   Wasn’t able to just order the part.

My failure caused the front brake to require a Herculean pull to make use of it. 

[Para Bellum]

I did the fluid change on them, unfortunately it didn’t help.   ABS module had to be replaced.  800 dollars later and 10 Days .   Had to wait 6 weeks for the “fluid” then had to go through a whole testing process to even have the order approved to get the new module.   Then wait on tech services to ship the new module.   Wasn’t able to just order the part.

My failure caused the front brake to require a Herculean pull to make use of it.

That sux, Unbalanced.  IMO, HD should cover ABS module failure under warranty or recall, since the failure is probably caused by the seal damage.

So, no more Popeye forearms?   

[porthole]

Service  advisor felt this fluid was not a good idea on a newer bike but couldn’t say why other than it contains too much detergent.

That would a first mistake - listening to a "service advisor"