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[televizor]

Hello ,  biker need  advice..


CASTROL GTX 20-50 in the engine for both bikes.(mineral)
AMSOIL  SVG 75-140 in the tranny.
AMSOIL  20-50 in the primary.
I change oil in the engine every 1000 miles or 12 months( wich one came first) and the filter.
I change tranny and primary every  year  or no more than 5000 miles.
 For winter storage I change fluids after storage and never crank the bike during storage.

   I ve read on internet  that using  dino in my Harley it s not good  and also  changing  fluids  after storage period it s not indicated , do it prior storage.

I live in Romania  lots of my rides  are short  and summer time it s really  hot .
  I would like to know your opinion  about what I do with my bikes(oils,intervals), and if you would  do it  diferrent  please  let me know.If you have  any advise  please  tell me. I  like  my bikes and I just want to  have it for  long time.

ANY EXPERIENCE, OPNION WILL BE  VERY  HELPFUL  FOR ME , CAUSE I AM NEW IN THIS THINK AND ALL I DID WAS INTERNET.  NO HARLEY SHOPS IN HERE.
 
    1997 ELECTRA GLIDE CLASSIC -  60000 MILES
    2004 SCREAMING EAGLE DEUCE -5000 MILES

Thank you  much  guys !

[spydglide]

Televizor, I've heard that the pollutants/contaminants in the used oil can cause damage over the long periods of sitting up and that's why you should change the oil BEFORE putting the scooter away for the winter.   spyder

[dartman]

Yep, change it before you put it away, the Lubricants you are using are fine, with your maintenance schedule your bikes should last forever.
Ive been riding over 55 yrs, Lots of machines and hundreds of thousands of miles I usually swap Bikes around 50,000 mi because I want too not because I need to, I believe oil should be changed once in a while and checked once in a while, never had a break down that was attributed to the type of oil used, even by HD.

[televizor]

So a  year it s not much for a dino oil to stay in the crankcase?

[dartman]

Depends on your riding style, if you get your bike up to operating temperature when you ride and burn off any condensation that might have accumulated a year with less then 5,000 mi should be fine, if you only ride to the mail box or corner store your going to need more frequent service.

[televizor]

Thank you !
   I ride at least two three hours without stop.

[Midnight Rider]

Thank you !
   I ride at least two three hours without stop.

That'a plenty of time to burn off any water that's condensed in the crankcase.  Since you're running Amsoil in the other two holes, why not run it in the crankcase as well?  The advantage is that synthetic oil holds up better to extreme temperatures than does dino oil.  You could change every 5,000 miles with synthetic and be perfectly fine.  But that's a personal decision...

[televizor]

 Synthetic oils do stant up to heat better but they do not absorb moisture as dino oils do.
Harley motors are unique in the sense that they use ball, roller, and needle bearings that need some friction to work.If you use synthetic oil that is too slick you can actually damage the engine.And back in the past Harley advertise not to use syn in your engines right? But when syn oils move forward they came with syn 3 and ...just good as dino or ,,better,, .  And another think is because i prefer to change it more often, like every 1000 miles,and why to spend more for the same result!
  Different opinion will be helpful.

[JCZ]

Hello ,  biker need  advice..


CASTROL GTX 20-50 in the engine for both bikes.(mineral)
AMSOIL  SVG 75-140 in the tranny.
AMSOIL  20-50 in the primary.
I change oil in the engine every 1000 miles or 12 months( wich one came first) and the filter.
I change tranny and primary every  year  or no more than 5000 miles.
 For winter storage I change fluids after storage and never crank the bike during storage.

   I ve read on internet  that using  dino in my Harley it s not good  and also  changing  fluids  after storage period it s not indicated , do it prior storage.

I live in Romania  lots of my rides  are short  and summer time it s really  hot .
  I would like to know your opinion  about what I do with my bikes(oils,intervals), and if you would  do it  diferrent  please  let me know.If you have  any advise  please  tell me. I  like  my bikes and I just want to  have it for  long time.

ANY EXPERIENCE, OPNION WILL BE  VERY  HELPFUL  FOR ME , CAUSE I AM NEW IN THIS THINK AND ALL I DID WAS INTERNET.  NO HARLEY SHOPS IN HERE.
 
    1997 ELECTRA GLIDE CLASSIC -  60000 MILES
    2004 SCREAMING EAGLE DEUCE -5000 MILES

Thank you  much  guys !

I suggest to just go out and ride.....put a minamum of 1,000 miles a month on those bikes.  Otherwise, you have some expensive garage jewelry.

[televizor]

Will be happy to but right now are only 5 F and it s getting worse..   Thats the only way to be near the bikers ! It s a season thing..

    I dream for summer... Florida is coooooool !

[Midnight Rider]

Synthetic oils do stant up to heat better but they do not absorb moisture as dino oils do.
Harley motors are unique in the sense that they use ball, roller, and needle bearings that need some friction to work.If you use synthetic oil that is too slick you can actually damage the engine.And back in the past Harley advertise not to use syn in your engines right? But when syn oils move forward they came with syn 3 and ...just good as dino or ,,better,, .  And another think is because i prefer to change it more often, like every 1000 miles,and why to spend more for the same result!
  Different opinion will be helpful.

Don't want to get into a discussion about this, but there is no such thing as any oil being "too slick".  It's simply not true.  If you like changing more often, by all means do so...it's your bike.  My point is simply that you don't need to.

[dlaws01]

Don't want to get into a discussion about this, but there is no such thing as any oil being "too slick".  It's simply not true.  


I would agree with you on this point for the most part except I have seen when a syn oil was "too slick" for the application.  When a customer of mine decided to use syn oil instead of dino oil in his 4 cylinder opposed air cooled aircraft engine, the syn oil proved to be too slick for the slip clutch on the starter and would not allow the clutch to grab the starter shaft and would just spin, never starting the engine.  When he drained it and went back to dino oil the starter clutch worked just fine.  Go figure. 

[televizor]

So, all of you have syn in your machines ?

[Retired Navy Chief]

Synthetic oils do stant up to heat better but they do not absorb moisture as dino oils do.
Harley motors are unique in the sense that they use ball, roller, and needle bearings that need some friction to work.If you use synthetic oil that is too slick you can actually damage the engine.And back in the past Harley advertise not to use syn in your engines right? But when syn oils move forward they came with syn 3 and ...just good as dino or ,,better,, .  And another think is because i prefer to change it more often, like every 1000 miles,and why to spend more for the same result!
  Different opinion will be helpful.

I think Harley did not endorse using synthetic oil until it was marketed with their name on the label.  Imagine that.  What I still cannot figure out is that Mercedes Benz recommends using synthetic oil (Mobile 1) and change it every year or 100,000 miles which ever comes first.  I have used synthetic in my bikes the last 25 years and only change it in the fall before storage and ride 20,000 to 25<000 miles each year.  My last bike had motor work done (pumped up an 88 motor) at 85,000 miles and showed normal wear according to my Indy.  I continue to change my oil every year and just ride it in between.  Ride Safe, David

[Rio]

Complete fluid change every riding season along with filter and plugs.  My brother taught me that lesson as the cheapest preventive maintenance you can perform to increase the life of your motor.