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[grc]

2012 CVO, just got first service done and tech used H-D 360 rather than Syn3, not sure why but was told top end would be quieter as Syn3 is a lot thinner.

First ride after service I noticed the clatter top end noise was a little louder until engine was at full operating temp, dip stick said 240 degrees F, ambient temp was 68 degrees F.
Sounded sweet at 240F and idle with no top end noise at all, they also changed out the primary and transmission with Formula plus.

Any thoughts and has anyone used H-D 360 and formula plus in there 110ci?

Personally, if some "tech" decided on his own to put something other than what is recommended by the manufacturer or what I specifically said I wanted in my crankcase, he would have been told in no uncertain terms to do the change over again at his own expense.  If you asked for HD360 that's one thing.  If he just took it upon himself to do so without consulting with you first, shame on him.

As for the thinner comment, that is just one of the many BS stories that the anti-synthetic crowd has been throwing around for the last 30 years.  As Midnight Rider mentioned, viscosity is measured the same way no matter if the oil is syn or dino.  The 50 weight syn is no thinner than the 50 weight dino oil.  But the syn is much more temperature stable, so when your Harley gets stuck in traffic on a 90°F day and the oil temp climbs over 300°F, you won't have to worry about your oil if it's syn but you definitely will if its dino.  btw, there is a study commissioned by Amsoil that's been posted on this site and many others over the years that compares many of the major brands of motorcycle oil.  You might want to look at it and see where the synthetics, including SYN3, stack up against HD360.  HD360 came in 15th out of 17, SYN3 came in 4th.


Jerry

[grc]

Here is another page from the report listing actual measured viscosities at 100°C in centistokes.  Note that the HD 360 and SYN3 are almost identical.  So much for that "thinner" comment.


Jerry

[Big Dog]

Is it necessary to use Amsoil filter, or can I stay with the HD filter ?

I've used the Amsoil filter in the past, only one thing wrong with it, it has a small outside diameter so you need an Amsoil cup filter wrench to take it off, now I use K&N. Going to try Mobil 1 Syn 20W50, got a great deal, I think, for $4 each at Walmart so scooped up what they had, can't go wrong with that. My savings in oil paid for the AMP connection crimper I had to buy, yeesshh.

[Aussie]

240 degrees at 68 degrees ambient is pretty warm, all other things being accounted for.

What would be a reasonable oil temp using Syn3 at 68 degrees F

[glens]

I don't think he's saying it'll run cooler with synthetic oil, but that the synthetic oil will withstand the heat better.

[grc]

What would be a reasonable oil temp using Syn3 at 68 degrees F

Harley specs, which we all know are plus or minus whatever, call for a normal oil temperature of 230°F at around 70°F ambient.  But that is just a rough number, since oil temperature is also dependent on how hard you're working the engine, how much airflow the engine is seeing, etc.  The issue is that with an air cooled V-twin like Harley's you will see a wide range of temperatures depending on riding conditions.  Synthetics can withstand the higher temps for a much longer time than dino oils before they break down, and they can withstand higher peak temps as well.  Since your engine doesn't have an effective method to control oil temperatures, it only makes sense to use an oil with the biggest safety margin.  Why do you suppose Harley started selling and promoting synthetic oil after all those decades of telling everyone not to use it (becaused they didn't sell it)?


Jerry

[LovemyCVOgirl]

At what temp does your oil get before the light on your dash lights up?

[Twolanerider]

At what temp does your oil get before the light on your dash lights up?

Dash light is for oil pressure not oil temp.  Unless the oil temp gauge has been added from the accessory catalog the bike's don't even have a place to measure oil temp.  Cylinder head temp sensor in the front head.  But nothing for oil temp in stock configuration.

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Dash light is for oil pressure not oil temp.  Unless the oil temp gauge has been added from the accessory catalog the bike's don't even have a place to measure oil temp.  Cylinder head temp sensor in the front head.  But nothing for oil temp in stock configuration.

Thank you.  My light was blinking on and off in stopped traffic that was not moving shortly after I got it.  We were in traffic that was stop and go for at least 30 min.  I thought my right led was going to burn off  . When light starting blinking on and off, I took my mc and drove up on the sidewalk and went a mile riding the sidewalk until I got to the first side street.  I then turned into a church parking lot after 2 miles and shut it down until it cooled.  I only had 250 miles on it at the time so I hope I didnt damage anything.

[Twolanerider]

Thank you.  My light was blinking on and off in stopped traffic that was not moving shortly after I got it.  We were in traffic that was stop and go for at least 30 min.  I thought my right led was going to burn off  . When light starting blinking on and off, I took my mc and drove up on the sidewalk and went a mile riding the sidewalk until I got to the first side street.  I then turned into a church parking lot after 2 miles and shut it down until it cooled.  I only had 250 miles on it at the time so I hope I didnt damage anything.

Check your owner's manual on this as I don't trust my memory to know for sure.  The blinking check engine light might be an indicator that the high heat engine management mode has kicked in.  I vaguely remember reading that somewhere some time ago.  If so you've got no particular problem to worry about now and you got the bike off the road to cool down.

[grc]

If you are talking about the regular indicator lamp for oil pressure like I think you are, if it started turning off and on at idle then it's very possible the oil got so hot it thinned out and caused the pressure to drop enough to barely trigger the light.  You definitely did the right thing getting out of traffic and letting the engine cool down.


Jerry 

[LovemyCVOgirl]

If you are talking about the regular indicator lamp for oil pressure like I think you are, if it started turning off and on at idle then it's very possible the oil got so hot it thinned out and caused the pressure to drop enough to barely trigger the light.  You definitely did the right thing getting out of traffic and letting the engine cool down.


Jerry 

If I remember Jerry the light was shaped like an oil can with little drops coming out of it.  It blinked red off and on about 4 times.  It never stayed on solid red.  I knew I needed to make a quick decision before I scorched my pistons/rings or something worse.  So, I shot down that sidewalk with 4 of my friends on their MC's following.  It was my last resource!  When I got to the cross rode there was a police offer standing there directing traffic and he ask me what I thought I was doing and I told him that my scooter was running hot and I had to get it out of this traffic so I could shut it down.  He waived us on and I went down the rode a couple of miles as fast as I could to get the air blowing across the engine and then pulled it off and shut it down until it cooled off enough that I could touch it with my hand.  Got home put it away and because of health issues I haven't got to ride again but the first thing I'm gonna do when I pull it out is to get the oil changed.

Thank you for your help
~Judy

[Twolanerider]

If I remember Jerry the light was shaped like an oil can with little drops coming out of it. 

It if was the oil can shaped light that one is oil pressure.  Any time that light comes on it's a cause for concern.  You did everything you could at the time.

Only other thing worth considering is if he bike got hot enough to even potentially cause oil breakdown it's a good time for an oil change afterwards.  If badly overheated that's not something the oil can totally "recover" from from as it cools down.

[dlaws01]

Change oil if it was overheated.  Oil cheap, engine expensive.