What are you using for oil in your trike and why that????

[Trampas]

Well it is getting closer for me to dig out the trike out of winter storage, so I will be changing the oil, I bought this used so it has amsoil in now, wanting to go with regular harley 20w50 which I use in my other 2 bikes with no problems. It is very hard to find amsoil in my area and couldn't believe the price for one quart, they think highly of their oil for sure. I don't put the miles on to warrant synthetic oil, I change oil every year on the bikes regardless of the miles, one year I only had 200 miles on my softail, but changed the oil and filter anyway.

So flame away with what oil you use and why.

All for now Trampas

[67wizard]

mobile 1 v-twin.

why not.

[Hogdoc]

HD oil that is used at the dealership.

[rhino 2]

HD oil that is used at the dealership.

Yep....No magic Earl for me, If its good enough Earl for the guys who were making engines for over a hundred years, Then Its good enough Earl for Bob...

[DK Custom Products]

Well it is getting closer for me to dig out the trike out of winter storage, so I will be changing the oil, I bought this used so it has amsoil in now, wanting to go with regular harley 20w50 which I use in my other 2 bikes with no problems. It is very hard to find amsoil in my area and couldn't believe the price for one quart, they think highly of their oil for sure. I don't put the miles on to warrant synthetic oil, I change oil every year on the bikes regardless of the miles, one year I only had 200 miles on my softail, but changed the oil and filter anyway.

So flame away with what oil you use and why.

All for now Trampas

You can't go wrong with the oil that HD recommends in the owners manual-



With the miles you ride, I would use the HD dino oil of the weight that corresponds with the temperatures you ride in, per the chart above.

I ride a bunch of miles, and mostly use Redline, but I do periodically test other oils, but have always gone back to Redline.

The reasons I use Redline are:

It holds up to heat better than most, and as good as any other oils I've tested

It is a very quiet oil...by that I mean, top end noise is quieter with this oil, than with most others

It lasts longer than most oils before beginning to breakdown

That said, I would not hesitate to run any modern dino or synthetic oil, with no fear of it not properly lubricating the engine.

Kevin

[PosseRider]

mobile 1 v-twin.

why not.

Good for me also.

[PosseRider]

Yep....No magic Earl for me, If its good enough Earl for the guys who were making engines for over a hundred years, Then Its good enough Earl for Bob...

Not sure about now,but, they used to use whatever supplier was cheapest. Have not used HD oil in many years. Typically my bikes are around 85k to over 100k, when I let them go. Already over 8k on the Trike I got late July of 16.

[HDB0B]

2014 26k+ miles:

H-D Syn3 in Motor, H-D Formula+ in primary, Bel-Ray 85W-140 in tranny, Harley 63731-99A 5 micron filter.

Engine and Primary changed every 5k miles, Tranny every 10k miles.

This works for me.

I have a friend with a 2016 Road Glide that uses regular H-D dino oil in his to lessen valve train noise. The Syn3 was very noisy in his cycle.

Bob

[Trampas]

Thanks for the replies, pretty much made up my mine to go with the regular hd 20w50 since that has always what I used in the other bikes with no problems. I know their is a much debate on switching from synthetic to regular oil but most of it is BS, you can switch back and forth as often as you want from what I have read, I just prefer to stay with one brand, some like the synthetic and swear by it and vice versa, I can afford the extra money for synthetic no matter what the brand is, just prefer the regular oil since I don't put the miles on in a year like some of you do and I change mine every year regardless of miles on it.

Kevin I looked at the Redline that you use, wow, it is not any cheaper than amsoil, darn near $14 a quart but with the miles you put on I can see it, I see others on here use Mobil 1 and I can get it for around $9 a quart, have 2 places here that carry it, Walmart and Advance Auto parts but I will use the harley oil, set in my ways I guess, everybody to their own.

All for now Trampas

P.S. After putting in the harley 20w50 and trying it I might go back to a synthetic, time will tell and thanks

[DK Custom Products]

Yeah, Redline is expensive. I do anywhere between 8-12 oil changes a year, so I get it by the case. I think it works out to about $11 a quart.

With oil, I can tell when it starts "wearing out" (the viscosity modifiers lose their spring) ... the top end will start making a little more noise when the oil has reached the point where I want to change it. With the redline, that is usually very close to 5000 miles.

Another oil I really like is Castrol...it is a really quiet oil...but it generally has "worn out" (engine starts making more top end noise) between 1000 and 2000 miles.

I ran Royal Purple for a lot of years, but it is not as quiet as the Redline.

So I just stick with the Redline, and change every 5000 miles or so. All personal preference. Any modern oil is going to do the job it's meant to do.

Kevin

[daf62757]

I use (just switched) Royal Purple synthetic in th.e main and chain. I use RP synthetic 70w90 gear oil in transmission. Before that, I had the Harley Syn oil 20 w 50.

[MikeyTX]

Castrol. Been using it for years. I get mine at AutoZone. Right in the $9.00 range.

[Beauregard]

Mobile 1 V-Twin, with Redline in the other two holes. Oil is cheap compared to engines, and I use Mobile 1 in various weights in every engine I own from the Ram to the John Deere mower.

It's not just miles that affect engine oil. Time does as well with acidic build up. You are quite correct in changing once a year regardless of miles.

[Zammy]

I use Redline in all 3 holes, the tranny getting the shockproof stuff, been very happy with it and my dealer stocks Redline, I also change all 3 at 5000 intervals.

[Casper]

I've used a few different oils over the years, HD, HD Syn3, Royal Purple, Mobile VTwin, Amsoil....didn't notice a huge difference in any of them. Thinking I'll use HD Syn3 in the new one just because of the availability while on the road. I know I can get it at any dealership if I need to add while traveling. I am going with RedLine heaven duty shock proof in the trans. Why? What to give it a try and have heard nothing but positive reviews of the RL HD...

I also change at recommended intervals and filter each time.

[Bill G]

I have run HD360 20/50 for years with great results. I am switching to Golden Spectro 20/50 blend on my next oil change on our 2017 Tri Glide. I run Spectro Platnuim 6 speed specific Syn gear oil 75/140 in the tranny (really good stuff). Also I run HD Formula Plus in the primary this stuff is hard to beat for primary use.

I have stuck with petrolium oil for this reason. I have found most all Syn oils in the engine tend to make Harley motors more noisy, more valve train noise. Not an issue in the big picture but just don't care for it.

Ride Safe All,

Bill G

[Mykneesbehurtin]

I have run Lucas 20/50 full syn in the last 4 bikes i have owned,and have had zero issues with it. 5000 between oil changes and engine is always quite.HD sport primary and Bel Ray in the gear box.

[Fearless]

I use Mobil one V twin in motor Amsoil tranny oil still run Syn 3 Harley oil in primary looking to change in spring it will be due suggestion appreciated.... ride safely Fred

[Fozworth]

I use Amsoil mostly because my Dealer/Mechanic recommended it.

[ISP-FL]

While still under warranty I am using Harley Sny-3. I change my own engine oil/filter every 5,000. At every other oil change I let a dealership do the service, except the engine oil. They are using their synthetic in the other two holes. I am not saving a ton of money by changing my own engine oil but at least I get to see the oil and know for sure what is going in and coming out.

When the 2 year warranty is up I will be changing all three myself and probably staying with Harley fluids.