Harley Fluids What and Why!

[DK Custom Products]

I am using HD Syn just to avoid any warranty issues. I have been a fan of AMSol in my old bike but have been looking into Redline 20W50 transmission and primary fluids. The specs I have seen are equal or better then Amsoil. Anyone have any experience withe redline products?

I use Redline Heavy Duty Shockproof in the transmission. Have been doing so for well over a decade.

I have experimented with MANY different fluids in the engine and primary, but always end up going back to Redline in the engine.

In the primary, on some bikes I use the HD Formula + and other bikes I use the Syn3

One experience I had back in 2005 or 6 was:

I had taken my Road King into the dealership for a warranty replacement of my clutch cable. During the replacement they had drained the trans fluid. I had left some Redline HD Shockproof for them to put back in when they were done.

I got the bike back, rode about 60 miles home. When I got home the bike sounded a bit louder than normal...my thought was they had used something besides the Redline I had left for them.

I pulled the trans dipstick.

They had forgotten to put ANY fluid back in the trans!!!

The Redline HD Shockproof it so thick/clingy, that there was still enough lubrication after draining it that no damage was done.

I went ahead & put some in it. Rode that bike another 40K miles before selling it.

No issues!

Kevin

[Rollin Thunder]

Ok lets think for a minute....would you put trans fluid in your car engine? or motor oil in the rear end gear case? :no: NO right?......well why do you think is ok to put motor oil in all three holes cause some guy says do it from Harley...the people that want to sell more bikes .......So me...I run Red line 20w50 in the motor...motor oil......and Red line heavy duty shock proof gear oil in the trans.......and Red line MTL (manuel trans lube) in the primary :yes:

BTW all syn.

google it on the net

just my 2 cents

Tony

HEY Tony;

I had my motor BUILT to put out over 115 Hp and My motor guy who teaches classes for HD told when he was finished with it to RUN SNY oil from here on out.

I did and it ran great with an it a bit QUIETER also held oil pressure better .

[MDO]

HEY Tony;

I had my motor BUILT to put out over 115 Hp and My motor guy who teaches classes for HD told when he was finished with it to RUN SNY oil from here on out.

I did and it ran great with an it a bit QUIETER also held oil pressure better .

Hey Rollin Thunder Rick, Tonyd has not posted here in over 5 years.

Don't worry, I do that all the time, respond & then find out it's ancient.

[freaki tiki]

Finding reverse or finding neutral?

The clutch adjustment procedure on the ClutchWiz.com site is just for those who use the CW. Stock retainers will use 1/4 to 1/2 counter clockwise turn of the adjustment rod in the primary after finding zero lash. (Zero lash = clutch lever just starts to pull away from the grip.)

Zero lash is not the "Dead Spot". The DS is the distance between the grip and clutch lever that seems hard to pull in and does nothing but stretch the cable.

Oil in the primary is really not for lubrication, well... it is but it's only primary chain lubrication and for the compensator. The clutch uses oil for heat rejection only. Any oil will do as long as it doesn't upset the clutch bands.

Some say that Synthetic oils are too slippery for the clutch bands. That information can be misleading. A normal Synthetic oil is just fine as long as you don't use anything heavier than 20-50. Thicker oils tend to make the bands stick when cold which will create a "creep" in the clutch. This will cause your bike to slightly jump forward when putting it in gear while the clutch lever is pulled in or you may have a severe creep and the bike will continue to roll forward at a stop light.

Harley makes a lubricant especially for the tranny and primary. To me, it is too thin to use in the tranny but perfect for the primary. The thinner the lubricant the faster it will reject heat. This product is called "Formula +". Those who use racing clutches will mix Formula + with ATF. (15 oz ATF with 30 oz of Formula + in a dry primary, 3 oz less AFT when doing an oil change) This thins out the primary oil for more heat rejection.

If you have adjusted your clutch many times and still have issues finding neutral, what could be the cause? Here are some things I've run across. Others may add to this list.

1. Cable stretch beyond the cable adjuster.

2. Damaged or warped clutch bands or steels.

3. Worn or damaged right side ramp (cable attaches to a factory ramp)

4. Primary oil level high (or low level)

The #1 reason I find is adjusting the clutch when cold. The bike and clutch assembly should be warn before adjusting. This is when using a stock clutch retainer. For the ClutchWIZ, it is adjusted cold.

HI, new member here. on this i have had lots of trouble. Did everything the manual said. didn't work. Till i adjusted the primary chain to 1 inch. shifted into neutral like magic. The manual had no info on this. It only said the deflection should be 5/8 - 7/8 in. when hot . So i tryed the 1 in. and it worked. I fought this for a year trying to figure it out. changing primary oil 3 times adjusting the darn clutch at least 10 times. And the primary oil level was spot on. I started using SCHAEFFERS primary lube with moly ok thanks .

[Texan]

As my HD is an EVO, I won't chime on on the fluids use except to say I found it interesting that for years, Harley cautioned against using any kind of synthetic fluids in any Harley. Ah, but now that the MoFoCo has Syn3, it is fine in all 3 seperate places we had to use 3 seperate fluids before, even recommended in the EVO's.

I remember those days well. NEVER use syn oil in your harley. Bearing don't roll, they slide wearing out faster. Knew of a fellow out in Washington state that they attempted to void his warranty because he was using syn oils. His lawyer found out diuring discovery that HD was working with an outside firm developing Sys oils and slapped them all the way to the bank. You never heard much about it because HD put a lid on it with some $$$ and a non-disclosure agreement.

o~\o

[Jack Klarich]

I remember those days well. NEVER use syn oil in your harley. Bearing don't roll, they slide wearing out faster. Knew of a fellow out in Washington state that they attempted to void his warranty because he was using syn oils. His lawyer found out diuring discovery that HD was working with an outside firm developing Sys oils and slapped them all the way to the bank. You never heard much about it because HD put a lid on it with some $$$ and a non-disclosure agreement.

o~\o

This is important for 3 reasons

#1 HD in their quest for synthetic oil had Syn3 developed, it is NOT a full synthetic oil( 60/ 40 blend)

#2 HD does not put an API rating on their oil, so who can say that true synthetics or even blends would not work in their bikes

#3 Harley does NOT make their own oil of any kind. They put out tenders with their ideas of what they want the lubes to do for their bikes JMO