You don't say what kind of bike you have. All H-D's except the '06 Dyna have a transmission with straight cut gears. It's a lot like the old Muncie rock crusher and toploader transmissions. Shock proof heavy is an excellent for them.

But the new Dyna 6 speed is a whole new animal. It's more like a Tremec or T5. The T5 uses automatic transmission lube.

H-D recommends their new Formula+ for the new trans and the primary. Basically, primary fluid in the trans. Is shock proof heavy the right choice for this trans? I don't know, but kind of doubt it. I'm not convinced that the oil company's tech line knows the differance yet.

Until more info becomes available, I'll use official H-D Formula+ in those two holes.

 

06 softail,

going down to first would crunch once in a while with syn 3
tried synthetic 75 90 not much better
redline from now on

 

Finally, a voice of reason. Thanks.

 

Now this is interesting. [sm=interesting.gif]

Fatboy bike here.. Just the old 5 speed, so I'm feeling fairly confident about the redline.

lazyjss, you asked about overfilling slightly.. I wouldn't sweat it, but if it's VERY overfilled, you could use a turkey baster-like syringe that would fit in the fill hole to pull some out. But I say if it's close to the full mark, don't sweat it.

My level actually dropped a good bit after I rode it a bit.. so I had to pour in a bit more. I'm assuming the riding dispersed the new fluid down into the gears.. Which is why they tell you to fill, then ride, then check, then add if needed.

 

Yeah, I agree.. All in all it's just a little extra obsession to go to these expensive exotic oils, but just the plain ole Harley non-synthetic stuff, I say is just fine provided you just perform the maintenance and keep it changed.

I noticed the bike was really smooth and ran great right after my last oil change as well as the one I did recently with the SYN3 believe it or not.. It didn't last very long though with the S3.. I could have just as easily just went back to H-D standard plain ole plain ole.. Didn't matter.. Getting changed again in 2500 anyway. Yeah I know the new schedule I think says every 5k, but I'm hanging on to the old 2500 mile interval at least for the fluids. Oil is still cheaper than engines and trannies in the long haul. I'm equally as obsessive with my old trooper at 140k miles, except I've run out of dealers that can service it for anything more than tranny fluid. Thanks GM

 

Which oil filter do you use? H-D or another brand, like Mobil 1?

 

Did a complete oil change on the bike today.
Don't know what the previous owner was using other than it was supposed to be 'dino' oil.

Mobil 1 V-Twin 20W50 in the engine
Redline MTL in the primary
Redline Shockproof Heavy in the transmission

What a HUGE difference in everything!
No nasty clunk going into 1st, little nudge with the toe (up) or heel (down) and it just slips into neutral.

It seems a lot happier.

For filter, bought a new K&N chrome, has a 17mm nut mounted on end so easy to unscrew. Made a trough for under the old filter out of a 4 litre winshield washer plastic bottle. Kept the mess to a minimum.

Next oil change I might give the Redline 20W60HD a spin in the engine.

Dale

 

Dale, I was told by Red Line (in CA) that the 20W60HD was/is for the older, hotter running H-D bikes (pre-98). According to RL, 20W50 is more than sufficient.

 

Thanks for the tip.
I use Mobil 1 synthetic in my cars, have done for years and been very happy.

Guess I'll stick to the Mobil V-Twin 20W50.
When I see it on sale, I'll stock up.

Dale

 

The wife and I just got back from a mid-week getaway, did 800 km over 3 days in temps that ran into the 90's.
Bike with the new oils ran perfectly.

Think I'm going to stick with this combo.

Dale