Damn, oil shouldnt be so tough to choose!

 

Charley, your approach was a little foul. You could have easily said "I think you meant to say" or something along those lines.*

To the topic.*

I made the mistake of saying "mobile 1" instead over "standard" oils such as what's offered for Harley. I think that's kind of obvious considering the facts that followed the labels. I was rushing and made a mistake which blew up in my face. I am also ASE certified and have over ten years of hands on automotive experience. Motorcycles have been a hobby since I started on a atc 70 when I was a toddler.*

However, if you want to get into the details between auto mobile versus vtwin mobile than its simply that the priorities are different for cars than motorcycles plain and simple.*

Auto oils have friction modifiers to aid in fuel economy and emissions and motorcycle oils do not.*Motorcycle oils also have higher levels of phosphorus and zinc to aid wear at higher temperatures, *and high loads/rpms. The vtwin version also has different detergents to aid cleanliness at higher temperatures as well. Think of a turbo application on a car where you get "filming" and deposits.*

Now, can you use auto oils? Absolutely!*
If that's what you want to do than do it. It's been proven to get the job done and that's that. I personally run a sportster so I use the vtwin oil to I get the right clutch friction and I don't use gl5's because I like my stator in working order. Which is fine in big twin trans cases but dot use it in the primary.

Can you use lighter weights in the Florida heat? Absolutely!*
I just choose to use 20-50 because I like the characteristics. Again, as I stated that it was my opinion.*

As far as my experience with 20-50 that everyone is wondering about is actually in water cooled four stroke dirtbikes.

I don't care what anyone thinks, nobody is riding their hd as hard as you are riding motocross. You are on the pipe at wot through every gear nonstop. I change the oil every ride and filter every other. The *manufacture suggests to use 15-30 and I did for a while. Top ends aren't too often but frequent. Long story short the crank locked and I did an overhaul. Of course I don't blame the oil for this as it just happens sometimes. I rebuilt the motor and switched to 20-50 because I figured the heat was playing a role in the oil. In a nutshell, I was getting almost double the hours per top end and better operating temperatures once warmed up. The threshold was a good match plain simple.*

Is this the case for everyone? Of course not. Let's not be ridiculous or take things as black and white.*

I clearly stated that this is my opinion. It doesn't apply to everyone's wants or needs.*

I think I hit everything.*

 

I did forget the oil sheet. That would be more to determine your oil change intervals and filtration quality rather than the overall oil quality.

 

Mobil 1 15w-50 (Walmart 5qt. jug). Belray 80W in primary and Belray 85w-140 in the tranny. Harley black filter

 

Sorry Chris if I came off sounding a bit harsh, it wasn't intended that way.

But, the UOA actually does show a bit more than that.

It shows just how well the <$5.00/qt Mobil-1 (automotive) oil and it's additive package are holding up in a hot, air cooled v-twin motor, and not breaking down even though I ran it well beyond my normal 3,000 mile interval and under some fairly hard riding conditions.

It also shows very low wear metals content in the oil, stuff that's smaller than 30 micron and wouldn't be picked up by the filter. That indicates that at 80,000 miles, the motor is quite healthy and no parts are quietly disintegrating or wearing excessively, which means that the oil is doing a good job and performing well.

As for friction modifiers, molybdenum is widely accepted as an excellent and preferred anti friction additive used in many high end motor oils. The ONLY reason it is not found in V-Twin oil, is that it can/will produce clutch slippage if used in a single sump application, which is not the case with a Harley. To offset the loss of moly in the V-Twin oil, most manufactures use increased levels of phosphorus and zinc as an alternative.

There was actually a set of independent VOA's (virgin oil analysis) published on here a few years ago that compared a number of the popular & top rated oils. Among the oils tested was both Mobil-1 15w-50 (automotive) and Mobil-1 20-w50 V-Twin. The 2 oils were striking close in composition, with the only real noticeable difference being the lack of moly in the v-twin and the v-twin's increased amount of phosphorus and zinc to offset the moly loss.

The introduction of V-Twin oil had nothing to do with Harley V-Twin motors, it came from the need to eliminate friction modifiers from the oil used in motorcycles with a single supply oil sump. Also, all synthetic motor oils be it V-Twin or not have high detergent properties.

I don't see the need to run a moly free V-Twin oil in a Harley motor any more than you need it in an air-cooled Porsche motor.

Again you're correct, it's a personal choice. Your ride, your dime.

 

I was agreeing with the over all statement. I said "more" about the oil sheet. Of course the performance of the oil is in play. I also would have no problem running auto mobile in anything but the primary in my case as its a sportster. That's why I said "the only reason I use vtwin". If I had a big twin I probably wouldn't be using it either. Three quarts isn't a big deal and I have a little left over when I'm done for the next round.

 

I run Mobil 1 v-twin 20W50 in all three holes. Change everything every 5,000 miles.

 

Engine-Amsoil 20w50
Trans.-Mobil1 75w90
Primary- HD formula+

 

Where do you find a 5 quart jug? I've used it for the last 3 oil changes but I only find single quarts for 7.99 a quart. I'ts nice to be able to find it on the road while traveling. Aso just to be clear are you saying you shouldn't use Mobil 1 auto oil in the primary because of the friction modifiers?

 

I ended up using the Mobil 1 VTwin 25/50 in two holes, and the 75/90 in the other.

Despite my limited knowledge with a wrench, I read the manual and did it myself tonight.

Next time, I will use the K&N filter to make it easier to get off....

Thanks for all the replies.

Scott