if you feel the need to grease it, i would recommend hi temp grease, as in the summer when it's hot out, you may find a bunch of grease dripping out of the lower end of the neck onto your fender and all over the place. the bearings were packed at the factory, and there is no need to fill the entire cavity, which would be the only other way to grease the upper bearing rather than taking the neck stem out to hand pack the bearing. i have heard of people using about a third of a tube of grease in their neck. good for them, and glad it's not my bike, thanks anyway.
If you mix greases with different bases, you can compound the problem by making the grease turn into liquid and running out everywhere. I would want to make sure greases are compatible before ending up with a mess.
If you mix greases with different bases, you can compound the problem by making the grease turn into liquid and running out everywhere. I would want to make sure greases are compatible before ending up with a mess.
What type of grease is the HD? I was concerned about mixing different types too.
I use the HD general purpose grease. The stuff is blue. The reason I use it is because that is what the service department used and my last bike was blue <grin>. The bike handles much better at slow speeds after use. I try to do it every 7k - 10k.
I used H-D grease and did not have a need to put 45 deg. fitting in. Have not had a mess like some say they did. Probably silly to buy the H-D stuff, but if you are silly enough to pay 18,000 plus for a motorcycle what's another 10 bucks.
I packed one of my bikes with grease some years ago, thinking it was a good idea. Makes a mess, don't think it's worth it. Like the other guys said, they're packed at factory and don't get much wear. Unless I find a way to fill the neck then suck it all out.
I am just using the Mobil 1 grease that I got from Autozone. Only reason I picked that grease was that it's synthetic like the rest of my fluids.
I also went with Mobil 1. Took almost the entire tube of grease. I filled it until it just started coming out of the bottom. I then took an electrical zip tie and scraped the bottom of the neck removing the excess grease. Haven't had any problems with it dripping.