all oil gets thin when hot thats why we warm them up before we drain the oil at oil change time, maybe not im just thinking out aloud here lol

 

Now my head's spinning. Three different bikes with Amzoil 20w50 in the motor and three break downs. I know what they are talking about with the watery black looking broke down oil. I have seen it before. After I purchased my RK used from the original owner, I took it home and drained all the fluids. During the last service before I bought the bike, the stealer put syn3 in all the holes a few months before according to the paper work. The oil I drained out of the crank and especially the primary looked this way. Went with Amzoil and never used syn3. HD filter though everytime. I drain my oil every 7500 miles or so, but the oil is still really dark. Not watery, but dark. Someone said earlier their oil drains out light brown.

 

I'm surprised you run it 7500 or so miles before draining. These air cooled engines are hard on motor oil. That's why it's important to run a top brand Synthetic, like Amsoil or redline or maybe Mobil 1. But I wouldn't run it that long. The book says 5K, but I have a hard time doing that. Oil is the cheapest maintenance we can do to our engines. I don't understand why some will not hesitate spending a thousand $$$ on a exhaust system, but will try to save a dollar by buying a cheap brand of oil???

 

I am in the middle of a 5000 mile trip from Georgia to Washington state and return on an '09 Ultra Classic. I put in Amsoil 20-50 just before I left home and just checked and it looks like new oil. The trip out included many hours cruising at 80 MPH in temps over 90 degrees with no problems at all. Without an analysis of the oil I would question the conclusion that the Amsoil was at fault when it is entirely possible there were other things involved that may have caused the problems cited.
Ride safe.
Steve.

 

I agree. The engine got taken apart, inspected, reassembled and new oil put in. Maybe it was incorrectly assembled in the first place?

 

I'm having a hard time believing that it was just a case of bad oil, pardon the pun. NO OIL should be in that stage of breakdown after only 1,400 miles under normal riding conditions and I'm not buying the "bad batch" theory either. There had to be something else going on, going wrong in the motor.

 

You know I had 32,000 miles on my bike when it happened to me. I made zero changes to the bike besides changing the oil. I rode the bike with no other problems for another 43,000 miles. There is no convincing me that it was anything BUT the oil. Now I don't know if it was just a bad batch or old or what but it was the oil.

 

Dino all the way for this guy! Tried and true in Harleys for decades! Everyone that thinks synthetic oil (and especially Amsoil) is so great in Harleys may change their tune in the years to come when enough of these stories surface.

 

Wow, sounds like some bad luck man. I've used Amsoil for about 20 years in both street and dirt bikes, and have always had amazing results -- even when the temps exceed the 115 mark. I have yet to find any oil that not only protects against wear, but also noticeably lowers the engine temps more than what I've experienced with Amsoil.

Anyway, good luck with your Syn3.

-Dusty

 

I have been very happy with Amsoil. In my truck, quads that I race, and now, as of today at 3000 miles in my Harley. I believe it may be due to the filter. I know HD filters, as stated before have the drain/or bi pass. Ive read articles that say use whatever oil, etc. They recommend using a HD filter. We shall see what occurs utnil my 5000 service or after, thats if I dont by a 2011 bike.