u really need motorcycle type oil, hads different chemical needed for an air cooled engine...try to avoid gear oil;....don't want it too thick.. HD syn 3 for oil and tranny...and formula + is best bet...

 

well, one out of three, guess that isn't all bad. but even that one is debatable.

first, vtwin oil does not have anything 'extra' that is needed for air cooled engines. it does however, have less friction modifiers so it can be used in wet clutch applications. but since our harleys have 3 distinct oil reservoirs, you can use automotive oil in the engine without worry, regardless of what friction modifiers it has in it (which may actually be better for your engine )

gear oil has a different viscosity rating than engine oil, 20/50 is roughly comparative to a 75/90 gear oil.

i do use formula + in the primary though.... so i agree with you there. don't know if i would say its the 'best', but it's certainly no worse than others.

 

Thanks everybody I have plenty of options it seems...I did not realize all the differences in oil...who would have thought?? Anyway Monday I will drain the trans and primary and replace accordingly. I have gear oil already and plan on finding formula+ (whatever that is) for the primary. Again thanks to all who helped me.

Tim

 

I would be concerned bout using auto oil...if what your saying is true, I can find oil for a dollar, and put it in my bike and no worries?? That would disturb me...

 

Go with Redline all the way, 20-50 for the motor, MTL for primary and Heavy shock proof for the tranny. just my .02

 

i wouldn't put that dollar oil in my lawnmower..... my point was that any decent oil will work fine, regardless of whether it is specified v twin or not. that dollar oil is most likely detergent free and additive free and no, i wouldn't use that.

find you a good 20-50 (or 15-50 in the case of mobil1), change it at regular intervals and your engine will not suffer from it. just don't fall into the hype that it must specify 'v-twin' on the label.


over at htt forum, there are more than a couple of guys who are going away from mtl in the primary due to 'fretting' in the compensator, especially those that have changed over to the upgraded se compensator

 

That oil is fine for the engine, but the tranny would probably be best-served with gear oil. Friction modifiers in most "car oils" are good for the engine, not advisable for the primary, so I would use something like a cheap fossil engine oil (10w40 or 20w50) in that hole. ATF is also used in the primary by many with no problems. Anything else is overkill, IMO.

 

IMO, you should use some type of "TRANS" oil Redline Shock Proof is waht I use In the primary you need to use the corecct type for clutches I run HD F