Yep! Same here. 100,00 miles with syn so shes going to let go any day now!

 

ive been a diesel mechanic for 19 years & have no doubt that synthetic is a good lubricant. now with that said you have to know what you can & cant run it in. thats all i am trying to tell everyone.
have you ever got out a flow meter & checked the flow yourself? (not trying to be a DICK) im sure your going on personal experience & what you have read. like we have never been lied to buy the automotive industry.

yes synthetic is good in the right use.

 

The "synthetic oil is too slippery" bs is about as true as "synthetic oil will lower your engine temps" bs.

 

thanks for the reply. I noticed you have done a lot to your bike according to your signature but I didn't see any motor work mentioned. Do you have any personal experience with roller cams and synthetic oil? I run the same oil in my 09 SG and ut it doesnt have any motor work done. Only ac, fat cat and pcv. So I certainly don't know. Hence the reason I posted is for those that have actually installed, run and used synthetic oil in a harley with a roller cam in it to help qualify or disqualify the mechanics statement that the oil will flatten the cam and cause leaks.

 

I have, and as remarkable as it may seem it still pops-up here about once per year. Every time it does come up it is just as ridiculous as it was back in the 90's when I first heard it. Back then (around '97) I even called Torrington for their official take on this old wives tale. I spoke to one of their engineers, who laughed and said he hadn't heard such a claim before, but assured me that it was a myth. He said, "If it is too slick to cause a bearing to skate, it is also to slick for it to wear." Also, that any bearing with any load at all would never "skate," and even in neutral an internal-combustion engine has load on the bearings while running.

If the "techs" mentioned earlier who make these statements have some bearings that have been worn flat, it wasn't because they were running synthetic oil. I certainly would never trust any bike or car of mine to a mechanic who made statements like this.

There are thousands of bikes running around with motor work of all kinds that also run synthetic oil. Anyway, all HD cams are "roller cams," as roller tappets have been used at least since the Evo was introduced in the early '80's. If you mean "roller rockers," synthetic oil certainly wouldn't cause problems there either. I really can't blame you or anyone else for asking, but I really do wish this old wives tale about "skating" would just die and be forgotten.

 

Very astute. In the process of researching my motor work over the past couple months to complete when I return home from Kuwait in May.

I DO however know many mechanics, some great, some bad. And many of them do have some "beliefs" on things that may or may not be true. I think the take away is that this is a myth and to seek the advice of another mechanic.

The title mechanic is exactly that. A title. There are degrees of knowledge and proficiency. 2 examples of some "mechanics" advice given to me over the past 2 months:
1.) Local HD dealer told me that I can't put "just cams in a 96" motor" that it won't run right. He said they only work in 103" kits. Strike one. (In their defense, they only put in SE 103 Stage II kits and with ECM download and do not have a dyno. They don't even like using a SEPST with canned maps).
2.) Called an Indy in my town. Asked him about builds he's done. His reply was "working on a system I like to call 'Sneaky Pete', it's a poor man's nitro...never did get it to work in cars, but I think I could get it to work in your bike". I told him best of luck and hung up the phone. Strike two.

Both of these "nuggets of wisdom" came from certified mechanics. I think iClick's reply that came from an actual engineer is about the best answer posted so far.

 

well i am screwed . ha ha ha .i put Mobile-1 V-twin 20w50 in my recently purcased 96 twin cam with 31,000 miles on it . no clue what kind of oil was in it when i bought it from a dealer.

strangly it runs great an no leaks

 

If synthetic oil was too slippery it wouldn't be the factory oil in CVO bikes, most GM vehicles, every Ford performance vehicle, almost anything of German origin, etc...

 

for years harley didn't sell synthetics,hence the we don't sell it so BASH it,they kept bashing it even after the cvo bikes started using it from the factory,kinda like power commanders will fry your ecm.harley hates when aftermarket takes their parts $. and bad dealers will say anything,so much so that some people start believing it.

 

Who built the motor?
I would think that this indy didnt because he would have said not to run syn,right?

So has the guy that did build it have a chance to say what happened regarding the leak and flat spots?