Synthetic Oil

[MRFREEZE57]

I suppose, but why not just use Red Line instead? You only change once a year with 5 quarts. Presuming you aren't putting more than 5,000 miles a year.

Thought of trying it but would get a bit expensive as last year I put 18k miles on my bike.

 

[Burla]

18k miles per year on a bike, now that is living large fellas.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Holy crap - I'm jealous!

If I was you, I'd send in a new oil sample to Blackstone 1st to see how much moly additive it has, if any.
But if the engine is still clanking using plain M1 V Twin 20W-50, I'd guess there's not enough moly. Always good to have facts in hand 1st, IMO.

 

[Burla]

I havent seen a lot of uoa's in the bike world, but I'd imagine they are the same as with cars, as in all miles arent created equal. With 18k miles a year, if the lions share is easy freeway miles, I'd say use a lab to set the interval. I had a 2 year interval on redline with 10k miles on the interval, and I still had over 3 tbn. So as long as you have filtration and everything else the lab determines is ok as in wear, viscosity, moisture and/o contamination, you can push that interval out. Especially in Harleys and Hemi's, I'd rather have high performance oil then fresher group 3 oil, assuming the lab agreed. Of course 5k mile intervals are the most desirable, but if you cant swing that I'd explore my option a little further then just settling on fresh group 3 oil. That is why the number one cult following with redline is the harley world. One of the few places you see redline on the shelf, Harley dealers.

Now that they carry their own oil who knows if they still stock redline, but my local store had a ton if it last time I went. Anyone know what the harley oil is, who blends it?

 

[Burla]

OMG, they even have a syn blend, PUKE. What a joke. 76 bucks for 4 quarts syn blend and a filter, are you kidding me what a scam. add 12 bucks if you want full synthetic, give me a large break.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Nope - they won't carry Red Line. Funny they used to before the sales dept figured they could private brand and mark up somebody else's.
Usually these private brands are closely held secrets, and are bid on annually.
I had my bike break in maintenance prepaid, and told them to use Harley synthetic oil. It quieted down the drivetrain a fair amount, but not as much as the Red Line did this fall.

 

[Burla]

yeah well, the good news harley drivers can opt out of harley dealer markups and use the real **** just like the rest of us. Buy a bike and be done with those fools. anyone who spends that dough on a syn blend is an idiot.

 

[HEMIMANN]

OMG, they even have a syn blend, PUKE. What a joke. 76 bucks for 4 quarts syn blend and a filter, are you kidding me what a scam. add 12 bucks if you want full synthetic, give me a large break.

My man, the majority of the public knows nothing about lubrication. It's disgusting companies with quality products scam people like this, but it seems typical. Think of all the machinery companies that brand oils made by someone else.

 

[MRFREEZE57]

I havent seen a lot of uoa's in the bike world, but I'd imagine they are the same as with cars, as in all miles arent created equal. With 18k miles a year, if the lions share is easy freeway miles, I'd say use a lab to set the interval. I had a 2 year interval on redline with 10k miles on the interval, and I still had over 3 tbn. So as long as you have filtration and everything else the lab determines is ok as in wear, viscosity, moisture and/o contamination, you can push that interval out. Especially in Harleys and Hemi's, I'd rather have high performance oil then fresher group 3 oil, assuming the lab agreed. Of course 5k mile intervals are the most desirable, but if you cant swing that I'd explore my option a little further then just settling on fresh group 3 oil. That is why the number one cult following with redline is the harley world. One of the few places you see redline on the shelf, Harley dealers.

Now that they carry their own oil who knows if they still stock redline, but my local store had a ton if it last time I went. Anyone know what the harley oil is, who blends it?

At my local dealer the only non HD branded oil they sell is Amsoil, I do run the Amsoil primary and tranny oil in the M8.
Have tried Redline shockproof in the transmission on my Dyna.

 

[MRFREEZE57]

Holy crap - I'm jealous!

If I was you, I'd send in a new oil sample to Blackstone 1st to see how much moly additive it has, if any.
But if the engine is still clanking using plain M1 V Twin 20W-50, I'd guess there's not enough moly. Always good to have facts in hand 1st, IMO.

Is moly what is in the Lubegard additive?

 

[HEMIMANN]

Is moly what is in the Lubegard additive?

Yes.

 

[Burn2k12Ram]

Is moly what is in the Lubegard additive?

I posted a VOA of lubegard over in the Blackstone UOA thread.

 

[HEMIMANN]

Here's Red Line's "typical" Spec Data for 20W-50 V Twin Oil. Note that moly additive isn't very high, but they chocked it full of zinc. Wonder if they think Harleys still have sliding tappet lifters? Or maybe there's so many old ones out there they leave it in?

Anyway, I haven't heard of Harley roller lifters seizing and wiping cams, so must be ok. But look at that NOACK and HTHS! Off the charts! (little evaporation, extremely resistant to sheardown).

 

[Burla]

uoa's of that oil show 350ppm in actuality, who knows why the stat sheet is wrong, or maybe new formula. Great use two labs way different result, lol. The first uoa is redline, the second was valvoline. He said the reldine quieted his truck but didnt like wear, but valvoline wear was better but not as quiet.

OIl Redline 20w-50 MC Unit 2009 Harley Davidson Road King 96 cu.in.
Miles on Oil 3,949
Universal Miles on Unit 28,349 Averages
Aluminum 3 5
Chromium 1 0
Iron 16 12
Copper 17 19
Lead 1 1
Tin 0 2
Molybdenum 352 87
Nickel 0 0
Manganese 0 1
Silver 0 0 Titanium 0 1 Potassium 4 4 Boron 55 136 Silicon 15 13 Sodium 93 26 Calcium 2646 2531 Magnesium 11 288 Phosphorus 1685 1132 Zinc 1941 1431 Barium 1 1 Values Should Be SUS Viscosity @ 210F 94.1 86-102 cSt Viscosity @ 100C 18.97 17.0-21.1 Flashpoint in F 430 >385 Fuel% <0.5 <2.0 Antifreeze % N/A 0 Water % 0.0 <0.1 Insolubles % 0.1 <0.6 TBN 5.5 >1.0 TAN ISO Code

 

[HEMIMANN]

Weird. Noise generally associated with faster wear, no?

 

[Burla]

Use number 15 or 16 for old redline bottles... Emergency gas can. Due to my wife's commute we always use a gas can instead of a second trip to the station, so with us pushing the edge that far, why not have a couple quarts in the back of her suv? Guess I will have to stop cutting them up for funnels for a while. Figure 4 in a box would be perfect = 29 miles of gas neck is perfect to add to old style tanks.

 

[Wild one]

Use number 15 or 16 for old redline bottles... Emergency gas can. Due to my wife's commute we always use a gas can instead of a second trip to the station, so with us pushing the edge that far, why not have a couple quarts in the back of her suv? Guess I will have to stop cutting them up for funnels for a while. Figure 4 in a box would be perfect = 29 miles of gas neck is perfect to add to old style tanks.

View attachment 509455

They do sell 1 gallon Jerry cans Mike,lol. This should get your attention.

Repairing Your Car in Your Own Garage Is Considered Illegal in Sacramento, California

If it's more than changing your oil, or if it requires a special tool, it's likely illegal.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Burla]

They do sell 1 gallon Jerry cans Mike,lol. This should get your attention.

Repairing Your Car in Your Own Garage Is Considered Illegal in Sacramento, California

If it's more than changing your oil, or if it requires a special tool, it's likely illegal.

www.thedrive.com

I have a one gallon jerry can, but I like the quart size easy and not so scary for the wife.

I live on top of a hill end of a street with a second amendment that says you need a search warrant if you want to be on my property. I fenced the entire property, I called it a deer fence but really it is a people fence with a nice big gate. They have more to worry about being on my dirt then I do, this I promise you. They also have a rule, if someone complains about you they have to reveal themselves, so the accusy knows who the accuser is, so basically nobody in their right mind would complain out here, lol. No complaints are forwarded to code enforcement without someone being of the record. the laws not enforced here are more then laws they actually enforce, anything goes out in the country.

 

[Wild one]

I have a one gallon jerry can, but I like the quart size easy and not so scary for the wife.

I live on top of a hill end of a street with a second amendment that says you need a search warrant if you want to be on my property. I fenced the entire property, I called it a deer fence but really it is a people fence with a nice big gate. They have more to worry about being on my dirt then I do, this I promise you. They also have a rule, if someone complains about you they have to reveal themselves, so the accusy knows who the accuser is, so basically nobody in their right mind would complain out here, lol. No complaints are forwarded to code enforcement without someone being of the record. the laws not enforced here are more then laws they actually enforce, anything goes out in the country.

I agree Country Law is still the best law

 

[Eric Cartman]

Weird. Noise generally associated with faster wear, no?

If this was a rhetorical question, then I apologize for answering it. To me it seemed more of an introspective question, so please allow me to assist.

As a degreed engineer, you should know that there is no correlation between a lubricant's ability to effectively protect the engine and the noise that the engine makes while running.

As an engineer you're also supposed to know that the various additives, co-bases, and bases in different engine oils can slightly change how the metals vibrate and sound while the engine is in operation. However, those changes in noise level are not detectable by the human ear. Significant increases in MOFT may slightly lower the noises that an engine makes, however, that doesn't necessarily mean that there is less engine wear.

If less noise meant less wear, then at least two things would happen:

1) A lot of HEMI owners would just run six quarts of Castrol GTX 20W-50 along with two quarts of Lucas Oil Stabilizer. For a short while they'd have the quietest engine ever. Then their engine would go dead silent.

2) Negligent motorists would know when it's time to top off their oil and when it's time to change it by the sound of their "loud" engine. Instead, some of these negligent motorists drive until their engine seizes.

I hope this bit of information helps. After all, I'm an engineer as much as you are, so we should stick together.

Eric