Harley Oil, Any Good?

Great to hear from everyone, thanks.

I have Redline in the tranny and gear oil. For the tranny and gears I only changed from dino to syn once around 3,750 miles, I'm around 7,800 now and plan to stay with syn, so there's only the one time switch from dino to syn as far as the primary and gear oil. I thought I'd see if Amsoil was equivalent to Redline, as it's a little easier to buy here. Is there really any benefit to staying with Redline? I figured as long as I stay with syn I'd be fine.

For the record, it was only in the engine I went from dino>syn>dino, and that was because of Harley's bull*%it about not honoring their warranty if it wasn't Harley oil. They had to change lifters and one head, and I didn't want to argue since I only had one month left on the warranty. I also installed V&H quiet baffles in my V&H Big Shots and then removed them to put their original baffles back because performance suffered too drastically. One of the original baffles was broken, so I put one old and one new baffle back. My bike's never been as smooth or as strong since, and with so many possibilities (baffle changes, mismatched heads, four clutch adjustments, etc.), I've given up on ever getting back to how smooth and strong my Dyna was originally. I'm sorry I ever changed anything, but I'm still learning, y'now?

Some have recommended the HD race tuner and then a DYNO tune up. They say the race tuner actually gets into HD's code at the source instead of adjusting the EFI after the Harley codes. Guess this will be another thread topic eventually.

*the jackass service manager at HD who insisted on the syn back to dino oil change was let go, he doesn't have my sympathy, if you know what I mean.

Wonder why HD is shippin Screamin Eagle Synthetic oil in the SE bikes from the factory.

If you are lookin at what is very good to put in yer tranny, I would suggest this from a friend who is a HD mechanis and grad of MMI.

Shockproof Gear Oil - Red Line Oil Heavy Shockproof Gear Oil

That's what I have in there now Cardboard! Thanks for the link FLHT, I guess it was already too late for me to do the hard break-in the article suggested.

Thanks FLHT answers my ? and looks like my stealer is right about the dino oil for at least 500 miles,syn is to slippery to allow proper sitting!
I will let him know about this article too cause it all made sense to me and I want to be the one breakin my motor in!

good articles Cardboard and FLHT!!!! Thanks!!!

I don't think there is anything particularly "wrong" with Harley Davidson fluids used in the motor and transmission. Some might be made by communist dictators, I don't really care. Some might be made here in the states, again, I don't care. I prefer to use other brands because they generally cost the same or less and they are better products. When I say better, I mean their specs are usually higher than Harley specs. Engineering specs by real automotive and drivetrain engineers which are generally recognized by their peers as knowing what the hell they are talking about. Air cooled engines such as Harley uses can benefit from multi weight synthetic oils with special additives. Why use a partial synthetic such as Harley does when a real synthetic from another manufacturer costs less. When it comes to transmissions I believe in using a gear oil, not a motor oil. A synthetic gear oil is even better if it has the right additives. As far as primary oil goes. Harleys can use just about anything slick and wet with equal results. No need for fancy oil here. 30 weight dino is fine.
Bye the way, you will find that even the oils that cost far less than the major advertised brands for the most part have equal or better API ratings. Walmarts house brand Tech something costs far less than the national brands and has just as good specifications. Some people equate price with quality and could never put anything in their engine unless it is the most expensive thing on the shelf. Those people usually are relatively new to wrench turning and knuckle busting. If the government really enforced it's truth in advertising laws there would not be many ads left in the magazines, radio and television commercials because most are hype, smoke and circular logic.
Just an opinion. Use your own brains when you spend your money.

While it's true there is probably nothing wrong with Harley Davidson Brand lubrication products, it would be wise to keep in mind that minimal wear and extended engine life are not in the best interest of Harley Davidson Motor Co or it's dealerships.
Remember they already think they have a corner on the brand loyalty market so why would they want your bike to last an exceptionally long time without them selling you the rebuilds you will need using their products.
Think about all the dealings you've had with H-D and then try to name one instance you've ever heard of where they acted in the best interest of their customers.

So what should we run in the 6 speed trannys in regards to weights of the oil that will keep our wear down and extend life of the tranny?

I'm about ready to do the 1K fluid change on the Ultra so I'm looking for whatever would be the best to run. I ran the Syn3 in the Heritage because that was what folks that I asked seemed to be recommmending. However in reading, that doesn't seem to be the case. Also, I talked with a guy today that worked for a Harley dealer for 20 years and now has his own shop and anyhow he says that he doesn't use any type of synthetic oil in anything. Says he's worked on Harley engines that have had the synthetic oil used in them and the cam bearings were worn along with other engine parts without having that many miles. So what's the jury say? Has this dog been whipped before? In a previous bike I ran Valvoline motorcycle oil and it seems to do pretty good.

I don't do that many engines, but the ones I have ran Amsoil in have faired much better than the ones with Harley oil, or any other kind of dino oil. JMO I wouldn't use thing but Amsoil, I carry a quart just incase when I go a long trip.

HarleySLR by dino oil are you referring to regular oil? I'm not familiar with that term but I'm guessing that you are referring to fossil oil.

Thanks for clearing the dino vs. synthetic. What do you run in your tranny and primary. I reckon I'll be keeping this bike for a good while - at least longer than I kept the Heritage which was almost a year.

Since I was "encouraged" by HD to go back to dino oil (engine only) I should say one thing, with synthetic in the engine it was definitely noisier. I'm in a business that requires sensitivity to sound detail, so perhaps small changes seem bigger than they really are to me. Still, I'd have stuck with syn in the engine if harley didn't twist my arm about it before doing major warranty service. By the way, the service manger who insisted I change back to dino has been let go, he was a jerk. I'll stick with dino in the engine and syn in the gear and tranny.