| Author | Message | ||
     Obiewan |
lol, I know this is a controversial issue, but I'm headed to the parts store in a few and need to get some oil for the primary. What should I get?? I know it's not "cut and dried"  , oops, it's a 04 xb12r.. hurry, headed out in a few. LOL Dankie! (Message edited by obiewan on July 05, 2010) | ||
| Froggy |
Pretty much anything that isn't GL-5 gear oil. I use the HD Formula+ | ||
| Obiewan |
how about M-1 ?? from advanced auto parts? The Harley shop is closed today.. (Message edited by obiewan on July 05, 2010) | ||
| Reepicheep |
Any automotive 20w50 oil... The Mobil 1 VTwin would actually be a fantastic choice, probably better than the HD branded non synthetic 20w50. | ||
| Buelltroll |
Replace EVERYTHING (oil AND trans) with royal purple, and you will FEEL a difference. | ||
| Glitch |
Replace EVERYTHING (oil AND trans) with royal purple, and you will FEEL a difference. Damn right you'll feel the difference! Your wallet will be decidedly lighter... | ||
| Hughlysses |
If you want to go with a Mobil synthetic product, they recommend (I asked) their Racing 4T 10W-40 motorcycle oil for Buell transmissions. | ||
| Greg_e |
Wish they would put that on their website, I have Vtwin in mine and it made a big difference in the shifting. | ||
| Buelltroll |
Damn right you'll feel the difference! Your wallet will be decidedly lighter... Indeed it will. Your bike will ALSO spin up alot faster pull just a tad harder and shift buuuttery smooth even with these tractor transmissions. A get what you pay for plus some type thing. (Message edited by buelltroll on July 05, 2010) | ||
| Jbolt |
Has anyone used the "Drag Specialties" brand? A local bike shop here keeps trying to peddle this stuff, but I've never heard anything about it. | ||
| Tastroman |
I just put Lucas oil in the engine as it was the only 20w-50 synthetic I could find locally on Saturday. I hope my bike does not fall apart as I have never heard of this brand. | ||
| Nobuell |
+1 on the 10W-40 Mobil 1 MC oil. The 40 weight was weight was recommend by Red Line. They said the 50 weight is a little thick. Since I could not get the Red line oil in time, I used the M1. Seemed to shift much better and noticed slightly less drag on the clutch when cold. | ||
| Guell |
the advanced auto up by my dad actually had royal purple cheaper than harleys syn 3 | ||
| Bumblebee |
I put Castrol GTX 20/50 in the engine and primary - so far so good. Hasn't ground itself to bits yet! | ||
| Nuerburgringer |
"Any automotive 20w50 oil..." Absolutely NOT any automotive oil. That stuff'll make your clutch plates slip/burn. Bad news. | ||
| 1324 |
Like all things oil-related, take this for what it's worth. But, at least it claims to be an independent test with plausible results. http://www.amsoil.com/lit/g2156.pdf Based on this, I've opted out of Royal Purple, which I've used in the past. Advance Auto sells Mobile V-Twin for about $2/qt less than HD Syn3 with my AAA discount. So far, I've found oil consumption to be down compared to Royal Purple and Syn 3. So in other words, I'm more inclined to believe the results listed in that white paper. YMMV. EDIT: I know the OP was looking for primary oil, but since we're talking about using engine oils in the trans, this is still of some value. Again, take it for what it's worth. (Message edited by 1324 on July 08, 2010) | ||
| Obiewan |
Damn, I guess I screwed up. I put the Mobil 1 LS (Limited Slip) in there. I have only started it up, and have not had time to ride the darn thing like I wanted to. I'm going to drain it and put in the V-twin stuff this weekend. I did some reading and found out it was a GL-5 type oil..... | ||
| Luxor |
Formula+ Period. Mock me if you want, but if it's good enough for Buell from the factory it's good enough for me. Oh, 37k on the original clutch and trans with the stuff. Shifts like new. | ||
| Jake318 |
I buy AMSOIL because its 100% synthetic . There only has to be 5%or 10% synthetic oil to be called Synthetic . | ||
| Greg_e |
What does Erik Buell Racing suggest in the air cooled race bikes? Probably not the HD oils anymore since he is not tied to them now. Keep in mind that the Harley oils were the required oil because it was a Harley owned and sold cycle, that game is over now. While it is still probably good oil, the cost for the HD stuff is so much higher that it is probably not justified now. | ||
| 1324 |
Forumla + is dirt cheap IMO. At about $6/qt, the only downside is having to go to a dealer for it. Was (is?) made by Citgo... | ||
| Husky |
Its $7.95 +tax now. Husky | ||
| 1324 |
Not at my dealer  Either way, it's $2-5 cheaper than the other oils. My trans shifts just as smooth with Formula + as it does with Mobile, RP, etc. Of course....YMMV. | ||
| Xbrad9r |
+1 on the Amsoil | ||
| Bumblebee |
It really isn't that critical. Amsoil +1, Castrol GTX, so far so good (I'd say +1, but since I am the only one that said it I can't +1 that.)Everyone seems to say Synthetic, but isn't that the last thing you would want in there? My old Shovelhead runs engine oil in there, because it's supplied by the engine,  in 30 years everything on there has vibrated off at least once, but one thing that hasn't caused any issues is the clutch or primary. | ||
| Arcticktm |
"Absolutely NOT any automotive oil. That stuff'll make your clutch plates slip/burn. Bad news." This is not quite accurate (too broad a statement). I think what is being referred to is using ENERGY CONSERVING labeled auto oils in a clutch. That can be bad news and lead to slipping. Most auto 5W20, 5W30, 10W30, 10W40, etc are going to be labeled ENERGY CONSERVING (I or II), but most 15W50, 15W40 & 20W50's I have seen are not labeled as such, and I have had good results using this in a variety of bikes over the past 15 years or so. I definitely would not use any "ENERGY CONSERVING" type oil in any clutch or friction application, since these additives are specifically to eliminate as much friction as possible. |
