| Author | Message | ||
     Turf_moor |
Is it a good idea to run a Ulysses on synthetic engine oil? I was thinking of putting in the H-D stuff. Up to now I've been running it on the standard H-D 20-50 mineral oil. Will the engine run cooler? Additionally, does anyone run their gearboxes on the synthetic H-D stuff? Better shifting? | ||
| Callawegian |
The owners manual suggests using heavy duty diesel tractor oil if you don't use H-D brand oil. | ||
| Hughlysses |
A lot of Uly owners run synthetic; some don't. Some synthetic oil manufacturers claim their oils lower engine temperatures but I've never seen any objective data to confirm it. I'm a big fan of HD Formula+ transmission oil. It's supposedly semi-synthetic. It's what the factory recommends, and it shifts noticeably smoother than 20W-50 engine oil in my experience. | ||
| Turf_moor |
I wouldn't have put 20W-50 engine oil in my gearbox, Hugh. I was wondering about the fully synthetic gearbox stuff that Harley brand. As for the engine oil I was wondering about the synthetic stuff resulting in lower engine running temperatures. | ||
| Tootal |
The synthetics are not going to break down as fast as conventional oils. The nice thing about oils these days is that none of them really suck! I'm not going to tell you what to do as that is subjective and has been debated rigorously on many forums. I will say not to use a transmission oil in it. Oils for transmissions contain ingredients that will screw up your stator. This has been proven and even on AMSOILs website they will tell you to run 20/50 engine oil or 60wt. engine oil in the transmission. Of course the Formula 1 primary oil is recommended by the factory. | ||
| Turf_moor |
I knew about the stator issue, but thanks for reminding me, Tootal. I may well switch to synthetic for the engine. | ||
| Shagg1970 |
I run amsoil 20w 50 in the engine and primary/transmission have since 5000 miles and I believe it makes the shifts smoother. My $.02 worth. | ||
| Big_island_rider |
Run for your life, it's an oil thread!!!  I run with Moco 20w-50 syn in all the bikes in all holes. The wife's Sportster runs better with the HD Syn than with the HD dino oil. | ||
| Turf_moor |
So it's okay to stick synthetic 20X-50 in the gearbox? | ||
| Shagg1970 |
Yes. Ran it in all three holes when I had a softail. | ||
| Timbobuell |
my $.02 or 2 dollars worth adjusted for inflation. Consider me the beta tester, I've ran everything. Finally settled on thick & chewy. Not my idea. Someone else posted on thick and chewy and I tried it and my bike seems so happy. Totally non-subjective but my engine is the most smooth ever and wants to rev 500 rpms higher now for that purrfect purr. and its cheap and lots around since I drive a diesel truck. thick and chewy formula is, 2 quarts rotella t 15/40 dino and 1 pint stp, blue bottle. May need a few miles to mix well. primary again I've tried everything and I'm good with amsoil 20/50 | ||
| Arry |
"Will the engine run cooler?" Probably not, but synthetic oil may hold up better to the Uly's high running temp, air cooled motor. I'm running Mobil 1 V-Twin oil. A lot of people run the automotive Mobil 1 (cheaper), but I spend a few extra bucks for the V-Twin blend. | ||
| Etennuly |
I am an advocate of the "thick and chewy".....well, I tried syn oils and my engine sounded like a dryer full of marbles. I ran the non syn HD oils, per the book, until they started charging for liquid gold. I switched to Rotella 20-50 diesel oil, with a few ounces of Lucas or STP in the summer heat, and have been there for over 30,000 of my 60,000 miles thus far. Happy Uly engine on my bike to.  I am the one who believes some syn oils put more effort into saving the oil itself than the engine it was put in. Oil doesn't break down.....oil takes more heat..... so what? It is supposed to break down and wear out, that is why we change it. When the thinner syn oils let the engine make more noise that is the collision of metallic parts in there. Sure they slide a little easier, but they collided into that slippery slide. | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
Etennuly, Did you perchance mean 15W40 Rotella. Don't think I've seen 20W50 Rotella. If so, where do you get it. | ||
| Callawegian |
I use the Rotella 20W50 and buy it from the local Farm and Home stores. | ||
| Etennuly |
I do have a new gallon of 15-40 sitting here in front of me. At the same time I have 20-50 in quarts in my cabinet. Awww crap.....now I am confused.....oh what to do? | ||
| Sagehawk |
Etennuly, easy decision, panic for 20 minutes, light a stogie, mix a drink and with the realization that summer is bout here, use 20-50. fall comes back, go to 15-40. Problem solved. decision making process has worked for me for years. on a new, life threatening oil thread again, i would share that lately i went to a scotts oil filter, with 60 wt amsoil dominator oil. for the first time oil cooler went up to a reasonable temp. after ride home from work, 50 miles at 70-75 mph, swingarm was around 145*, oil cooler was at 140, oil line to filter was 120ish. oil line from pump to swingarm was also 140ish. scott oil filter was 140ish. funny thing that i am still thinking is the oil line from pump to cooler was 245* . I'm going to see what oil flow is in diagram and the pressure side is top or bottom of pump. timing chest is always hot by hand but i didn't shoot it for whatever reason. after a few minutes of sitting with motor off the filter housing had heat soaked up to 180ish. Ive often wondered if the filters were the backup in the oil system being between cooler and actually feeding the engine. the k&n's that i have run were always super hot by hand and the cooler was never actually hot. thats why i started to use my laser temp gun to actually identify what was going on. Time will tell as i really want my crank to have a long life. | ||
| Rayycc1 |
your supposed to put oil in these bikes?  | ||
| Etennuly |
Sage advice from the Hawk. I am not going to panic however, that just takes too much ambition. I don't smoke either, so.....I believe I'll twist the cap on an ice cold Coors Light, sit back in the sun in a comfy lawn chair and reflect a bit.   Disclaimer; My opinion on oil and it's use in my Ulysses is my opinion only. I justify it here only to present my reasons that I have formed my opinion. It is not my intent to prescribe what I do as any more than fact proven by me in my machine. Your results may vary, your oil company may disclaim my results, you spouse may take the kids and leave you with the dog.....not my fault. Cheesewhiz is still my default favorite listed brand. | ||
| Djohnk |
I use this non-synthetic, and have for the last 20K miles or so after someone who had 100K+ miles on their Uly (I think from this site) recommended it: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pennzoil-SuperTech-20W50 -Motor-Oil-1-Quart/16565377 I agree with Etennuly ... not as noisy as when I used the synthetic. A bonus is because it's cheap I change it more frequently. | ||
| Turf_moor |
I will stick with the standard mineral oil. Here in Portugal I use Repsol 20W50. | ||
| Sagehawk |
Etennuly, the panic for 20 minute thing started as a defense mechanism years ago. Someone would give me an e job on a centrifuge, a clarifier, or maybe a pd pump. Sometimes, i would not have a clue as to what was needed. I stumbled round and learned as i learned my craft. Some would ask what we were going to do and i said panic for 20 minutes. They would generally leave me alone for that bit of time so then i got my thoughts, tools, together to go do what they paid me to. After that 20 minutes tho, if you were being paid journeymans wages, you better have that plan to take care of business. Its become a bit of a joke now as i still use it when i need to. I hope i know more now than i did then. Going to do more checking on my 07 oiling system to see what different temps are at different locations. t | ||
| Etennuly |
Ahhh.....so it is not a real panic so much as acting as if you are in a state of panic, done so that others around you think that you have flipped out a bit in order that you have time to clear your thoughts to focus on the job at hand. Sounds like you want to avoid yelling out "Get the •••• away from me!" like I do if others get in my way when a solo thought process is needed. Maybe this slight lack of diplomacy is part of why I have a tough time keeping good help?  Wholly crap! This may be why my adult children avoid helping me with any thing around my home or shop. Are you a licensed therapist?  I feel like I should send you a check.....or a beer or something. My way is quicker though! Hey wait a minute.....this is an OIL thread!  | ||
| Uly_man |
"the k&n's that i have run were always super hot by hand and the cooler was never actually hot". I used the same Torco semi 20w50 oil and K&N oil filters in both my 06 and 10 bikes without issues over time and miles. The 06 bikes engine was always VERY hot running and would make the frame hot as well but the oil cooler never got more than warm. The 10 bikes engine seems to run at a sensible temp and the oil cooler gets hot right away. Or in other words how I would think the engine should run as I am told the oil cooler does not have a thermostat. Seems to me that there was something wrong with my 06 bike regards the oil cooling. If your oil cooler is still cold enough to hold your hand on, after a run, then you may have a problem. | ||
| Teeps |
Uly_man Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2014 - If your oil cooler is still cold enough to hold your hand on, after a run, then you may have a problem. Interesting observation. Don't think I've ever checked the oil cooler temp, by measurement or by hand. I have measured the oil temp in the swing arm immediately after a 100 mile ride. It's never been above 190F, regardless of the oil used. | ||
| Uly_man |
I do not recall what the temp at the swing arm was on the 06 bike as it was a long time ago. It is just the oil holding tank and not really part of the primary cooling system as such. Although it of course helps. On the XB engine I would say the oil cooler is a near equal cooling source to the engine at static. Yes I know the later bikes have all sorts of upgrades and changes. One of which was the change to a 8 line cooler matrix from 6 on the early bikes. Something that I have never seen questioned as to the reason why? | ||
| Santafe |
I have been using Amsoil 20w50 oil and 10w40 oil in my XB12XT since new. I use the H-D Formula + oil in the chain-case, also since new. I'm very pleased with both of these and feel they improve performance. I don't buy any H-D oil recommendations because they initially poo-poo'd synthetics and then came out with their own to compete with people using Amsoil. Now, synthetics are produced and recommended by many. Prefer them to dino oil by far and Amsoil is my choice. |
