Guns and the art of Motorycycle Maint
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ROGER4314
Been Called "Flash" Since I Was A Kid!
I've owned 30 cycles over the years and always bought factory service manuals for them. The manuals for Jap bikes were terrible as it was like filling in the blanks of a puzzle. They would leave huge gaps in the information and you just had to improvise.
I'm riding my first Harley, now and went to the dealership in Beaumont (rode the bike, of course) and paid $60 for the manual that covers my exact bike. Harley doesn't try to cover a lot of models with a manual. They are very specific. Of course, if you run a shop, that means a library of manuals is needed. For me, it was great! FINALLY , there's a manual that is comprehensive and explains the task fully! That manual is worth every dime and I recommend that you snag one pronto.
Oils and filters:
The H-D manual lists some pretty fancy oil specifications! Their oils are spec'd for heavy duty service classifications. It's not straight automotive oil at all. Armed with those service classifications, I went shopping for oil. That is some wiz bang oil....no lie! That's why I suggested that you get the manual and check out the actual specifications! The recommended oil is commercial Diesel service grade oil!
There is a small independent shop near my home that specializes in building high performance Harley's. I got to know them and picked their brains at every opportunity because they had no loyalty to H-D oils or products or to any particular oil company. I didn't want to hear the standard "Buy the Harley oil" crap and wanted to know what has been working for the engines that they build. They use Royal Purple but not the motorcycle R-P oil. It is a full synthetic 20-50 oil with the commercial diesel service specifications. It runs $10/quart. I didn't ask but I suspect that they break in a new engine on petroleum oil then switch to R-P later.
From personal experience, I opened the oil tank of my bike while I had the petroleum oil that was in the bike on my bare hand. Once I got the R-P in the tank I had a little of it on my hand. There was NO way I could grasp that tank cover to turn it! I had to completely clean the cap and my hands before I could tighten the cap. That stuff is slick!
For the primary case, I get an oil that is specifically blended for my bike primary case. You need to use an oil that is compatible with your clutch disks.
Filters:
Yes, there are problems with filters. Anyone who runs the H-D's hard will know that and know what is working. I made a point to buy from the small high performance shop so I could get what they are actually using on engines that they build. They can't afford to sneeze a new engine by using a crappy filter.
Filter wrenches:
I have 15-20 oil filter wrenches and not one of them would fit my filter. The strap type wouldn't get to the filter and I needed the end cap type. Non of those would fit, either. Now, I have two filter wrenches that fit. Check it before you start the job. Lesson learned.
I don't want to get into a piss fight over oils so I'll leave this oil and filter choice vague. If you don't like R-P oil, then use what the heck you like. I'm satisfied that I have a workable combination that conforms to the service manual specs. I highly recommend that you snag an actual H-D manual. It's worth every penny!
Flash
I'm riding my first Harley, now and went to the dealership in Beaumont (rode the bike, of course) and paid $60 for the manual that covers my exact bike. Harley doesn't try to cover a lot of models with a manual. They are very specific. Of course, if you run a shop, that means a library of manuals is needed. For me, it was great! FINALLY , there's a manual that is comprehensive and explains the task fully! That manual is worth every dime and I recommend that you snag one pronto.
Oils and filters:
The H-D manual lists some pretty fancy oil specifications! Their oils are spec'd for heavy duty service classifications. It's not straight automotive oil at all. Armed with those service classifications, I went shopping for oil. That is some wiz bang oil....no lie! That's why I suggested that you get the manual and check out the actual specifications! The recommended oil is commercial Diesel service grade oil!
There is a small independent shop near my home that specializes in building high performance Harley's. I got to know them and picked their brains at every opportunity because they had no loyalty to H-D oils or products or to any particular oil company. I didn't want to hear the standard "Buy the Harley oil" crap and wanted to know what has been working for the engines that they build. They use Royal Purple but not the motorcycle R-P oil. It is a full synthetic 20-50 oil with the commercial diesel service specifications. It runs $10/quart. I didn't ask but I suspect that they break in a new engine on petroleum oil then switch to R-P later.
From personal experience, I opened the oil tank of my bike while I had the petroleum oil that was in the bike on my bare hand. Once I got the R-P in the tank I had a little of it on my hand. There was NO way I could grasp that tank cover to turn it! I had to completely clean the cap and my hands before I could tighten the cap. That stuff is slick!
For the primary case, I get an oil that is specifically blended for my bike primary case. You need to use an oil that is compatible with your clutch disks.
Filters:
Yes, there are problems with filters. Anyone who runs the H-D's hard will know that and know what is working. I made a point to buy from the small high performance shop so I could get what they are actually using on engines that they build. They can't afford to sneeze a new engine by using a crappy filter.
Filter wrenches:
I have 15-20 oil filter wrenches and not one of them would fit my filter. The strap type wouldn't get to the filter and I needed the end cap type. Non of those would fit, either. Now, I have two filter wrenches that fit. Check it before you start the job. Lesson learned.
I don't want to get into a piss fight over oils so I'll leave this oil and filter choice vague. If you don't like R-P oil, then use what the heck you like. I'm satisfied that I have a workable combination that conforms to the service manual specs. I highly recommend that you snag an actual H-D manual. It's worth every penny!
Flash
See, I told you guy were religous about oils.
LOL, what's funny is after getting paid to work on cars for almost 15 years; on just about every brand you've seen and sometimes a couple you haven't, I've come to the conclusion that decent oil is decent oil. Synthetics; Valvoline, Napa (Valvoline again!), Red Line, Mobil 1, etc. The oil matters a lot less than people think, IMO, and filter and interval matter a lot more. Just make sure it meets the standards (bikes can be hard on oil, and some bikes use the engine oil to lube the gearbox) and you'll be fine.
ROGER4314
Been Called "Flash" Since I Was A Kid!
My Harley manual lists the following service classifications for my oil and a quick summary of their service from the H-D manual:
CF- Indirect injected diesel engine service
CG-4 1994 Diesel service
CF-4 Severe Diesel engine service
CH-4 1998 reduced emission Diesel service
Notice that not one of the H-D classifications include automotive service oils. My R-P 20/50 full synthetic oil conforms to CF/SJ service. SJ oil is for 2001 vintage automotive engine service.
My bike has a separate primary chaincase/clutch so I use an oil prepared specifically for the primary case.
Here is a link to the API (American Petroleum Institute) oil service classifications. The above classes of service are further defined.
Water cooled motorcycle engines have a fairly stable range of operating temperatures. Air cooled engines are a different breed of cat as their operating temperature varies widly. I've had two jobs where oils were tested under load and laboratory tested for quality and contamination. In all cases, temperature is the major player in protection provided by the oil.
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/API.html
Flash
CF- Indirect injected diesel engine service
CG-4 1994 Diesel service
CF-4 Severe Diesel engine service
CH-4 1998 reduced emission Diesel service
Notice that not one of the H-D classifications include automotive service oils. My R-P 20/50 full synthetic oil conforms to CF/SJ service. SJ oil is for 2001 vintage automotive engine service.
My bike has a separate primary chaincase/clutch so I use an oil prepared specifically for the primary case.
Here is a link to the API (American Petroleum Institute) oil service classifications. The above classes of service are further defined.
Water cooled motorcycle engines have a fairly stable range of operating temperatures. Air cooled engines are a different breed of cat as their operating temperature varies widly. I've had two jobs where oils were tested under load and laboratory tested for quality and contamination. In all cases, temperature is the major player in protection provided by the oil.
http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/API.html
Flash
