XL 883L Fluids

[8flhtc8]

Doing the 15K mile service on BH bike and wonder what some of you put in the primary/transmission cavity?  I have been running HD SYN since 1K mile service.  Bike came with 1K, 5K and 10K service so other than oil and filter I haven't really touched it.  I use Mobil1 since I started oil changes after dealer 10K.  Almost 5K miles since primary/trans service last completed.
Thanks,
Mike

[andyxlh]

Hi!
According to what I have read from HD, you are OK with the syn 3 in your trans. There is also an HD brand primary/transmission fluid (called translube or something like that - grey sticker) which is not synthetic and also cheaper which you can use. Your local dealer will have both. It's up to you, I've always used the non synthetic one and had no problems, I have heard people say good and bad things about the syn 3 in this hole. If you're happy I'd stick with it - regular changes are the key and clean the fuzz off the drain plug of course.
Whatever goes in the primary has to be wet clutch compatible, as it gets between the plates of course. I'm not sure what additives and oil types are not compatible so I tend to stick with the reccommended lubes.
cheers
Andy
Sydney

[8flhtc8]

Thanks, Andy.  Just out of curiosity, do you know of syn-3 from Harley is any different then another brand of synthetic motor oil? 

[andyxlh]

No worries mate.
I've got no idea about where the syn 3 is sourced from. Harley have alway kept their cards close to their chest as far as their suppliers go for all the oils and lubes. I've heard a lot of people say they are from this or that, but I don't know who is correct. For a long time the Harley party line was rumoured to be that synthetics were not for their engines, probably to increase sales of their motor oil. This changed when the syn 3 was released of course.

I would think that auto synthetic oils of any brand which are designed for cars and light trucks would be less suitable for our bike engines than one formulated for an air cooled motorcycle engine for 2 reasons:

1. They are generally too thin - the oil pump on my sporty engine is low pressure high volume and the viscosity of the oil would really help with the oil pressure. many auto synthetic oils are 5/30 weight or somthing very thin like that. I would think we need 20/50wt or so.

2. Additives - now I know really very little about this (hey, you need a degree in chemical engineering to really get it...) but I do know that cars have catalytic converters, and oils have to be mixed with chemicals to protect them.  Some of the older additives which were for pH stability and anti wear were detrimental to the converters and were removed. Apparently we want them in our engines. That's the word from a petrochemist at Penrite oil I spoke to (a very helpful australian oil company), and I'll stop there as I don't want to talk outside of my pay scale!

The Mobil 1 V Twin you mention has a very good name in Australia, and it is extremely expensive here - about $20AU per quart (the syn 3 is about $14- remember the exchange rate is not dollar for dollar!) I would use it regardless of price, but it is also not universally available and I figure if I'm on a trip and need a top up it is easier to get the syn 3 - all dealers have it here as they do there - and therefore I run that in my xlh and my flhr
Funnily enough, when I put the syn 3 in the transmission of my flhr it did shift more quietly, so I am happy there. Either that or too many AC/DC concerts have got to my hearing! I don't use it in the sportster as I have the early clutch setup with a hotted engine and have had problem with clutch slip - don't fancy coating the plates with synthetic oil as I figure it might cause more slip (but have no technical knowledge to back up this assumption!)

Remember there's lots of people who have different opinons about oils, are willing to tell you them, and they can't all be right........

cheers
Andy
sydney

[bigfoot5x]

Before Syn3, I used the Harley Sport tranny lube but I had a Twin Cam and a Sportster to service. I had 4 different lubes to keep track of because I had a SPortster and a Dyna. When Syn3 came out I used it in everyhting to simplify the amount of stuff on hand. Now they have the "Formula+" primary and trans lube. It goes in both bikes, is combo of synthetic and dino oil and is cheaper than Syn3 so I use it. I never could tell the difference in shifting or noise between any of them.