New to shovelheads. oil recommendations

[92banana]

http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo176/92banana/eg1.jpg//

Hi. I am new to shovelheads and recently bought a 1977 FLH that I will try to include picture of. The bike is in very nice overall shape. What is the prefered oil for these bikes nowadays? thanks. RL

[hotham]

Been riding a Shovel for 26 years.  Most will tell you to run 50 weight.  I am not a fan and run 20w50 Rotella.  If it's good enough for semi's , it's good enough for me.  When I lived in a hot climate I used Mobil 1, 15w50.  My .02c 

[MMOCGuy]

Beautiful ride. I don't blame you for wanting to use the best you can find in it.

I agree with Hotham. When I got my current bike ('78 Shovelhead), it had 50wt. in it and the previous owner swore by running 50wt in the cool weather and 60wt in hot summer (we live in a hot summer climate). I didn't like the idea of running syrup as a lubricant so I immediately switched over to 20w-50 Valvoline. I rode through the summers in temps of over 100degs with no oiling problems and have been using 20w-50 ever since. I have since switched to Valvoline 20w-50 full synthetic and have never looked back. There are also a number of people who agree with Hotham and use Rotella.

The only thing to be aware of is that Shovelheads lubricate based on volume of oil, not pressure. If you put an oil pressure gauge on, you will likely be reading Zero (Or close to it) on the gauge at idle when warm - especially if you run 20w-50 oil. All you need to do is watch the oil pressure light on your dashboard. If the light stays off, you are good to go. If it starts to flicker at an idle, that just means that your idle speed is too low so raise the idle speed a bit.

With all of that said, "Best oil" is a subjective term and you will probably get a bunch of posts recommending this oil or that oil. You will also likely get posts that advise very strongly not to use anything other than 50wt. I know that there are people who think I'm wrong and can give logical justifications for straing 50wt but the reality is that the multi-grade oils of today lubricate just as well or better than the straight grade oils of the Shovelhead era with the benefit of easier starting and better oil flow when the engine is cold.

Bottom line is that people use what oil they are comfortable with in their Shovelheads.

I hope this helps.

Norm.

[76shuvlinoff]

preferred oil?

Just the clean kind.
Over the course of a year I can run 20-50, 50 or 60, then back to 20-50. 
I've never used synthetic simply because I change it too often.

  Mark

[pappyfreebird]

fity weight kendall  aways have n will long as can git it... ive seen 20-50 in many shovels..n nawt startin cheeyut,,,but the couple that id bought that run 20-50 had ticks when hot,,,n gone when switch um ta fity wt. kendall...nawt kendall but the fity is the sure in mho

[Hillside Motorcycle]

We highly reccomend, stock, and install/use straight 50W, in many applications.
Hydralic lifter compromise is at the top of the list.
Either Spectro, or Torco.

[randallwhitman]

I run Redline 20/60 (full synthetic), but I live in a very hot climate (Miami, FL) and have VelvaTouch lifters.   Randy

[shovelkid73]

My 73 runs straight 60 from H-D all year long in Ohio and i have solid lifters so i don't worry about collapsing lifters

[motorplex88]

I started out runnin 50wt Vavoline racing oil when I first built the thing some 15 years ago, and all was good. Started riding er in cooler weather and went to 20-50wt and just stayed with it with no poblems until 2yrs ago.  Rode er to Sturgis and through the coarse of the week riding the canyons and whatnot came back through the dreaded downtown area and got hung up in traffic. Not sure what the temp ouside was, but it was a plenty. After about 15, 20 min. of stop and go with no air movin, the old girl started rattlin and actin "tight", so I just pulled over and let us both cool down. After that every thing was fine but I did go back to straight 50wt and feel better about it and haven't had any more problems.

[67HD]

60w Amsoil In Texas Heat

[ST40]

I was running 50 wt. going to the black hills when a bad lifter noise almost ruined my trip. Just as a last resort I dumped in about 1/2 can of STP and it went away before I got back to camp.   My next step was going to pull the front lifter block.   Don't know why that lifter collapsed, but it pumped right back up.    Was fine all the way home.   300 miles!    That made me think that 50 wt. was minimum for my Shovel.  I very seldom ride below 40 degrees and if I do I just let her warm up good.   On my 93" S&S shovel I have always used 20-50 Mobil 1.   Those damned lifters have always been loud      Marty.

[Lew]

ST40, might pull the strainer screen from the oil pump and check for debris.  A dirty screen can inhibit oil flow to the lifters causing the symptom you described.

[dave_9113]

In Colorado.  60 wt in summer, because I always have, but probably could have used lighter weight.  Regular 20W50 in fall/winter.  Bike is sitting on porch..due to crappy weather.

[ST40]

Thanks Lewy.    I check my screens fairly often, don't remember ever finding anything.   I'll make sure to check em this winter.  Seems S&S lifters tend to be noisy.  I'm gonna pull my cylinders to replace leaky base gaskets on the S&S Shovel.  I'll pull my lifter blocks and look things over pretty close.  Seems like they didn't start out ticking so much, but after 3 or 4000 miles It started being pretty noticeable.  I re-adjusted and got a little relief but it didn't last long.       Marty

[stroker800]

Royal Purple 50 wt in the shovel and pan....I have even put it in the evo when short on 20-50.
Dave

[jerite]

OLD MOTOR BUILDER FROM KANSAS CITY AREA, WHO HAS BEEN BUILDING SHOVELS AND PANS LONGER THEN I HAVE BEEN ALIVE SAID TO RUN 50 WT!
60 WT WHEN ITS HOT!! GOTTA GO WITH EXPERIENCE!!!
JER

[blackbeard 60]

50 or 60 in shovel allways