ATF In The Primary - Different Results

[f-x-d-w-g]

Been running ATF in the primary of my 04 Dyna for a couple of years and it's worked great.

A couple of days ago I swapped out the primary oil in my 81 Wide Glide with ATF.  It always just slipped into first gear without a sound or lurch and now, with ATF, it grinds, bangs, and lurches when I put it into first gear.  It's even hard to find 1st when the bike is rolling to a stop.

Are the clutch frictions that different on the Shovel than the Twincam?  I may have to switch back to plain oil in the primary on the old girl.

Gonna post this on the General board, too, but wanted to get the most opinions.

[pappyfreebird]

well i dont know cheeyut bout a twinkie..but i think they must be diaphram.. do know a few cats run what evo they want in their shovels n no prolem..sure ya got the right amount??? sounds like a tad to much ,,n clutch is stickin a tad..mebbe lighter wieght is slingun lil mo then 30-50 wt.??  yer new bike will run synthetic too. n yer shovel jus may spit it out evo orifice she has... way to different beasts fer chure...

[rkrcpa]

My only thought would be....if it ain't broke. Seriously, how much did you put in? It's really only there to lubricate the chain so you only need about six ounces. If it's not over full I think I'd just switch back to plain old 30 wt. and be done with it.

[flhswingarm]

Maybe the higher detergent in the ATF has washed some gunk loose into the working parts??  I run ATF for years w/o any incidents.......... keeps the insides clean as a whistle

[Lew]

Too much oil.  If the shovel has closed primary oiling just fill to the bottom of the clutch basket with the bike on the kickstand.  No reason to use anything different than what you are running in the engine, but most anything will work ok.

Lew 

[f-x-d-w-g]

Prolly too much.  With the bike on the kickstand, I filled it up through the derby cover until the oil was about to run out.  I'll drain most of it out.

Thanks, Guys!

[HarleyCharley]

Yep, way too much. Should be just touching the clutch basket when on kickstand.

charley

[monty101]

I've been running it for a year and it works a lot better than primary oil. No more gummed up clutch plates, not more creeping.