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another oil question

chase1

Member
I have read and read the HD talking and still can not seem to get in my head the answer to my questions: 1 2000 road king with 33,000 miles the two previous owners used only HD 360, can i reasonably expect to switch to synthetic and not have any leaks or seepages? I don't have any now and would hate to start.

Question 2: This is a killer, wouldit be a good idea to use Mobile 1 15/50 initally to see if there are going to be any problems? I say that due tothe money factor.

You guys have helped me before hopefully you can guide me again. Thanks
 
I have read and read the HD talking and still can not seem to get in my head the answer to my questions: 1 2000 road king with 33,000 miles the two previous owners used only HD 360, can i reasonably expect to switch to synthetic and not have any leaks or seepages? I don't have any now and would hate to start.

Question 2: This is a killer, wouldit be a good idea to use Mobile 1 15/50 initally to see if there are going to be any problems? I say that due tothe money factor.

You guys have helped me before hopefully you can guide me again. Thanks

Some will say dont do it, I say do it you should be fine and let us know how it works, Capital Jack
 
How does using Mobil 1 save money?

Since it is a fine oil to use, in the correct visc., just run it and be done
 
I have read and read the HD talking and still can not seem to get in my head the answer to my questions: 1 2000 road king with 33,000 miles the two previous owners used only HD 360, can i reasonably expect to switch to synthetic and not have any leaks or seepages? I don't have any now and would hate to start.

Question 2: This is a killer, wouldit be a good idea to use Mobile 1 15/50 initally to see if there are going to be any problems? I say that due tothe money factor.

You guys have helped me before hopefully you can guide me again. Thanks


MY Answer:

Use 20/50 regardless of what brand.
If you live where it is HOT in temperature, I would switch to a FULL synthetic oil.(.)
NOTHING wrong with Staying with the HD360 oil IF you watch the color(HEAT) and change it out often enough so it maintains it lubrication qualities and doesn't loose its viscosity.

IMO,,, So do what you want to do either way will work..:D

signed....BUBBIE
 
Change to a FULL synthetic VTwin 20W-50 engine oil as soon as you can.

TQ
 
I have read and read the HD talking and still can not seem to get in my head the answer to my questions: 1 2000 road king with 33,000 miles the two previous owners used only HD 360, can i reasonably expect to switch to synthetic and not have any leaks or seepages? I don't have any now and would hate to start.

Question 2: This is a killer, wouldit be a good idea to use Mobile 1 15/50 initally to see if there are going to be any problems? I say that due tothe money factor.

You guys have helped me before hopefully you can guide me again. Thanks

Unless the bike was driven only short distances and never really warmed up to prevent sludge buildup, I say go for the syn. If it's going to leak it'd be due to sludge buildup on seals. Shouldn't be a problem though if the bike's been maintained and driven like it should. I have a '95 Safari (I know it's different being water cooled) that I changed to syn when I bought it with 100k miles. Still doesn't leak or use oil since changing to syn.

There is very little difference between M1 V-Twin and M1 15W50 (US bottled) when running in the engine. Differences being the V-Twin is good for use in wet clutches and a very minute difference in zinc/phoshorous content.
Don't know why, but the Canadian bottled M1 15W50 does not contain any zinc phoshorous.
 
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Because the 15/50 is meant for use in water cooled engines and the anti wear properties aren't as critical under those conditions.

This is One reason I ONLY suggest to use and buy the 20/50 weight Fully synthetic oil.
I Prefer Redline products.. They have a good Amount of anti-wear in the oils..

The EPA has asked or ? forced many oil companies to comply with LESS or None of the anti wear additives.. 20/50 is one of the Few weights allowed to use them (anti wear).

I read an article a while back that stated the engineers were developing engines that would use No additives and "0" weight for gas mileage, making them throw away engines when done.

Anybody with More information on this Please.. Thanks!

signed....BUBBIE
 
Because the 15/50 is meant for use in water cooled engines and the anti wear properties aren't as critical under those conditions.

It's meant for Turbocharged water cooled engines. If it can lubricate a turbo running at 15,000 to 20,000 rpm it can handle the measley 2500 to 4500 in my H-D. As I posted, the US bottled still has the zinc/phoshorous content and is OK'd by Mobil for use in Harley engines.
As for the Canadian bottled 15W50, they may have replaced the zinc/phoshorous with more moly.
 
After a little more digging I found the following info online to compare phosphorous and zinc levels (anti-wear additives)
As per Mobil 1 website :
V-Twin 20w50 nominal phos 1600 ppm, nominal zinc 1700 ppm
15W50 nominal phos 1200ppm, zinc 1300 ppm

Couldn’t find phosphorous levels for H-D oils but did find tests showing zinc levels (Amsoil white papers)
H-D 360 zinc 1127 ppm
H-D Syn3 zinc 1170 ppm

I agree that M1 V-Twin is better than using the 15W-50, but the Mobil 1 15W50 is still better than sticking with the H-D 360 or using Syn3.

Just to note - the Amsoil tests showed the M1 V-Twin zinc level at 1710, so very close to what Mobil says. Also looks like the M1 15W50 has been discontinued in Canada and replaced with 5W50.

In the end, it's still your ride to decide.:cheers
 
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