Oil Cooler

[Fireguy]

I have an 2008 Ultra classic I just bought. (and enjoying the heck out of it). I live in the high desert of california and was wondering if a oil cooler from HD would be worth it or not. My dealer stated that if I was not in stop and go traffic I probably would not need it. Any suggestions would be great. And is this cooler for the Ultra classic from HD a good one or is there a better aftermarket one out there. Thanks

 

[glider]

The HD cooler is made by Jagg which is a good unit. You may check on the Jagg site for price before you make the move. Also the cooler will help with cooling in your location and drop the oil temps by about 10*-15* as will a good synthetic oil.

Home - Jagg Oil Coolers

 

[Fireguy]

Thanks for the info..but speaking of a good syn. oil, I hear alot about the syn3 that HD sells and people are not 100% happy with it. WHY. I use Mobile 1 in all my vehicles. Would that be a better choice for me? I would think that if HD made such a great bike that they would do there research and find a good oil for there bikes. ??????

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

Thanks for the info..but speaking of a good syn. oil, I hear alot about the syn3 that HD sells and people are not 100% happy with it. WHY. I use Mobile 1 in all my vehicles. Would that be a better choice for me? I would think that if HD made such a great bike that they would do there research and find a good oil for there bikes. ??????

I hate to break this to you but priority number one for the MOCO is making money! It is entirely up to you to do the research and decide what is best for you and your bike. Whether it's oil, jackets, boots, glasses, etc., etc. the presence of the bar and shield doesn't automatically make it a superior product.

I own lots of Harley gear but I bought it because it met my needs at a price I was comfortable with. I own lots of non-Harley stuff for the exact same reason. Don't feel like your being a traitor because you put another company's stuff on your body or in your bike.

The preceding is my opinion only. Many will share it. Many will not. Ride safe!!

 

[glider]

Thanks for the info..but speaking of a good syn. oil, I hear alot about the syn3 that HD sells and people are not 100% happy with it. WHY. I use Mobile 1 in all my vehicles. Would that be a better choice for me? I would think that if HD made such a great bike that they would do there research and find a good oil for there bikes. ??????

The Mobil 1 V Twin would be a much better choice for your bike than the syn 3. Mobil 1 is a full synthetic where the Syn 3 is not. It's formulated from a dino oil and not the best choice in synthetics for about the same money as the Mobil 1. Quite often the MoCo chooses the low bid when contracting out for parts/oils/tires etc. and by shopping around, you can find better products ant usually ar a better price too.

 

[TQuentin1]

Fireguy,

I put the Jagg 10 row low mount oil cooler (#2300) on my '03 UC. I picked the oil filter adapter with the built in thermostat (#4700) even though here in Texas I probably did not need that and could have used the one without (#4600). In the high mountains of CA, you may want the built in thermostat to aid in warm up during the cooler times.

On lubricants, there is lots of discussion in that section of this forum. I use the following:

Engine: Amsoil SAE 20W-50 Synthetic Motorcycle Oil (MCV)
6-speed tranny: Spectro Heavy Duty Platinum 6-speed Transmission Oil (75W140)
Primary: Spectro Heavy Duty Primary Chaincase Oil (85W)

The hd gear oil in the tranny has made a BIG difference. Tranny is very quiet when shifting. Before that I tried Royal Purple 75W140, and before that Mobil 1 VTwin 20W50 engine oil. No comparison with the last two to the Spectro!!

Engine oil and primary are harder to tell how they are performing. My SOP is to change out the engine oil filter at 2500-3000 miles, and the oil at double that. The Amsoil still looks very good after about 4k miles - just darkened up a bit to the color of pancake syrup. Will see at the first change interval. Primary and tranny I will change at 25k.

The bike currently has about 70k miles on it. The first owner had the bike serviced at HD using Syn3 in all holes. I bought the bike with about 30k miles on it. Shortly thereafter the outside cam chain tensioner crapped out.

TQ

 

[Ozoneman]

This Syn3 thing has got me wondering. I hear people on this forum say other stuff is better, but how many of those people are just saying it because someone else told them that? On the other hand, the oldest and most experienced HD dealership service guys here in Indy say Syn3 is fine in all three holes. Nearly every bike they service gets Syn3 and all the service guys in the shop including the mechanics use Syn3 in their bikes. I'd think bikes all over central Indiana should be blowing engines and transmissions all over the place. My bike has 5 more years on the warranty, I can't believe they would tell me to use something that would hurt my engine or transmission. If I use something different, I wonder if they could say my warranty would be void due to using oil other than what they recommended. Are we splitting hairs on this issue? Is there really much of a difference? Can anyone say that I'd get x number of miles more or x numbers of years more without problems using anything other than Syn3? As far as Syn3 not being a true syn, my Lexus dealership recommends a Syn/dino blend for my car. So Lexus doesn't see anything wrong with a blend.

I know it is my choice for my bike, but it seems to me that more is being made about this issue than what it is worth. I could be wrong, but I haven't seen any definite or overwhelming proof that Syn3 is so terrible or that other stuff is so much better.

So there, I said it. I stand here ready to receive my punishment!:help

 

[Joyflyin]

Hey Ozone, I'm just wondering, if you stick with syn 3 & something happens to the engine/tranny, would you be wondering 'would that have happened if I used the other types of oils?' and of course, if you switch to something different now, and something happens down the road, wouldn't you be wondering the same thing about the syn 3's. I kind of feel that it's sort of a crap shoot, if it's going to blow, it's going to blow regardless of what you put in there. (of course there are things I'm sure you could do to the bike to shorten the lifespan regardless of what you feed it)

I'm just asking because I'm curious too. I for one can say I'm no expert here, but I am trying to learn (as many of us are) from the folks who have years and years of experience. I do feel that each person will have to make the choice and live with it in the end. Personally, I think as long as you maintain the bike and take generally 'proper' care of it, either will work, it's sort of like ' all will work, but some will work better'. Just figuring it all out is the challenge....JMO,

Thanks for posting the question, you have me thinking too. :57:

 

[Ozoneman]

Joyflyin,

As you, I am not that experienced but I think I have good common sense. I also know being in a technical field that comparisons can sometimes be misleading. For example a small, insignificant difference when dealing with small numbers can seem large when stating the difference in percentages. So it is important to know how to interpret the results of some tests. I also know that sometimes lab tests don't really represent real world situations.

Most people here seem to think Mobil 1 is great, but looking at the tests in the link below, I don't see much difference between Mobil 1 and Syn3 (HD Screamin Eagle). Refer to the graphs.
Harley Oil - AMSOIL 20W-50 Synthetic Motorcycle Oil
So what do we make of these results? Are the differences in the values significant?

I also appreciate the help we get here and respect their knowledge. It is very difficult to know for sure about some of this stuff when others that have been in the business for years state a different opinion.

 

[TQuentin1]

Ozone,

You were pretty close there on the Amsoil site. Here is the white paper on motorcycle oils. They do both 40 and 50 weight separately. All the industry standard test procedures are referenced and listed at the end of the paper.

AMSOIL - A Study of Motorcycle Oils


I turn my own wrenches on my bikes since I have had questionable work done by or advice from a number of HD dealerships here in the Houston area. Turn over is pretty high at these places, and I hate to have my bike be an OJT project for some newbie. Now if you have a dealership or non HD bike shop where you know the mechanics and can find out about their history and experience, great. Stick with them if you don't want to do it yourself. Otherwise, you are taking your $18k+ asset in to someone you don't know and gambling on their ability.

On fluids, I have been MOST impressed with Spectro Heavy Duty Platinum 6-speed Transmission Oil in the gearbox.

I bought my bike with about 30k miles on it all on SYN3 changing every 2500 miles or so. Very shortly thereafter, the cam chain tensioner crapped out. Switched to Mob1 VTwin all around. Then did some research and switched to Mob1 VTwin in the engine, Royal Purple 75W140 heavy duty gear oil in the tranny, and Spectro Heavy Duty Primary Chaincase Oil in the primary (obviously!). That was only while I was waiting for the Spectro Heavy Duty Platinum 6-speed Transmission Oil to come in. After putting this stuff in the 6-speed, there is NO comparison. My transmission shifts very smoothly with an almost inaudible sound or feel on each gear change - up and down.

In my little bike ('91 Dyna), I used all HD fluids. Their standard HD engine oil, primary oil, and transmission oil. The gearbox on that bike is now shot (67k miles). The engine consumes oil at a higher rate than I think it should. The primary fluid is always VERY black when I change it at about 10k mile intervals or when something happens. This bike is now parked in my garage waiting for me to get my round tuit so I can rebuild it. So, the HD logo on a package is just that - a logo. It is not a guarantee.

Just my humble opinion based on my own personal experience.

TQ