Same old oil and service confusion... Help

[97 piglt]

Somebody unconfuse me. I am thinking of changing to Lucas oil. What the hell if any is the difference. Lucas says will run cooler, but in my town its difficult to find. They also say running a stabilizer will reduce temp by about 20 degress wich as you all know we run hot anyway. I was also told I could run oil in, crank, primary and transmission. Is this true. Harley products are so easy to get is also an issue. Somebody clue me in please. Also I jsut got back from a ride and a few guys told me they take thiers in every 2500 miles for service. I told them they were crazy that recommended oil change was at a minimum 3k. What the hell can they be doing to need service every 2500 mile..

[Serg06]

Oil is a personal choice. Oil is oil. I choose to use Amsoil 20/50 Motor and trans and primary. i change my oil every 5k miles. Your going to get a crap load of opinions on oil. If you change your oil as directed in the service manual, the brand will not matte one bit. Good luck on this question man.

My two cents.

[Texas Tom]

Every manufacturer makes claims (use my oil it will work better run cooler jump faster higher etc.) HD reccomends oil changes at 5K ,now if your someone that only puts 3K a year on by all means change it at shorter intervals,use any good MC oil you want ,I don`t believe lucas is any better or worse than others I live just to the south I prefer a good synthetic with the Texas heat on these air cooled motors...JMO...Tom..

[ChopperDude]

I thought at one time about going to Lucas oil, and did QUITE a bit of Googling on it to research the pros/cons.

Found one site where I guy had an engine mockup that was transparent, and he showed that the Lucas oil got VERY foamy... he said you didn't want that, you wanted it to say in liquid form.

His site was just an educational "about oils" site, but he wasn't a Lucas fan. I found some other stuff that seemed to confirm that opinion, so I ended up not switching.

I just use the Harley Syn 3 stuff in my motor, and primary, but NOT in the tranny. Their old tranny oil was a much heavier gear oil than the Syn 3 is, I just use a heavy gear oil.

If you're curious about the Service Interval on your bike, just look at your Owner's Manual.

The Service Interval is 5000 miles... however, if you do lots of short trips (hot/dusty, etc), the Manual says 2500 miles. No different than my car... Service Interval there is 7000/3500 or something like that. The biggest difference is that my car is NOT air cooled.... I think that oil will break down faster the hotter it gets, and that's the case with motorcycle oil.

I'm an ex-tech, and I just follow the 5000 mile interval.

[doc ock]

Originally Posted by Serg06

Oil is a personal choice. Oil is oil. I choose to use Amsoil 20/50 Motor and trans and primary. i change my oil every 5k miles. Your going to get a crap load of opinions on oil. If you change your oil as directed in the service manual, the brand will not matte one bit. Good luck on this question man.

My two cents.

I feel it is a waste of oil and money to change before the 5k mark. If HD oil is easy to find then use it. Or go to your local auto parts store and use something compatable. Are you using synthetics or dino? George, a site sponser can have Amsoil shipped to your door if you live in the country.

[Bronxhog]

Going to a Harley Dealer every 2500 miles??lol....Welcome to the forum

[WEINERDOGBONE]

I used Lucas oil for a while in my old Night Train. I had high lift cams and high compression and I was told that it would quiet the engine noise down. It didn't do squat. I also tried Lucas stabilyzer and it didn't do anything either. It's also about $14 bucks a quart.

I went back to Mobil 1 20w50 and it always sounded the same. In my very humble opinion, oil is oil. I don't buy into all the BS stories anymore. I do buy synthetic oil, I just use what ever name brand oil I can get the easiest. I always use HD primary lube and seperate transmission fluid. I don't like the "all three holes take the same lube theory" I figure my car doesn't work that way so it makes sense to me.

[HD07RedHead]

I use Amsoil 20/50 in crankcase & primary, 75/90 in tranny, change every 5k

[fatty239]

Originally Posted by 97 piglt

Somebody unconfuse me. I am thinking of changing to Lucas oil. What the hell if any is the difference. Lucas says will run cooler, but in my town its difficult to find. They also say running a stabilizer will reduce temp by about 20 degress wich as you all know we run hot anyway. I was also told I could run oil in, crank, primary and transmission. Is this true. Harley products are so easy to get is also an issue. Somebody clue me in please. Also I jsut got back from a ride and a few guys told me they take thiers in every 2500 miles for service. I told them they were crazy that recommended oil change was at a minimum 3k. What the hell can they be doing to need service every 2500 mile..

Everyone has there own opinion. Dont waist your money changing oil every 2500 miles either, 5000 miles or one year will be fine for most. Get a name brand oil for motor and gear lube for tranny and atf for primary and you'll be in good shape. Dont get caught up in all the bull about oil; synthetic or dino will work just fine...jmo,
fatty

[frankysfree]

+1 on the amsoil. i am an avid user and change oil every 5k. the reason for the difference in mileage on oil changes is that H-D switched over to synthetic and synthetic doesnt break down as quickly as conventional oil. amsoil is also good for engine, tranny, primary.

[vindex1963]

You're going to get the same answers that are posted a million times in the oil and lubrication area. Everyone is going to tell you what they run and not answer your question. Get the H/D stuff like Doc Ock said if it's easy or go to the local Autozone/bike shop/mail order place. This thread will reach pages and pages.

[HDSG]

Originally Posted by vindex1963

You're going to get the same answers that are posted a million times in the oil and lubrication area. Everyone is going to tell you what they run and not answer your question. Get the H/D stuff like Doc Ock said if it's easy or go to the local Autozone/bike shop/mail order place. This thread will reach pages and pages.

Then answer his question..............expert..........

[HDSG]

Originally Posted by 97 piglt

Somebody unconfuse me. I am thinking of changing to Lucas oil. What the hell if any is the difference. Lucas says will run cooler, but in my town its difficult to find. They also say running a stabilizer will reduce temp by about 20 degress wich as you all know we run hot anyway. I was also told I could run oil in, crank, primary and transmission. Is this true. Harley products are so easy to get is also an issue. Somebody clue me in please. Also I jsut got back from a ride and a few guys told me they take thiers in every 2500 miles for service. I told them they were crazy that recommended oil change was at a minimum 3k. What the hell can they be doing to need service every 2500 mile..

I think you need to use some common sense here...............
I am sure Lucas is as good a product as any when used as lucas recommends. Everyone has made claims as to what benefit one will see when using their product: lower temps, quieter operation, extended life, you name it. I think it must all be taken with a grain of salt.
My opinion: Use a quality product. Use it as the producer recommends. Keep in mind HD's recommended fluid change intervals. Most importantly RIDE THE DAMN THING........
Do noy get hung up with all the menousha on this Forum or any other. Care and Maintain the bike but enjoy it...........

[97 piglt]

You guys are great. SOLD!!!! Cant find Lucas. HD is about 3 miles from my house. I can get it Mon- Sat any time I please. My buddy and I were at Sturgis. He paid 160.00 to "convert" his bike over to lucas Synth. I refused and told him he was crazy. I stood right there and watched the "conversion" Drained the old and put in new 169.00 Tax and total. I freakin fell over. 1 thing I did notice is most of you metnioned synth? What the heck is dino. I ride a dino--dinosaur!! Does synth matter in age of bike. I have 97.

[LVNDRM2]

Dino is conventional oil.
Synth is synthetic made in the lab.
Some believe synth helps cool our air cooled engines better.
Go to the top of the forum page, click on search enter your question, grab many beers and read to your hearts content.....