Motorcycles, Snowmobiles, Go-Carts, ATV's and Golf Carts - car oil in a bike??
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onenascarfan
10-14-04, 07:33 PM
i need help with this debate. i recently bought a harley after not riding a bike for more than 30 years. my buddy has a gold wing and has had it some time.i was telling him it was just about due for a oil change and was telling him the price of it at the harley dealership to do it for me. he told me he uses regular car oil in his when he changes his oil and that's all he uses in it.he said as long as it was synthetic it wouldn't hurt the motor. guys i need some advice from xperts who know.i say still use the harley davidson oil that is recommended in the bike.
majakdragon
10-15-04, 01:30 PM
Old debate which ends with how much you want to pay. 1981 Honda Goldwing repair manual stated "Do not use synthetic oil". 5 years later Honda is selling it and it's OK to use in the same bike. I am a "wing rider" and I use "automobile" oil in my bike.Warranty is the only difference. If you don't use what Harley tells you (and be able to prove it) you have no warranty.I was paying $7.00 for an oil filter from Honda. Found an auto store that sold the same filter for $3.00 and the clerk showed me the Fram book to prove it was the right one. Some people will disagree but I guess thats true about a lot of things. I just don't like being ripped off. Good luck. Since it's a Harley you'll probably be using a LOT of oil....LOL just kidding.
onenascarfan
10-15-04, 07:51 PM
it's not a matter of how much i'm willing to pay.my concern is will it hurt the motor? i just ordered a manual for it,trust me in the 3 months i've owned this bike i now understand why evryone says h.d. stands for (high dollar).!!.if car oil will not hurt the motor i sure don't have no prob using it. thanks again.! 1 harley rider.!!
majakdragon
10-15-04, 08:51 PM
Although they would never do it....ask the Harley dealer to show you paperwork that says their oil is ANY different than any other motor oil (except price). If you are really worried, just pay the price but every time you meet another Harley rider, ask their advice. I am also a NASCAR fan.
onourown
10-24-04, 07:56 PM
it's not a matter of how much i'm willing to pay.my concern is will it hurt the motor? i just ordered a manual for it,trust me in the 3 months i've owned this bike i now understand why evryone says h.d. stands for (high dollar).!!.if car oil will not hurt the motor i sure don't have no prob using it. thanks again.! 1 harley rider.!!
Use the correct weight and you'll be ok. Motorcycle-specific oil is only different in respect to the additives (or more correctly, the lack thereof). Some of the same ingredients that make oil slipperier (which is good for cars) can be too slippery and cause clutch problems. However, since H-D still uses a dry clutch, you have no worries there. You should avoid synthetic in an
H-D because there have been issues with roller bearings "skidding" instead of rolling, which flat-spots the balls. Again, not an issue with cars because the critical bearings are plane bearings rather than rollers.
Use the correct weight and you'll be ok. Motorcycle-specific oil is only different in respect to the additives (or more correctly, the lack thereof). Some of the same ingredients that make oil slipperier (which is good for cars) can be too slippery and cause clutch problems. However, since H-D still uses a dry clutch, you have no worries there. You should avoid synthetic in an
H-D because there have been issues with roller bearings "skidding" instead of rolling, which flat-spots the balls. Again, not an issue with cars because the critical bearings are plane bearings rather than rollers.
stevie3x
01-27-05, 09:19 PM
Hi onenascarfan by your posting date you have a fairly new bike twin cam ?
at any rate put bike oil in the bike No car oils ! synthetic is fine after yrs of telling us we wern't supposed to use synthetic oil , Harley Davidson now sells its own synthetic oil and all bikes come with it installed straight from the factory, if you read on the label it will tell you its to be used in the engine, primary, and tranny, 20 W 50 believe it or not.
ive ran synthetic in my bike for the last ten plus years and no problems, Bel Ray, Motul, Maxum, Mobil, and Harley Ive had no problems with the bike what so ever , [ related to oil ] bike has 34,000 miles stock clutch,
in fact the only things that are not stock was x out for up - grades [ cam, carb, pipes, ignition, tires, & rims, etc. ]
so pick a brand and go for it. theres a very good article on oil by Elso in the motorcycle forum, you might have to hunt for it, Elso explains it well.
steve 1988 fxrs
at any rate put bike oil in the bike No car oils ! synthetic is fine after yrs of telling us we wern't supposed to use synthetic oil , Harley Davidson now sells its own synthetic oil and all bikes come with it installed straight from the factory, if you read on the label it will tell you its to be used in the engine, primary, and tranny, 20 W 50 believe it or not.
ive ran synthetic in my bike for the last ten plus years and no problems, Bel Ray, Motul, Maxum, Mobil, and Harley Ive had no problems with the bike what so ever , [ related to oil ] bike has 34,000 miles stock clutch,
in fact the only things that are not stock was x out for up - grades [ cam, carb, pipes, ignition, tires, & rims, etc. ]
so pick a brand and go for it. theres a very good article on oil by Elso in the motorcycle forum, you might have to hunt for it, Elso explains it well.
steve 1988 fxrs