Amsoil 75-140 SVO Oil

When I bought my 08 Standard. My buddy got interested in a new bike. Took him and he got a 08 Electra Glide Classic, I changed his oil the 1st time and put SVO 75-90 in his transmission. This past weekend I changed it again for him and put SVO 75-140 in. My buddy said he could hear a whine in 5th gear and could always tell when he was in 5th gear, but since I put the 75-140 oil in the whine was gone, he couldn't believe it.
I never new he had a whine.
But I learned something.

I started with a quart and keep fillin it till the noise went away. :rant:

I'm considering a change from dino oil to Amsoil this winter (or sooner). What would you guys recommend for my 2003 Sporty? One weight, or three?

I use the 3 different weights in the WG. They say you can use 1 for all but I wanted heavier for the tranny. No issues on the 3 flavor plan.

What colder weather. It don't git that cold here. It gits really HOT oh !

I ONLY use straight-weight in the bike engines. SAE 50 most of the time, SAE 60 in hotter weather & I even have some 70 for the race engine. Used conventional Valvoline Racing Oil starting in 1969 with my 1st bike, a '47 Knucklehead & still do use it in some applications. Started using Red Line synthetic in 2001 & I like it a lot - just awful expensive. The Red Line carries a multi-grade rating too (i.e. 20W50) but it's not multi-grade - it can carry the rating 'cause it passes the cold-flow tests of a 20W50. Oil temps are the same using either Valvoline or Red Line - normally 160-180, but will get to 200 on an extended highway run. Not more than that though.

And I don't buy the "one size fits all" sales pitch - 75W90 Red Line gear lube goes in the primary/trans - used to run the conventional "SportTrans" which was also gear lube & both have the right additives for a wet clutch. I've got a Zippers trap door in the race setup which seals the trans off from the primary & I use Red Line Shockproof fluid in the trans - 75W90 in the primary. Shockproof is recommended for BT transmissions too.

As I've said in other threads, different products are formulated for different applications & you will always do better using the right one, even though you can get away with something like 20W50 motor oil in the primary. But you'll never see the day I do it. Ask a chemical engineer about "additive package" & they'll tell you that's more important than brand, conventional or synthetic - it's what makes the product work right for the application.

And due to emissions regulations, the newest car oils have fewer additives than they used to, lacking some anti-wear agents altogether. Also, some gear oils do not have the additives needed to keep your clutch from slipping & neither do most engine oils. I've got a pickup, a van & the 2 bikes & do not use the same fluids in any of them - they each get what is formulated for the application.

And in over 40 years of riding/driving & several years of racing, both drag & Land-Speed, I have seen only 1 oil-related problem - when I wasn't present @ a dyno session, a guy put 5W30 Mobil I in my Sportster race engine, under the false "thin oil = HP" theory. When I found out I put SAE 50 Red Line in @ we got 2 records anyway, but the thin stuff got wiped right off the cylinder walls & it'd take a .020" overbore to clean 'em up, which would put the engine over the class limit, so I had to get new cylinders. Scuffed the pistons bad too & those I replaced as well. That won't ever happen again, you can be sure.

The next year we ran the whole season on Red Line (straight-weight) & when I inspected the engine over the winter there was no measureable wear - my piston-to-wall clearance was exactly the same as it was when the engine went back together a year earlier, no cam wear, etc. I don't care what the advertising hype or the "4 ball wear test" says - when the engine, transmission, whatever comes apart on the workbench & the micrometers come out of the drawer, what works & what doesn't will soon become apparent.

I Use 20-50 In My 03, What The Owners Manual Said For My Weather Conditions, As Far As The Sporty Trans Fluind, Nope, Switched To The Gear Oil, Oil To Me Is Oil, Go For The Cheap At Wally World And It Seams To Work The Same Or Fine For Me, Same Or-deal For Me With Any Thing, So What Makes It Better? And If It Is, How Much And To What Benifit To Me. If I Can Save Hundreds Before, Or Spend Hundreds Make It Last A Little Longer, Same Result, All Cost The Same To Fix.

Art, if you recommend different weights, what weights of synthetics would you use in a 2003 883 Sporty with re-jetted carb and Stage 1 upgrade?

Sportsterboy, I'm too new at this to know my own preferences. Chances are I'm fine with the dyno in there, as you are, but I am interested in switching to synthetics, so I'll do my due diligence before I switch. Anything that cuts down the engine heat significantly seems like a good idea to me. Wouldn't mind an easier neutral find either.

Weather is a determining factor in engine oil weight, but if you're wanting to switch to synthetic, it's not that important. As mentioned, I never use anything less than SAE 50 & while conventional is "mollasses in January", synthetic isn't. The SAE 50 (20W50) Red Line I use flows down to like 45 degrees below -0-. In June, July & August here in North Carolina, I'll go to 60 weight.

Primary/trans fluid I use Red Line 75W90 year-round. Gear oil is rated differently & while that sounds really thick, it's actually about the same viscosity as 20W50 engine oil.

I use Rev Tech Pure (highly refined fossil oil) in the RK and FB and Aeroshell in the Shovel. Semi synthetic in the RK and FB tranny and Aeroshell in the Shovel tranny. I change my oil and filter about twice as often as most folks and about every third time I disconnect the return line and blow the dirty oil out of the crank case. I'm looking into getting one of those oil scavengers, looks like it would cut down on mess and get all the dirty oil out. Just haven't decided which one. Anybody use one of these?
SportsterBoy, If I didn't change my oil so often I would probably go with synthetic if for no other reason that I'd know I'm not supporting foreign oil. But I have never heard any bad things about synthetic other than the cost. I do use Mobil 1 in my pick up and I still change it every 3000 mi. Old habits die hard I was just taught that frequent oil changes were cheap insurance. AL

I ALSO CHANGE MINE MORE THAN MOST, DUE TO ALL THE DIFFERN'T WEATHER AND SITTING IT HAS TO DO, THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHY I GO THE CHEAP ROUTE, FOR EXAMPLE, THIS YEAR WHEN I HAD THOSE OIL LINES HOOKED UP WRONG I CHANGED OUT THE OIL 3 TIMES, THREE TRIPS TO THE STORE, BEFORE I FIXED THE PROBLEM AND GOT THE OIL LOOKING CLEAN, IT'S ALMOST LIKE IF YOUR NOT USING THAT SUCKER THING THAT WAS MENTIONED, YOUR MIXING OLD OIL WITH NEW, THIS HAPPENS ON MY BIKE FOR SOME REASON, I CAN DRAIN ALL THE OIL AND STILL HAVE A QT. STILL IN THERE, SO WHEN I GO TO FILL BACK UP IF I PUT 3 QTS IN, I''M SCREWED:roflmao: POP GOES THE OIL CAP:roflmao: SO I'LL ACTUALLY DRAIN THE OLD OIL BACK INTO EMPTY BOTTLES SO I KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH COMES OUT.

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Wonder if these things are any good? AL

ultra al that sucker would work to get the oil out of the oil bag but it wont get the oil out of the lines. thats where the oil scavengers work when you start the engine it pumps fresh oil through the lines to push out the old.

Thanks, so basically I can do the same thing the scavenger does by disconnecting a return line after changing my oil as usual and start the engine and wait until the oil comes out clean and then topping off the oil, which is what I've been doing for years. No need to spend the money for that scavenger gizmo. AL

To add another "learned" item, I was talking to some bikers on another forum and was told that they use the 75-90w gear oil in the primary. I may give that a try.