2014 HD Road King - Valvoline Mcycle Syn 20w/50

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My bike is a 2014 HD Road King, miles on the bike at time of UOA is 6,880. Miles on oil was 2,870. Time oil was in the bike, a few days less than a year.

Report done by Blackstone, their comments: Wear-in materials are washing out nicely, as seen by the lower copper and silicon. Copper still has a little way to go before we remove the highlight, but it's headed in the right direction, so you're still on track for highlight-free reports. You'll notice sodium is much higher, but that's because Valvoline uses it as a detergent/dispersant additive. The viscosity was thick for a 20/50, but that didn't cause any trouble that we can see. TBN was strong at 5.7,so try up to 5,000 miles next. Copper should still continue to wash out.

Aluminum 3, previous report 5
Chromium 0, previous report 1
Iron 9, previous report 12
Copper 33, previous report 83
Lead 1, previous report 3
Tin 3, previous report 6
Moly 29, previous report 106
Boron 279, previous report 303
Silicon 16, previous report 25
Sodium 385, previous report 5
Calcium 1857, previous report 744
Magnesium 232, previous report 840
Phosphorus 1003, previous report 899
Zinc 1251, previous report 1158

SUS @210 94.4, previous report 86
cST @100 19.04, previous report 17.02
Flash 480, previous report 435
Fuel TBN 5.7, previous report 5.2

The "previous report" oil was HD Syn 3, 20w/50, it was in the bike for 3,022 miles, also a few days under a year.

It appears to me the bike is trending downward on wear, I am thinking all is well, and that the Valvoline Motorcycle Oil, Syn 20w/50 did a good job. I bought the oil at Walmart for $6.00 per quart.

The negative was the viscosity went above 50w; perhaps a shorter change interval, maybe 2,300 miles to 2,500 before changing it out might help?

Thoughts?

RevRider
 
How about leaving the oil in and changing the filter? Changing oil at 2500 miles is a waste of oil. Harley's aren't that delicate put some miles on that bad boy. You got time left on the warranty if anything happens, then the moco can fix it on their dime.,,,
 
19 cSt is right in the midrange for an SAE 50, perfect.
Perhaps it's thick compared to what they usually see with used oils, but that only means it didn't shear out of grade.
I agree with BigCahuna, go get some miles on her
wink.gif
 
Thanks for the responses, it's been a great bike, would like more riding time, but I only get the weekends for a couple of hours.

I am planning my exhaust purchase, just slip-ons.
 
Im at 7,690 miles.
Love my Road King, it has exceeded my every expectation. Handling and power delivery are nothing short of awesome. I admired the RK because of its fantastic, fit, finish, paint and really nice quality hardware, that is what drew my wife and I to the bike. I bought the bike right off the floor, never test rode or rode any Harley before.

Ironically, in August of 14 we were on vacation in Gatlinburg TN with our 08 Vstar 1300 tourer. (we live in South Carolina) It was our annual trek up to the Smoky Mountains.

To make a long story short, after reading much information and road tests on the new Rushmore bikes, I knew one day I would get one. Still a daughter in college I figured in two years. But we always stopped in HD dealers on vacation and did the same this time, First Marysville then Pigeon Forge.
On the last day of vacation, in the POURING rain no less, we called the HD dealer in Pigeon Forge where we saw the bike, rode the vstar 1300 into the dealer and rode out on our new Road King. They gave me a trade in on my bike that I just could not turn down. (which I knew the day before) A day I will never forget, we got soaked on the ride from Gatlinburg to Pigeon Forge riding our Vstar to the HD dealer, worst weather I ever rode in, in fact, bought an HD rain suit at the dealer for the ride home to SC. Brand new bike, pouring rain, first time on a HD, mountain roads, just took it slow and easy, rain let up when we got closer to the SC border, then sun.

A year later, only thing I did to the bike was change the seat (which I do in every bike) to a Saddlemen Ultimate comfort, slightly taller Cbailys windshield as the seat is taller, added HD lowers and an HD LED tailight, gutted the CAT, and added the basic Xieds. (cat and Xieds were for the heat from the engine, SC summers are HOT, for months we never see daytime temps under 92 degrees or so.
 
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BTW - thanks for the UOA, havent seen a recent UOA on the syn version of this oil. I did one back in 2012 on the conventional version. I like the beefy look of the syn ad pack. I think Valvoline Oils are some of the most under rated motorcycle oils on the market.
 
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Was that the 4T syn? Just curious, I'm running that in my RK right now, got in on the $3/qt sale at AZ a few months ago. I presumed it to be decent oil even with the heat here in Phoenix. Hope that's the case.
 
Hi Alarmguy,

Thanks for sharing your story on your Road King. I too am totally satisfied with my Road King.

I am a fan of all types of street bikes, I have a 2001 Honda Valkyrie also, which is a blast to ride.

Each bike offers a different riding experience, I feel blessed to have both of them.

By the way, I put in Red Line 20/50 for the fill this time around.

Since I purchased the bike in Nov 2013, it's had 4 oils:

1. Factory fill, which I am thinking was HD 360 Conventional
2. 1st change - HD Syn 3
3. 2nd change - Valvoline Motorcycle Syn, 20/50
4. 3rd change - Red Line 20/50

My initial feedback is the Red Line seems to quiet the engine a little bit, with the said, the Valvoline also quieted the sound; the HD Syn 3 was actually the noisiest, even over the HD 360 Conventional. With that said, I don't get really worked up about the HD engine sound. I've ridden Moto Guzzi's, Ducati's, their engines aren't quiet either. I think the HD sound is part of the nostalgia of riding the bike.

So far, no oil has been added between changes - I am a happy camper!

AND, MY WIFE LOVES BEING ON THE BACK OF IT!!!

RevRider
 
Harley's catch a lot of heat from guys who ride other brands. Til I bought mine I was one of those Harley naysayers.
My 1100 v-star was a fantastic bike. Basically maintenance free.
However after riding the street Bob I bought I just can't go backwards. It's exactly where I want it for power and accessories.

If you plan on tuning these bikes don't waste your money on xieds. They are an enrichment device that fools the ecu into running rich. Just like the v&h fuel pal. Complete garbage
That extra fuel contributes to carbon build up in the combustion chambers. When I went big bore the entire combustion chamber had a layer 1/8" thick.
Use a pc-v and get it actually tuned or the Harley unit
The enrichment devices are complete carp. Do it right or pay for it later m
I had mine dynotuned and after we built it. They wrote in a cruise map that leans out the a/f when at speed in 5th or 6th and the throttle inputs are light.
My bike will get 50mpg all day long on the highway. And I check the combustion chambers every spring with my inspection camera and it's clean
20000 miles on the upgrades so far and no carbon. With that junk enrichment at 5000 miles there was an 1/8" hard carbon deposits.
So be warned with those things. The new bikes will sense a rich condition and return the a/f to stock anyways,so anyone putting them on the newer ones doesn't realize that the ecu senses it's rich so they are pointless.
The older bikes can be fooled because they don't have an o2 sensor. The new ones do.
 
Thats too funny Revrider. My wife rides with me all the time, so comfort for her is important to me, but anyway, never mind that. My wife absolutely positively loves the Road King. I consider myself a lucky man, she is a keeper.
Even when we bought the Road King, we truly werent out to buy a bike on vacation, but we saw this bike and she was like, go ahead, buy it, why wait, what? 2 years? Might as well enjoy it now... *L*
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Harley's catch a lot of heat from guys who ride other brands. Til I bought mine I was one of those Harley naysayers.
My 1100 v-star was a fantastic bike. Basically maintenance free.
However after riding the street Bob I bought I just can't go backwards. It's exactly where I want it for power and accessories.

If you plan on tuning these bikes don't waste your money on xieds. They are an enrichment device that fools the ecu into running rich. Just like the v&h fuel pal. Complete garbage
That extra fuel contributes to carbon build up in the combustion chambers. When I went big bore the entire combustion chamber had a layer 1/8" thick.
Use a pc-v and get it actually tuned or the Harley unit
The enrichment devices are complete carp. Do it right or pay for it later m
I had mine dynotuned and after we built it. They wrote in a cruise map that leans out the a/f when at speed in 5th or 6th and the throttle inputs are light.
My bike will get 50mpg all day long on the highway. And I check the combustion chambers every spring with my inspection camera and it's clean
20000 miles on the upgrades so far and no carbon. With that junk enrichment at 5000 miles there was an 1/8" hard carbon deposits.
So be warned with those things. The new bikes will sense a rich condition and return the a/f to stock anyways,so anyone putting them on the newer ones doesn't realize that the ecu senses it's rich so they are pointless.
The older bikes can be fooled because they don't have an o2 sensor. The new ones do.


Hogwash, even though this is revriders UOA thread I have to respond since you are discrediting something I wrote, all I can say is your statement doesnt hold water.

When you went big bore? what on a 2014 HD?

"The new bikes will sense a rich condition and return the a/f to stock anyways," This statement I quoted from discredits you entire post on the XIEDs. It is 100% incorrect. It proves you have no idea how they work.

#1. All an XIED is, is a nicely made wire and nice connectors with a resistor in it, this resistor simply slightly changes the signal coming from the O2 sensors making the engines ECM think the engine is running leaner then normal. The ECM in response increases the amount of fuel to bring the A/F value back to where it is supposed to be 14.6. However with the XIEDs installed, the engine thinks the engine is at 14.6 but its really at 14. Its that simple.

The O2 sensors on newer Harleys however are narrow band sensors and the VERY most they will do is lower the AF to 14. The XIEDs are the most perfect way to add a little bit more fuel to the engine without screwing up the engine because its simply impossible to do.
This little bit more fuel is only added when the engine is in closed loop mode which is about 80% of the time, when under acceleration and heavy throttle the engine goes into open loop mode and by default the engine AF ratio goes way lower into the 12s right from the factory and the XIEDs are not even active at that point.

The very lean condition in closed loop mode is very simple, EPA requirements. With the XIED the engine is a tiny bit more responsive, with a tiny less amount of heat and if you decat the engine, a tiny bit more less heat.

I can think of all the people who screwed up their engines by installing fuel processors that were not needed but an XIED is not a fuel processor, it performs one very basic function, the resistor in it makes the engine kick the fuel mixture to 14 from 14.6 in closed loop mode and nothing more, best part is, they take 15 minutes to install and 15 minutes to uninstall.

Anyone interested just google it, sorry for taking up space in this thread. Ill no further comment unless about the UOA

"The older bikes can be fooled because they don't have an o2 sensor. The new ones do." Another completely incorrect statement, you cant put an XIED on a bike without an O2 sensor! The XIED hooks up to the O2 sensor.
 
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