Conventional 20W50 For Harley Davidson

[ZeeOSix]

2. Next highest is actually 80 MPH but at 80 MPH it is stable, rock solid between 245 and 255 depending on outside temperature, which means here, early morning 245, afternoon and close to 100 degrees 255.
So I looked into this, trying to understand, why, at such a high speed my oil temperature is higher on the highway, when gobs of air is blowing across the heads and air being rammed through the oil cooler is the oil temperature higher than riding around town and it truly is higher, the SECOND I get off an exit ramp the temp starts going down.

So from what I read, at higher speeds, the oil pressure is higher and "oil jets" in the engine spray the bottom of the pistons to cool the pistons and these engines, curiosity of the EPA now burn very lean/HOT and need to cool the pistons.
Which of course heats up the oil. Once you slow down barely any oil is spraying on the pistons to cool them down and not needed, bike under less stress, less RPMS and most of all less wind resistance, thus oil temp drops.
The reason I looked into this so much was I always wondered why manufacturers of all brands do not install fans on the oil coolers and Harley in particular since most dont have water cooled engines.
Anyway, that is what I understand it to be and all I can say this is what happens on my bike in real life, with real oil temperature measurements.

You basically got most of those points in your post. Any engine will have higher oil temperatures the higher the engine is revved up and the more load it on the engine. Even engines with oil coolers, unless the oil cooler is very over-designed. Engine RPM shears the oil, which heats it up more, and in the case of an engine with oil jets, the hotter the dome of the pistons run due to more load (engine making more HP), then that is another major heat input to the oil. And also the oil that circulates around the top of the hot heads will absorb heat - more so as the load (HP production) increases. More HP means more air+fuel being burned, which means more heat into everything.

 

[bulwnkl]

If highway riding is mostly what what you guys do, that makes sense. Have you spent an hour or more riding at lower speeds, like in stop and go traffic to see if the lower temp claim still holds true?. More airflow like what you would get on the highway, should equal lower temps.,,

There isn't a good way to simulate that for us (him), so all we can compare is on the highway.
(if you were talking to me, as I supposed)

 

[CourierDriver]

Bought a 96 Sportster in 1998 and its only had 20w50 Harley oil in it,,,runs great, no issues ,so far.

 

[SuperSalad]

Bought a 96 Sportster in 1998 and its only had 20w50 Harley oil in it,,,runs great, no issues ,so far.

Well you gotta give it a little time. 24 years just isn't enough time to form a trend

 

[Gene K]

Isn't HD that don't have enough oil pressure at high oil temps the exact application Redline 20W-60 Motorcycle was formulated for?

 

[CourierDriver]

Isn't HD that don't have enough oil pressure at high oil temps the exact application Redline 20W-60 Motorcycle was formulated for?

IDK Its gonna be sunny for 6 days in Chattanooga tn,,lets ride

76 on my 96...

 

[alarmguy]

Isn't HD that don't have enough oil pressure at high oil temps the exact application Redline 20W-60 Motorcycle was formulated for?

Na, that was low oil pressure paranoia from people who thought the pressure should be higher for no other reason than "just because" ... it was never an issue except in peoples minds. A 60 wt oil made them feel better but in all honesty some HD models were ok with 60 wt too.

 

[CourierDriver]

I have run the Sportster up to 90mph but I dont stay there long, maybe a minute or two, usually just the speed limit on the interstates...no oil burning, not leaks yet, but then again, it never leaked or dripped since I got it,,,,amazing,,,yes it is an old bike and the carb has a pull choke and yes it has to warm up about 5 minutes, but sometimes Im impatience and take off ,get up to speed and then push the choke back in,,,what the heck, it runs well...20w50 does just fine,,,hey for u guys that are in my age group 70+, take your meds,,,lol

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

I sometimes forget that lane filtering is not legal in a lot of the country. I'm fortunate my bikes are water cooled so no issues with overheating. Man that is some high temperatures for normal conditions. I only see those temps when I'm on single track at walking pace.

From what I’ve researched, lane splitting is only legal in one state. California.

Other states may turn a blind eye temporarily, but that doesn’t mean it’s legal.