Harley Davidson - Formula +

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Originally Posted By: alarmguy



Anyway, all I am saying is people are putting true differential gear lube in their trannys, I personally would not do that. Because the transmission does not require differential gear lube any more then the engine does.
In Redlines case, I just learned they actually market a transmission oil that is different from their differential oil which further backs up what we are saying as Redline doesnt recommend their differential gear lube for Harley transmissions either.
Yet we have people all over the country putting Mobile 1 and many other companies gear lubes (not transmission oils or motoroils) in their transmissions, for me personally that is a poor choice, and not much different then if you put differential gear lube in your engine. [/quote]
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Opinions vary.

The Red Line tech recommends the 75W90 gl5 for the sportster trans as I have already posted his e-mail. says they have tested it with good results. Maybe you should e-mail him and tell him you dissagree and know better than he does.

Once again.

Thank you for contacting Red Line Oil, in the shared Sportster primary/transmission the 75W90 is recommended, a product that has been used extensively and performs well.

The 75W90 is the product we have have used for a number of years with very good results in Sportster/Buell transmissions, matching the viscosity and type fluid called for.
The 80W Motorcycle Gear Oil is a lower viscosity than called for, the ShockProof gear oils can due to their unique characteristics could cause sticking of the Harley clutches.
The 75W90 would be preferred and recommended over 80W Motorcycle Gear Oil in these applications.

There can be issues with some GL-5 gear oils in certain applications. Some can be corrosive to brass, bronze or copper, not an issue with our GL-5 gear oils, they don’t cause corrosion, pitting or metal removal. In a synchro equipped transmission the friction modifiers contained in many gear oils can make them too slippery, though not the case in a motorcycle transmission with dog rings.


So if you want the right viscosity and dont want to worry about it damaging anything, go with Redline http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=133&pcid=4

also see.

http://www.hdforums.com/forum/sportster-...y-answered.html
 
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Wow there is a lot of back and forth on this subject. Use whatever you want. It's your bike and your money. That being said I have used all kinds of oil in my 1988 FLHS. It has over 200k and going strong. For the past few yrs I've used VR1 because of the UOA's. I've used Formula+ in the past but I've used Rotella 15w-40 the past few yrs because it's cheaper. Never noticed a difference. In the trans I've always used gear oil. I got into the habit when I used to have a 1981 Super Glide with the old 4 speed. In my 2011 FLHP I've used different types including Shockproof Heavy. It still clunks no matter what I use. The downside to the Shockproof Heavy is I had slow shifting in colder weather. It's just too thick.
 
What oil do you run in the '11's primary? I run Rotella T 15/40 in mine. I feel it's less grabby then other oils ,and helps give it smoother shifts and takes the bang out of 1st gear shifts.,,,
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
What oil do you run in the '11's primary? I run Rotella T 15/40 in mine. I feel it's less grabby then other oils ,and helps give it smoother shifts and takes the bang out of 1st gear shifts.,,,


I also run Rotella T 15w40 in the primary because it's cheaper than Formula+. I've run both and notice no difference.
 
I also run Rotella T 15w40 in the primary because it's cheaper than Formula+. I've run both and notice no difference. [/quote]

Longtime lurker here, new poster. I don't normally add my 2 cents but with the bike section here being a bit sparse I thought I'd give my experience if it helps anyone.. I have an '00 Road King I inherited from my dad recently, and he always used the HD syn engine/primary and the HD tranny oil as well, and changed it all religiously. The shifting was super notchy and good luck finding neutral, but I figured it was just the HD nature of the beast. I changed all the fluids to Rotella 15w40 engine and primary, and RP 75w90 in the tranny, and viola it's now smooth as silk and finding neutral is an afterthought . Unscientifically, I get the feeling it's about the primary in this case. The only think I second guess about the Rotella is the engine side in this Phoenix heat. But primary......never going back.

Didn't intend to make this a Rotella fanboy post, just throwing my experience out there.
 
Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
Originally Posted By: alarmguy



Anyway, all I am saying is people are putting true differential gear lube in their trannys, I personally would not do that. Because the transmission does not require differential gear lube any more then the engine does.
In Redlines case, I just learned they actually market a transmission oil that is different from their differential oil which further backs up what we are saying as Redline doesnt recommend their differential gear lube for Harley transmissions either.
Yet we have people all over the country putting Mobile 1 and many other companies gear lubes (not transmission oils or motoroils) in their transmissions, for me personally that is a poor choice, and not much different then if you put differential gear lube in your engine.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opinions vary.

The Red Line tech recommends the 75W90 gl5 for the sportster trans as I have already posted his e-mail. says they have tested it with good results. Maybe you should e-mail him and tell him you dissagree and know better than he does.

Once again.

.... [/quote]

Hmmm ... well, to each his own. I guess if we always and ever believe a voice over the phone, well, personal choice.
As far as I "know better then him" Ha ... yup, guess he knows better then the Harley engineers who designed the bike, I am sure he makes much more money and better educated then they are, after all he is completely unbiased selling you his redline product..
 
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Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: endeavor to persevere
Originally Posted By: alarmguy



Anyway, all I am saying is people are putting true differential gear lube in their trannys, I personally would not do that. Because the transmission does not require differential gear lube any more then the engine does.
In Redlines case, I just learned they actually market a transmission oil that is different from their differential oil which further backs up what we are saying as Redline doesnt recommend their differential gear lube for Harley transmissions either.
Yet we have people all over the country putting Mobile 1 and many other companies gear lubes (not transmission oils or motoroils) in their transmissions, for me personally that is a poor choice, and not much different then if you put differential gear lube in your engine.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opinions vary.

The Red Line tech recommends the 75W90 gl5 for the sportster trans as I have already posted his e-mail. says they have tested it with good results. Maybe you should e-mail him and tell him you dissagree and know better than he does.

Once again.

....


Hmmm ... well, to each his own. I guess if we always and ever believe a voice over the phone, well, personal choice.
As far as I "know better then him" Ha ... yup, guess he knows better then the Harley engineers who designed the bike, I am sure he makes much more money and better educated then they are, after all he is completely unbiased selling you his redline product... Im just responding to your post, whatever one chooses is his/her choice ... just a lot of people listen to marketing instead of these companies showing proof that their product is better, really doesn't matter to me.
[/quote]
 
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Originally Posted By: MoreCowbellAz
I also run Rotella T 15w40 in the primary because it's cheaper than Formula+. I've run both and notice no difference.


Longtime lurker here, new poster. I don't normally add my 2 cents but with the bike section here being a bit sparse I thought I'd give my experience if it helps anyone.. I have an '00 Road King I inherited from my dad recently, and he always used the HD syn engine/primary and the HD tranny oil as well, and changed it all religiously. The shifting was super notchy and good luck finding neutral, ....

[/quote]

I have heard a number of people who do not like the SYN3 in the engine and primary. Im an not sure about the older bikes, I do know on my 14 RK the manual states something like pay close attention to the fill level on the transmission, if overfill the transmission it will make is hard to find neutral ...

Being my first Harley and coming from a vstar 1300 I thought it was a bit tricky to find neutral and figured its a Harley and I will get used to/get the hang of it. But then, 1000 miles later, due for its first fluid change ...
I changed the factory fill on my transmission and primary late summer of 14. Replaced with fresh Primary+ and like night and day, it was easier to find neutral, so only assumed it was slightly overfilled.
 
[/quote]

Being my first Harley and coming from a vstar 1300 I thought it was a bit tricky to find neutral and figured its a Harley and I will get used to/get the hang of it. But then, 1000 miles later, due for its first fluid change ...
I changed the factory fill on my transmission and primary late summer of 14. Replaced with fresh Primary+ and like night and day, it was easier to find neutral, so only assumed it was slightly overfilled.
[/quote]

Who knows, but my experience is overfilling wouldn't do that. For me either the Harley stuff wasn't great to begin with, or it wore out quickly and turned to [censored]. Either way wasn't acceptable, but I know it wasn't overfilled. You changed yours and solved the issue so that tells me it rules out the [censored] from the get go theory. I'd be curious to see if it lasts. For mine, when I changed the oil I accidentally overfilled and it still shifted great, so I doubt that's the culprit with finding neutral. I did notice that overfilling caused oil to weep past the filler cap, so I siphoned off about 1/4" and it stopped weeping with no change in performance. So I guess whatever works, keep doing that!
 
I think it's Important to note that on Big Twin Harley's with a 6 speed, the primary oil level makes a HUGE difference in shifting. I'd be willing to bet most, if not all people who have experienced a difference in shifting after changing to a different oil is due to filling to a different level, not the oil. Off hand I don't recall what the manual calls for. I OVERFILL it to the bottom of the clutch inspection cover due to the compensator problems HD has had since they introduced the 6 speed. When I do that, there is a noticeable difference in shifting. But I'll take the notchy feeling any day compared to replacing another compensator due to poor lubrication.
 
Thanks for the post blueglide ... I think you are right, maybe it is the six speed, just because, I found it interesting that my 14RK owners manual states to not overfill or may make it hard to find neutral.
BTW for others reading this thread, Im not implying that its hard to find neutral on a 14 RK, but I am saying, after the change, in which I followed the manual exactly as to oil level, I found it more "naturally" easy to click it into neutral. ( I think anyway,. Ha_

SO THE NEXT DEBATE OF ALL DEBATES WILL BE /// now that Harley seems to have discontinued conventional HD360 and Primary+ what will others choose?
I am sure this will be debated for years!
I do not know for fact its discontinued, BUT someone noticed the HD #) conventional is off the Harley website, then I noticed the Primary+ is off the website, only syn HD360 remains standing!

Im thinking I MIGHT go with a straight 50 weight motor oil in the transmission and conventional Valvoline 20/50 motorcycle oil in the primary and conventional VR1 in the engine.
Thats todays thoughts but Im not so sure about a straight 50 in the trans YET>
 
I doubt there will much of a debate, except between the newbies who believe only Harley can work on your bike, and that you NEED to only use Harley's oil in YOUR bike. And that the only parts and accessory's that should be mounted on your bike has to come from a Harley dealer. Never mind the fact that millions of Harley owners never used Harley's oil or other products and services. And their bikes live long happy lives.,,,
 
There are NO yellow metals in a Harley Davidson transmission

Depends upon the year. Panheads and Shovelheads definitely do.
 
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