HD Grease

[CCI]

Short of buying a can and reading the label, anyone here know a way to determine what the specs on this grease is, and most importantly, is if lithium-based?

H-D Wheel Bearing Grease Can | Harley-Davidson USA

Find H-D Wheel Bearing Grease Can at Harley-Davidson.com. Free shipping on orders $50+ and free returns.

www.harley-davidson.com

 

[FowVay]

My data is likely old but in times past, the HD wheel bearing grease was produced by Chemtool and was a polyurea thickened product. Chemtool has been owned by Lubrizol for 10 years now so I am not certain they're the current supplier. Sorry.

 

[BigCahuna]

Well, if your planning to use Harley grease on Harley motorcycle, I wouldn't worry about what it's made from.,,

 

[CCI]

My data is likely old but in times past, the HD wheel bearing grease was produced by Chemtool and was a polyurea thickened product. Chemtool has been owned by Lubrizol for 10 years now so I am not certain they're the current supplier. Sorry.

Thank you. I may or may not have just created a problem depending upon what may have changed and which chart I consult.

While it's possible that the neck bearings may have been greased once at a regular service interval, it's likely that based upon mileage that the grease in the neck bearings was from assembly at the factory. I use the NAPA (formulated by Valvoline) lithium complex grease for general purpose stuff like this. The neck cavity was pretty much empty judging by the amount of grease I had to pump, and it took a while to get grease coming out around the upper dust cover.

It looks like the polyurea (to some extent) and the shear-stable polyurea are at least moderately compatible with lithium complex, and this is about as low-speed as Timken bearings can get.

Not gonna lose any sleep over this one.

 

[Chris142]

You can buy a grease with known specs for 1/3 the cost of that stuff

 

[BusyLittleShop]

My customers are serviced with MIL-PRF-81322 Grease, Aircraft, General Purpose, Wide Temperature Range
Able to withstand operations at high speeds and a wide temperature range of -54 to 177 Deg. C (-65 to 350 Deg. F).

 

[CCI]

My customers are serviced with MIL-PRF-81322 Grease, Aircraft, General Purpose, Wide Temperature Range
Able to withstand operations at high speeds and a wide temperature range of -54 to 177 Deg. C (-65 to 350 Deg. F).
View attachment 161886

A very interesting idea.

AeroShell Grease 22 | Shell Global

Keep your aircraft wheels turning for longer by applying AeroShell Grease 22 to their bearings. This general-purpose aviation grease offers excellent corrosion resistance, anti-wear properties and load-carrying properties throughout the extreme operating conditions your aircraft faces. As well...

www.shell.com

The commercially available version?

 

[alarmguy]

You can buy a grease with known specs for 1/3 the cost of that stuff

I think that is why he was wondering the specs as he added grease to the neck bearing no knowing if its compatible.
Unless you completely clean any part of remaining grease you should know what type of grease is used on the part.

 

[RDMgr]

My customers are serviced with MIL-PRF-81322 Grease, Aircraft, General Purpose, Wide Temperature Range
Able to withstand operations at high speeds and a wide temperature range of -54 to 177 Deg. C (-65 to 350 Deg. F).
View attachment 161886

Why do you use this grease? It's formulated for use down to -65°F. What is the lowest temperature the typical motorcycle operates at, possibly +30°F? This is 95°F above the lower limit for a Mil-PRF-81322 grease. This characteristic dictates the formula.

These greases are usually just a clay thickened 6 cst PAO with low load carrying characterisitics.

 

[paulo57509]

A very interesting idea.

AeroShell Grease 22 | Shell Global

Keep your aircraft wheels turning for longer by applying AeroShell Grease 22 to their bearings. This general-purpose aviation grease offers excellent corrosion resistance, anti-wear properties and load-carrying properties throughout the extreme operating conditions your aircraft faces. As well...

www.shell.com

The commercially available version?

I don't know what you mean by "commercially available".... available thru retail outlet? Unless you're looking for something "better", between these pricey greases, I'd just use the HD grease.

Aeroshell Grease 22 | Aircraft Spruce

Aeroshell Grease 22 AeroShell Grease 22 is a versatile advanced general purpose grease composed of a synthetic hydrocarbon oil thickened with Microgel®, with outstanding performance characteristics. Appropriate additives are included to

www.aircraftspruce.com

It's been years since I ordered from Aircraft Spruce - Aurora spherical bearings:

 

[KrisZ]

I highly doubt it matters in a steering head bearings. If we were talking wheel bearings or some other high speed and high load application, then yes, mixing is not advised.

 

[CCI]

I think that is why he was wondering the specs as he added grease to the neck bearing no knowing if its compatible.
Unless you completely clean any part of remaining grease you should know what type of grease is used on the part.

That is correct.