Havoline 20-50 not for Harleys?

rodgerk · Nov 20, 2006

Here is the question I posed to Havoline and their answer:
Thank you for your inquiry. I do not recommend Havoline 20W50 for use in a motorcycle. We do not make a motorcycle oil in either the Chevron or Texaco line.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: rodgerk
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 12:13 PM
To: Havoline Inquires
Subject: Havoline 20-50 oil

I installed Havoline 20-50 oil in my new Harley Davidson Road King (2006). Now I am having some doubts. HD requires that the oil have a diesel rating - does this oil have such a rating? What is it?

Second question: is there a Havoline 20-50 that says "Motorcycle Oil" on the label or is it the 20-50 I bought at Auto Zone that makes no reference to motorcycles?

Thanks!

Any comments about this reply? Havoline did not reveal the rating of the 20-50 - do any of you know what they are?

JonS · Nov 20, 2006

Havoline does not have a diesel rating, which is labeled by a CD,CF, or CI on the label. Exaples are Shell Rotella, Chevron Delo 400, ect. I don't see why the Havoline won't work in you HD. You don't have a shared transmission with the engine to worry about. The diesel rating is better for corrosion as well as many other things.

Laminar Lou · Nov 20, 2006

Your engine won't blow up. Texaco just won't certify it because it doesn't meet Harley Davidson criteria. That doesn't mean it is going to do damage, the oil just isn't as durable as an HDEO oil.

If it were me, I would leave it in and change it as you normally would. However, I probably would go with an HDEO though from now on. You could use the Delo as Jons suggested, but there are other products out there that would work fine.

I use Amsoil 20W50 and it works very well. A bit more expensive than the Havoline though.

bmwtechguy · Nov 20, 2006

I believe there is a BITOG member named fuel tanker man that swears by Havoline 20W-50 in his HD, changed out every 2000 miles or so.

fuel tanker man · Nov 20, 2006

Yep, that's me.

Check my UOA's here, they are (if I may say so myself) the best HD UOA's on the board. The Havoline 20W50 will work great. It's and SL rated oil.

I can pretty much guarantee you that the credentials of Havoline 20W50 are WAY beyond those of the Citgo made Harley Davidson 360 dino oil.

Just get a UOA after 2000 to 2500 miles and you'll see that all is better than well...

Dan

fuel tanker man · Nov 20, 2006

Here, I pulled up the link:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...true#Post714572

Beat those wear numbers, syn lovers!

Mr Nice · Nov 20, 2006

FTM,

But if you used a $10 bottle of Syn, your wear numbers would be alot lower.

Laminar Lou · Nov 20, 2006

Quote:

Here, I pulled up the link:

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...true#Post714572

Beat those wear numbers, syn lovers!

Very nice report! I might give the Havoline a try after seeing that. My Amsoil numbers were negligibly better (close enough that the test accuracy could sway the winner one way or the other). I am in the middle of an AutoRX rinse, but I will give it serious consideration after the rinse.

2394 Miles in 40 days?!? Let me guess, you went to Sturgis?

fuel tanker man · Nov 21, 2006

I would like to go to Sturgis, but I actually just put those miles on within about 300 miles of home.

Dan

KBFXDLI · Nov 21, 2006

There are a few guys on the Harley forums who swear by Havoline 20w50 but they change at 2500 miles and most of them have EVO's versus the TC88 you have. I would not use it in a TC88 past 2500 miles because of the oil jets that cool the pistons really beat the oil. I will only use Mobil1Vtwin or Redline in my TC88 because of the heat generated by this engine. FYI, the TC96 07's run even hotter. But this is all JMHO

Norm Olt · Nov 22, 2006

Havoline, Chevron, Castrol, Pennzoil 20W-50 oils are fine in stock HD applications: in all but the most severely modified engines and highest ambient temps they will work fine with REASONABLE OCI's. The 15W-40 HDEO's are fine, too.

If you are planning to ride Coast-to-Coast & back without stopping to change the oil I would go with a Synthetic like Amsoil or Mobil 1, etc.

Really, guys, how many of the "new-era" HD "owners" EVER ride more than a couple hundred miles a month? How fewer ever ride more than a couple hundred miles a WEEK?

For how many months per year?

I would guess it takes the "average" "new-era" HD "owner" a couple years to accumulate enough miles to even really need an oil change...

Not flaming Harleys: I had one. It is just that you see so many for sale with "... a low, LOW 1,585 miles, OVER $19,757 invested and ONLY $18,000 OBO..."?

Cheers!

TopFuel · Nov 23, 2006

Great point Norm. I saw a doctor owned '92 Harley last week with only 462 miles on it. The original tires had dry rotted.

LC · Nov 23, 2006

Best oil I found for a TC88.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...ge=0#Post727982

KBFXDLI · Nov 25, 2006

Quote:

Havoline, Chevron, Castrol, Pennzoil 20W-50 oils are fine in stock HD applications: in all but the most severely modified engines and highest ambient temps they will work fine with REASONABLE OCI's. The 15W-40 HDEO's are fine, too.

If you are planning to ride Coast-to-Coast & back without stopping to change the oil I would go with a Synthetic like Amsoil or Mobil 1, etc.

Really, guys, how many of the "new-era" HD "owners" EVER ride more than a couple hundred miles a month? How fewer ever ride more than a couple hundred miles a WEEK?

For how many months per year?

I would guess it takes the "average" "new-era" HD "owner" a couple years to accumulate enough miles to even really need an oil change...

Not flaming Harleys: I had one. It is just that you see so many for sale with "... a low, LOW 1,585 miles, OVER $19,757 invested and ONLY $18,000 OBO..."?

Cheers!

Good point. Most of the guys I know (inciding me) put on about 3-4,000 miles a year. This depends on the weather. But synthetics are great for us because we only have to change oil in the late fall and then we are good for the whole year and can safely ignore it except checking and adding if needed. I was talking to the Redline tech and he said at my mileage rate I could leave the shockproof heavy in my trans for 3-5 years.

Havoline 20-50 not for Harleys?

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