FCI for HD oil filters

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Does anyone have info on how many miles a current HD oil filer is good for? Seems like this never really gets explored in practice (as HD owners tend to be way overkill on oil changes) but I don't see why it would be less than what we're used to in cars. I routinely run standard car filters for 10k and never have a problem, so why not that or more for an HD? Plus if I'm not mistaken the HD 5 micron filters have at least some synthetic media which to me means multiple OCI's on it if you're doing them at 5k (which I try to push w/ syn oil).

BTW, the bike in question is my 2000 Road King w/ mostly stock TC88 engine.
 
If I still lived in Phoenix I would do what I always did with my motorcycles, best air filter made and new oil filter with oil change. You have a nice bike so why skimp to save a buck ?
 
That's a common misinterpretation with posts like mine, it's not at all about skimping to save a buck, and I wouldn't even consider something that was actually going to harm the bike. But there's necessary and then there's overkill. I'm just not into spending twice as much time, effort, and resources as necessary to get the same result. The key words being "necessary", and "same result". I was curious if anyone had actually looked into the FCI, I've never seen where anyone has.
 
The way I look at it is, you can change oil and leave a filter on for several changes. It will do what it can do , until it can't. Then it will probably go into bypass mode ,where unfiltered oil is allowed to circulate thru your motor. The problem is, you don't know or you can't tell when thats happening. If you run the type of free flowing air filter with very open air passages, the more dirt you will allow into the motor, and probably the oil. Blowby from the rings will allow gases and acid to form in the oil. Hopefully the detergents contained in the oil will neutralize the acids, but won't do much for actual dirt. That's the filters job. So after 10k miles, I feel the only way to tell if it's getting "full" of dirt, would be to weigh a new filter element vs a used one. I'm not sure that can be accurately done, maybe if you fill a new filter with clean oil and a used one with used oil you could get an idea how much dirt they can really hold. Might be easier to just go 2 changes on one filter and not have another thing in life to not worry about.,,
 
Every rider has a different idea . For years it was 2500 , then Harley went 5000 . So right now I do 3000 on both the sporty and my superglide . For oil I use Mobil v twin in both . The sporty gets the old long Dyna filter and the superglide a S&S filter .
Its overkill , but in over 350000 miles , never blew one yet :) .

Jake
 
I understand. I think what you're asking would depend on the area and conditions, Phoenix is on the dusty side and "necessary" may come sooner than someone living in Pennsylvania and the likes.
 
True, the culprit for folks like me here in Phoenix is dust and heat rather than moisture and cold. I do very few short trips less than 20 miles so condensation wouldn't be a problem. Plus being garage kept the bike isn't starting up at freezing temps to begin with, my garage even in winter probably rarely gets below 60 or 65 degrees, so I'm guessing my oil gets up to temp quick for sure. I actually think I'm fairly easy on oil unless I do a lot of summer riding.

BTW I do love riding in whatever cold temps we get around here though. I did some 40 degree ambient temp rides this winter, loved every minute of it. For an hour or so anyway. LOL
 
I was born & raised in Phoenix and I rode my bikes year round to work and back and every where else I had to go, even in the rain (thought that was fun) can't do that in Michigan. I know Phoenix isn't as dusty as when I lived there because of all the growth. I moved in the 80's and lived 43rd Ave & Thunderbird area surrounded by grease wood desert, now that area is like the middle of town.

IMO, living in Phoenix ain't nothing wrong with "(HD owners tend to be way overkill on oil changes)" way of thinking..:)
 
Originally Posted By: MoreCowbellAz
Does anyone have info on how many miles a current HD oil filer is good for? Seems like this never really gets explored in practice (as HD owners tend to be way overkill on oil changes) but I don't see why it would be less than what we're used to in cars. I routinely run standard car filters for 10k and never have a problem, so why not that or more for an HD? Plus if I'm not mistaken the HD 5 micron filters have at least some synthetic media which to me means multiple OCI's on it if you're doing them at 5k (which I try to push w/ syn oil).

BTW, the bike in question is my 2000 Road King w/ mostly stock TC88 engine.


Im really not being a smart***, really.
Not sure why your question.
My 14 Road King states 5,000 mile oil and filter changes, no different then my wifes Mazda. Some cars are 15,000 some 5,000.
Why not Harley or ANY motorcycle makers at 10,000.

I suspect, your automobile is FAR more advanced and burns fuel far more efficiently then a motorcycle engine. Heck, back to my wifes 12 Mazda, it gets darn close to the same MPG as my Road King. We joke about it all the time. Engines run more clean.
Also many bikes tend to sit around a lot and accumulate FAR, FAR less mileage then the average car, the low mileage of the bike would be considered severe usage. Heck, some people dont ride 5000 miles for years.

Oops, but to answer your question, HD filter, 5000 miles.
 
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Originally Posted By: MoreCowbellAz
That's a common misinterpretation with posts like mine, it's not at all about skimping to save a buck, and I wouldn't even consider something that was actually going to harm the bike. But there's necessary and then there's overkill. I'm just not into spending twice as much time, effort, and resources as necessary to get the same result. The key words being "necessary", and "same result". I was curious if anyone had actually looked into the FCI, I've never seen where anyone has.


I might be misinterpreting your post. I think you are just ragging on anyone who does frequent changes. Not sure why anymore then someone who washes their bike more often then others.

AS far as necessary. The answer is HD says its necessary on my 14 Road King to replace oil and filter every 5000 miles. To me I do not know why someone would extend it any more then that. I bet they wouldnt if they had a 90,000 Corvette and GM stated 5000 mile oil changes.
Also the 5000 mile requirement is actually more then some metrics at 4000 miles.
 
alarmguy I might be misinterpreting your post. I think you are just ragging on anyone who does frequent changes. [/quote said:
I'm not sure why you'd even say that, but anyway I have zero interest in getting into that sort of debate or starting a rag-fest, in fact I was very much trying to phrase whatever I said to avoid going down that road. Seemed like a fair enough question to me and maybe I can learn something; I understand demands on oil may be different for bikes but it occurred to me that the filter does basically the same thing in all engines, and in my personal observation can safely go far beyond what many folks assume. That's where my question came from, was curious to see if anyone actually took a factual look at it.

There's really no ulterior motive.
 
I've cut apart a several Harley Davidson Super Premium 5 filters.

They are nicely built filters.

HD's current manuals say that the OCI/FCI change is 5000miles or 12 months. It goes on to say that the use of synthetic oil does not allow extended change intervals.

That not withstanding for a bike out of warranty, I personally see no reason the SP5 would not do 10,000 easily... In fact when the bike is out of warranty I may well give it a shot...
 
Originally Posted By: MoreCowbellAz
alarmguy I might be misinterpreting your post. I think you are just ragging on anyone who does frequent changes. I'm not sure why you'd even say that said:
I guess you took my post like I took yours when you said ..."(as HD owners tend to be way overkill on oil changes) " and that is what I was responding too. I did state that I might be misreading your post. But my post is an accurate of my viewpoint. You didnt mention what interval you thought was overkill but you feel HD owners over do oil changes.

I dont go down those roads either. So let me rephrase ... your thinking is if you can safely go longer and you feel others change to often and if anyone took a factual look at it.

Here is my viewpoint. The motor company (manufacturer of the bike) states its safe to change the oil and filter every 5000 miles. So to me, there arent any other facts that would change my mind to somehow think I know better. All my life, my boats, bikes and cars, to me, fluids are so cheap. I follow what the manufacture calls for and in most cases before hand.
I can say for sure, in decades I never owned anything with an engine (including lawnmowers) that remotely had an oil issue or even needed make up oil between changes. I always follow the change interval, again because to me, there is no reason not to.

A very long time ago, LONG time ago but has stuck with me for decades now.
I had a 2 door Honda Accord. Timing belt snapped prematurely, what a mess, valves smacked the pistons if I remember correctly, only engine issue I ever had in decades and of course not oil related. Anyway, back in those days, it was Castrol oil only for me and always changed before due. Mechanic came out of the shop and told me how amazed he was at how clean the engine was (internals) said he never saw anything like it, it was like a brand new engine. To this day its stuck in my head. So you asked for viewpoints and thoughts, these are mine. I enjoy taking care of not only the exterior of things but do what I can reasonably do to take care of the internals and part of that is trusting the owners manual plus some.

I just do not believe someone can factually state a reason not to trust the manual.
 
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Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I've cut apart a several Harley Davidson Super Premium 5 filters.

They are nicely built filters.

HD's current manuals say that the OCI/FCI change is 5000miles or 12 months. It goes on to say that the use of synthetic oil does not allow extended change intervals.

That not withstanding for a bike out of warranty, I personally see no reason the SP5 would not do 10,000 easily... In fact when the bike is out of warranty I may well give it a shot...


Your better then me, I didnt even read that much of it, as far as synthetics do not allow extended intervals. The reason I picked up on that is my 2008 Dodge Durango manual does state that same thing. "Synthetic oil may be used" but not to extend drain intervals.
 
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I've cut apart a several Harley Davidson Super Premium 5 filters.

They are nicely built filters.

HD's current manuals say that the OCI/FCI change is 5000miles or 12 months. It goes on to say that the use of synthetic oil does not allow extended change intervals.

That not withstanding for a bike out of warranty, I personally see no reason the SP5 would not do 10,000 easily... In fact when the bike is out of warranty I may well give it a shot...


Your better then me, I didnt even read that much of it, as far as synthetics do not allow extended intervals. The reason I picked up on that is my 2008 Dodge Durango manual does state that same thing. "Synthetic oil may be used" but not to extend drain intervals.
Let me correct this for you. Harley doesn't recommend "THEIR OIL" for extended drain intervals. Other oil manufactures like Amsoil state their oil will be good for use Up to 20k miles or 1 year. I personally know a few guys that do run over 10k on their oil between changes without problems. These guys ride alot and put a mixed variety of driving on their bikes. One guy changes his filter at 7.5k and his oil between 10-15k. If your afraid you can change your oil every week, if you know what really works, you won't stress over a problem that never happens.,,,
 
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
...Your better then me, ...


I've got no issue following manufacturers recommendations.

I'm also not too sure what we are talking about as far as "investigating", if investigating is what Harley Davidson says the answer is "5000 miles / 12 months".

However the filter seems far too good to only be good for 5000 miles even if we stipulate that an air-cooled V-Twin is not exactly the same thing as a water-cooled aluminum 4 cylinder of similar displacement in a car.

If Harley said I could run it for 15,000 miles I would be totally comfortable with that. In fact it is somewhat messy to change, so I could get behind running it multiple OCI's pretty easy.

There is one here cut open with ~3500 miles that looks just as good as the 2 ~1000 mile ones from my break in runs. No reason to think it won't shrug off 5000 miles with similar aplomb.

(I've had not much luck turning up others cut apart with more miles)
 
Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I've cut apart a several Harley Davidson Super Premium 5 filters.

They are nicely built filters.

HD's current manuals say that the OCI/FCI change is 5000miles or 12 months. It goes on to say that the use of synthetic oil does not allow extended change intervals.

That not withstanding for a bike out of warranty, I personally see no reason the SP5 would not do 10,000 easily... In fact when the bike is out of warranty I may well give it a shot...


Your better then me, I didnt even read that much of it, as far as synthetics do not allow extended intervals. The reason I picked up on that is my 2008 Dodge Durango manual does state that same thing. "Synthetic oil may be used" but not to extend drain intervals.
Let me correct this for you. Harley doesn't recommend "THEIR OIL" for extended drain intervals. Other oil manufactures like Amsoil state their oil will be good for use Up to 20k miles or 1 year. I personally know a few guys that do run over 10k on their oil between changes without problems. These guys ride alot and put a mixed variety of driving on their bikes. One guy changes his filter at 7.5k and his oil between 10-15k. If your afraid you can change your oil every week, if you know what really works, you won't stress over a problem that never happens.,,,


Who is stressed? Afraid? Not I, not in the least, I enjoy taking care of my vechicles.
Amsoil I think is a great oil but lets not forget they are selling a product. Anyone who wants to believe any marketing should ask for proof. If I come out with Alarmguy Oil and sell it saying you dont have to change your oil for 10k miles miles will you buy it or will you ask for proof?
Amsoil to its credit publishes oil tests 2009 comparison of motorcycle oils, everyone should read it even though its outdated now, even shows one CONVENTIONAL oil beating some expensive oils costing 3xs as much.

What Amsoil doesnt do is take a sample of their USED motorycycle oil with 10,000 miles on it and run it with tests on new oil to back up their claim to extend oil changes.
Why, in case you missed it, even some automotive companies also state using synthetic is NOT a reason to extend changes. ( I guess you missed that part in my post, since you are ALWAYS referring to Harley oil) even though you will find the same recommendations from almost any metric maker as well.
Maybe you misread my post, as the answer to the OP remains the same. The SAFE oil change interval is what the maker of ANY motor vehicle manufacturer recommends, not what a OIL COMPANY who wants to sell his product states.

Will anything make a difference? I have NO IDEA and who cares? What someone does, not I. But the OP uses the words, SAFELY. The safe way is listen to what the maker of the product tells you, not what a oil company wants to sell you.
Gosh, $40 every 5000 miles, not sure if someone who wants to be safe would consider anything else. But we all have our reasons and I am sure name brand oils can be extended, yet the safest way is to listen to the maker of the bike.
 
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Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Originally Posted By: alarmguy
...Your better then me, ...


I've got no issue following manufacturers recommendations.

I'm also not too sure what we are talking about as far as "investigating", if investigating is what Harley Davidson says the answer is "5000 miles / 12 months".

However the filter seems far too good to only be good for 5000 miles even if we stipulate that an air-cooled V-Twin is not exactly the same thing as a water-cooled aluminum 4 cylinder of similar displacement in a car.

If Harley said I could run it for 15,000 miles I would be totally comfortable with that. In fact it is somewhat messy to change, so I could get behind running it multiple OCI's pretty easy.

There is one here cut open with ~3500 miles that looks just as good as the 2 ~1000 mile ones from my break in runs. No reason to think it won't shrug off 5000 miles with similar aplomb.

(I've had not much luck turning up others cut apart with more miles)


I agree, the HD filters seem well made and I think it was you who posted photos.
MY Yami and Suzuki filters seemed well made too but I havent cut them open, well maybe once or twice a long time ago. For my metrics I really became a fan of and used exclusively EMGO filters, priced right, made for bikes, OEM feel. EMGO is a major manufacturer of filters, though the name is not known as well. But with the HD filters, they do seem quality and nothing I could think I would want to use instead, as long as the price is competitive.

I do think, if and when I remember to order it, I am going to replace the OEM oil plug with a Goldplug, magnet on my OEM oil plug seems weak compared to what I was used to using Goldplugs.
 
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Originally Posted By: BigCahuna
If your afraid you can change your oil every week, if you know what really works, you won't stress over a problem that never happens.,,,


I suppose that's my school of thought perfectly stated.
 
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