Syn3 and Tranny Damage

[hotroadking]

Recently on HTT a tech from a dealer posted the information below about Syn3 and a few trannies he's seen.

Can anyone comment on the Syn3 and it'a ability to withstand the gears needs in the transmission of the HD's?

Thanks

HarleyVROD, posted this on HTT.

Just passing it on.....but I have never thought it was a good idea to put engine oil in the tranny either.

" I finally got around to taking the 03 RG apart with a noise in the tranny.... grinding noise in all but high gear....... using SYN3 from first service on..... all 3 shift forks have burnt spots on them ...all ball bearings were toast ( very rough ) ..Main shaft is ok as is the main shaft needle bearing.......I will be replacing ALL bearings.. Forks...and sliding Gears ..... This guy does NOT Ride hard or miss shifts...
I have another Dyna 5 speed with shifting issues comming in next week... BTW its using SYN 3 as well..... this will be #3 ..Im not impressed "

 

[medic]

I would love to see a UOA on this oil. It amazes me that there are bearing problems caused by the oil, but no gear problems at all. These needle bearings are very similar to the bearings used in the engine and therefore should get maximum protection from the oil. I would assume the forks being burned was caused by the bad bearings and there should also be some significant wear on the forks. If the engine oil wasn't protecting the transmission, there would be significant damage to the gears

Maybe Harley has a bad batch of bearings - it wouldn't be the first time.

Keep in mind that MOST motorcycles combine the engine and the transmission cases and share one oil. This would be engine oil - usually a 10w40. How many Honda Goldwings have tranny problems? How many Honda Goldwings have seen well over 100k miles.

 

[hotroadking]

I wondered too if the problem(s) are coincidental, if you would like to see the pictures and the information in the post here is a link to the HTT site where the discussion is going on about Syn3 in trannies
the images are on post 37 I believe.
Htt syn3 Tranny Pictures