Harley's Tick,Tick, Tick with synthetic oil?

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OK, every High End expensive synthetic oil(Red Line, AMSOIL, Mobil 1, SYN 3) I have tried in my 03 TC 88, the engine sounds like it has a box of marbles running through it, whats up with that? anyone know why or have had the same issues. I might just go back to HD 360 and not happy about it, or should I just start wearing ear plugs.
 
Hi.

I am not too experienced with Harley's but I don't think it is oil-related. It sounds like it is engine related simply because it's harder to screw up an oil mixture (and with many brands too!) than it is to assemble an engine.

I had a tick sound on my 2004 ZX-10R. It was the cam chain tensioner...no problems running it before replacing it...I just revved it until I couldn't hear it :] haha
 
I just spoke with a Harley shop owner and mechanic, I brought up Amsoil and other true syns, asking him if he used them. He explicitly stated no way and that conventional oil should be used in Harley's as a general rule. He seems to know what he is talking about and has a very successful business. I would try a good conventional.
 
LOL, Yes, actually I run Klotz in my Snowmobiles, great stuff! same kind of issue in the bike. Dino /HD oil seems to run the best in my bike. I forgot to mention, I am running higher lift cams which could contribute to more noise.
 
WOW! awesome, a honest mechanic, that's great!!..most of our local mechanic's just try to sell the most expensive stuff.
 
When I had my '93 ultra and my '03 ultra, I tried amsoil and mobil1 v-twin 20/50 wt oil. And both motors had an annoying tick ,tap, click and clack. In my latest '96 Evo I decided to run regular oil like the previous owner [the jersey city police dept]and its 100 times quieter.I'm not fooling myself into thinking I'm going to keep it forever, or try to get 200k miles out of it. Valvoline VRO 20/50 has been getting good reviews when used in Harley"s, so that"s what I'm using.
 
Originally Posted By: chubbs1
I just spoke with a Harley shop owner and mechanic, I brought up Amsoil and other true syns, asking him if he used them. He explicitly stated no way and that conventional oil should be used in Harley's as a general rule. He seems to know what he is talking about and has a very successful business. I would try a good conventional.


I don't think the HD would make SYN3 if that was the manufacturer's stance. Maybe for an old knucklehead, but there is no reason to not run synthetic in the twin cam.
 
A good friend of mine has a Harley V- Rod and runs Golden Spectro Full Synthetic, his engine sounds terrible, I honestly believe these engine's are not designed to run full synthetics, nothing against synthetic oil, it just does not run good in these motors.
 
Originally Posted By: Klotz1
I honestly believe these engine's are not designed to run full synthetics, nothing against synthetic oil, it just does not run good in these motors.


Synthetic, full synthetic, semi synthetic, quasi synthetic (I made this one up), highly refined dino....who knows?

Any of the above with a good add pack would probably be fine. My '04 Harley has a 88TC engine and I have been using Mobil 1 15w-50 without issues. It is probably just a quasi synthetic
wink.gif
but it is reasonably priced and I like it.
 
In my '07 Electra Glide I ran HD-360 during break in, then over the next 15k miles I tried Syn3, Redline, Amsoil, M1 15W-50, and M1 V-T synthetics. All the synthetics caused louder ticking in the motor- some worse than others. I switched back to dino (VR1) last oil change and it's noticeably quieter.
 
My Ducati comes form the factory with synthetic. It's not a Harley, but it does have an air-cooled 90 degree V-Twin.
 
WOW, thanks, best MC engine video I have seen on YouTube in awhile! I am not sure if those issues are totally my problem, could be a little, I only have around 7K miles on the bike. Mine only has slight top end noise which I noticed more when I switched to synthetic. I should mention, I added a Big Bore 95ci with higher lift cams this past winter which could contribute to more engine noise. Thanks again!
 
I've never seen a Harley yet that didn't have any valve tick at all- same with the BMW boxer. Yet both will easily cruise past 100k miles ticking happily away on plain old dino oil.
To put your mind at ease, you could switch back to HD360 or VR1 & see if noise levels return to an acceptable level. If not, look further. If they do, you can either stick with dino or switch back to syn knowing there's nothing wrong with the engine- it's just noisy with syn oil.

Overly loud engine noises drive me nuts. As a 36+ year mechanic, loudly ticking engines really grate on my nerves. When I ran synthetic I used Syn3 simply because it caused the least amount of audible ticking of all the syn oils I tried. When I tried Mobil 1 15W-50 I dumped it after 1200 miles as it produced the loudest ticking of all. It's a great oil, it just made more noise than I found acceptable in my particular engine.

I'm happy with dino as the ticking is barely audible, I know the engine is well protected, and as a side bennie I save $30-$40 on each oil change...
 
Originally Posted By: cbear
I don't think the HD would make SYN3 if that was the manufacturer's stance. Maybe for an old knucklehead, but there is no reason to not run synthetic in the twin cam.


I have a reason!!!! There isn't any proof that the synthetics provide any benefit in a twin cam engine. I have found that dino oils don't retain heat like the syns do. If you look at the UOAs for VR1, Brad Penn, and HD360, ther is no discernable difference between them and the Syns.

Stay Tuned!!!! I will have a report on Kendall GT-1 in a week or so.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: OnTheFence
Originally Posted By: cbear
I don't think the HD would make SYN3 if that was the manufacturer's stance. Maybe for an old knucklehead, but there is no reason to not run synthetic in the twin cam.


I have a reason!!!! There isn't any proof that the synthetics provide any benefit in a twin cam engine. I have found that dino oils don't retain heat like the syns do. If you look at the UOAs for VR1, Brad Penn, and HD360, ther is no discernable difference between them and the Syns.

Stay Tuned!!!! I will have a report on Kendall GT-1 in a week or so.








Sorry but I am calling [censored] with the comment about heat. I've been a Harley rider for almost 30 years. I can tell you with FACT that when I went from conventional oil to synthetic my oil temp dropped by an average of 10 degrees in some cases 15.
 
Well you can call [censored] all you want. I am only stating what I know/experienced. I've seen three bikes with temp senders in the pan. Each ran identical temps with Syn and Dino oil running down the road. When in stop and go traffic, Dino and Syns would peak to 230-240. Once back in the wind, the dinos would drop back down to where they were before the stop and go. However, the syns did not.

Is that important? I don't think so.

Interestingly, I have heard second hand that Victory is telling it's customers to stay with dino specifically because syns reatain heat. Maybe that's more important on an engine that is designed to be partially oil cooled.

Ride on.......
 
Redline oil (group 5 synthetic), has long been a favorite of Harley riders for lower oil temps.

THat oil does not retain heat, more than any oil ive ever seen. I dont know if it doesnt absorb heat or it just dissipates it instantly. Notorious for retaining condensation though , not getting hot enough. On their website Ive seen them recommend their thinner oil's so they will get hot enough not to have these condensation issues.
 
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