Running Hot part II

By: Biker Chad

In the last installment I discussed some of the high temp issues that all Harley riders face. The first thing I talked about was the way moving air helps cool our engines. There are not a lot of options to keep air moving over our engines except to keep the bike moving. I often shut my bike down if I am caught at idle for a long time, like a train or traffic jam etc. I do know a few companies that offer parade fans to mount on your bike. I don’t put much merit into these fans, the help they may give is outweighed by the price of the purchase in my opinion. If you pull a lot of parade duty I could almost justify it, but I think there are better things to do to cool down your bike.

First, high quality synthetic engine oils can do wonders to lower your bike temperature. I know a lot of you have heard stories of how synthetic oils can hurt your engine or make your clutch slip. So I will explain the pros and cons of synthetics the best I can, to help you make a more informed decision.

There are a lot of synthetics on the market some good, some not so good. As far as I can tell you get what you pay for. I hear rumors about a louder ticking in an engine when synthetic oil is used. This is supposedly due to some synthetic oils being slightly thinner than their fossil oil counter parts. As long as I match the weight of the synthetic oil to the weight recommended by your bikes manufacturer, I have honestly never noticed this on any bike I have used synthetic oils in myself.

Next, I hear people talk about clutch slippage when using synthetic oil in their primary. This is true, but not because synthetics are bad. It is due to most synthetic oils having a friction modifier in them, although this is good in your engine it may cause the clutch plates to slip sometimes. As long as you make sure to use synthetic oil in the primary that does not contain friction modifiers, you will get no slip along with a cooler, happier running primary.

As far as the transmission goes, good synthetic oil will allow a smoother, quieter shift, a cooler transmission temperature, and prolong the life of your transmission.

Another question I hear is, “will it void my warranty to use a synthetic oil.” The answer is no, it will not void your warranty to use a synthetic oil (so long as it is the proper weight that is recommended by your bike manufacturer,) you cannot void your warranty.

People have asked me if you have to use a special oil filter when you use synthetic oil. The answer is no. The only difference in the filters is that a synthetic designed filter has a larger filtration surface. This is due to synthetic oils lasting longer than fossil oils, so the filter has to last longer too. A regular filter will work fine, but it may require you to change the regular filter before the synthetic oil needs to be changed.

If cost is the barrier that keeps you from using synthetic oils consider this. The higher cost of synthetic oil is way out weighed by the benefits of using it. When things like the longevity of your engine being increased, the fact that synthetic oils last longer between changes (as long as the filter gets changed regularly,) and better fuel economy are entered into the equation, synthetic oils are much, much cheaper in the long run. So I really have to say there is no reason not to use a quality, full synthetic oil.

So what synthetic oil do I recommend? Amsoil all the way, now remember I do not get paid to say this by Amsoil, nor do I work for Amsoil in any way. I wouldn’t play our readers like that. I know for a fact that using Amsoil in my engine, primary, and transmission has lowered my engine’s running temp. by about 15 degrees. I have had friends tell me they dropped engine temps by almost 20 degrees using Amsoil! That is a huge difference.

Now that we agree that synthetic oil is a good thing, you will have to tune in to “Running Hot Part III.” When I will tell you a few more tricks I have learned to cool off our beloved Harleys, and improve power and performance along the way.

Until next time Ride safe, and hopefully a little cooler my friends.

-Biker Chad