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Mobile 1 in All Three Holes

26K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  Zelrick 
#1 ·
I've been reading as many threads as I can and following links. Mobil 1 says their V-twin 20-50 can be used in all three holes with no issues. Someone on here said Harley says you can do the same with Syn 3 (makes sense if you can with Mobil 1). It sounds like the issue is with clutch feel.

Can anyone who has actually done this chime in? What's the negative? Thanks.

2012 Street Glide owner
 
#2 ·
look at the bar going across the top you'll see it say Forum . Click on that and then scroll down to where it says Oils and filters.

It's every thing you ever want to know about oils and Filters and the do's and don't .

A lot of guys use it in all 3 holes Some prefer other oils. It's just a preference.

Enjoy and Good luck with what ever you choose
 
#3 ·
Fine for motor and primary, but I would not use it in the tranny, use a good gear lube like.......Redline.
 
#6 ·
I use the Redline shock proof in my tranny. Tranny oil takes a different type of beating than engine oil. It stands up better to the shearing forces in the transmission.

The Syn 3 or Mobil 1 stands up to the high heat of the engine and is primarily designed for engines.

The shock proof trany oil from Redline comes highly rated throughout Harleydom. I used to own a Transmission shop.

I use Harley's +P in the clutch. It's designed for the clutch which has different needs and operating temps from the engine and tranny.

BUT YOU CAN USE MOBIL 1 for V Twins 20-50 in all 3 holes. Some engine oils (but not syn 3 or Mobil 1) have additives that are not good for the clutch.

Redline is more expensive than Mobil or Syn but after spending close to 20 g's on your bike why skimp on a quart of oil?

After reading the info available here on the forum and discussing it with the lead mechanic at my dealer, I decided to use what I described above. And I'm still using Harley dino 20-50 in the engine but I'm likely to switch to Mobil 1 V-Twin 20-50 for the engine.

Read up on the subject matter here in this forum.
 
#7 ·
I read through quite a bit of the posts on here. Most of what I saw regarding using the same oil in all three holes was from people who thought you shouldn't for various reasons but never mentioned trying it themselves. I believe that Mobil 1 is such a quality oil that nothing will get hurt, but I don't know this for sure. Some people mentioned the clutch feel will change, and I'd like to know more about that.

I was just wondering what the positives or negatives were from people who have done it or still do it. Thanks for the input so far.
 
#8 ·
I too am interested in the 'different feel' of clutch. Personally I run either Harley synthetics or Amsoil synthetics. You woulnt use motor oil in the tranny of ur car, so why do it with bike
 
#10 ·
Thanks for that report Cisco. I've been agonizing over switching to synthetic to the engine (still running dino in a low mileage bike).

No one has ever reported a normal engine failing because they used dino oil of the proper grade. The lead mechanic at the dealership has recommended staying with the stock oil. Milwaukee still ships its new bikes with dino 20-50.

And everyone who has switched to synthetic says the upper end is noisier. (which I don't want)
 
#12 ·
I used Lucas 20-50 synthetic at the last change in all three, the major difference from syn 3 is noise and transmission smoothness. The valve train noise went way down and the transmission clunk is considerably less. Transmission shifts cleaner too. Engine temps are down and maybe the oil has some to do with it, it certainly sheds temp faster than syn 3. I think going to an open air cleaner which drastically dropped the inlet air temp helped the most with engine temps though. Ham cans suck, hot air from around the heads, the open setup doesn't, when moving.

Next up is to try a heavy breather clone from K & N and see what that does.
 
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