From:Dennis Henderson e-mail:henderson44@sbcglobal.net
Subject:RE: RE: RE: RE: clutch starting to slip Date:Sat Jul 7 09:15:00 2012
Response to:4165
Steve, thanks as I believe that you nailed this one down. Although I knew that regular HD oil may not be clutch compatible I was very concerned about my super tight fresh rebuilt engine. Because I have 90,000 on my HD Road King with regular HD oil, I decided to use it with a little
ZDD plus. I think my crankshaft and camshaft liked that slippery oil however after 300 miles my clutch does not. I've narrowed it down to vavoline 20/50 motorcycle oil which meets JASA-MA standards or straight 50 wt. Valvoline racing which does not meet JASA-MA standards but has added ZDDP protection. Sometimes the answers are not always in the textbooks but from experience and this is why the Henderson forum is so great. The 20/50 weight might get back to the oil sump quicker. I'm not sure which way I'm going to go. Thanks Kris, Dave and Steve. Dennis



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Oils - we've been here before - use the search to view previuos messages covering oils including msg 1611 which I posted in 2007. The one thing that hasn't been mentioned in these latest postings is that the oil we use needs to be JASO-MA standard. Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_oil for reasons why.

I used Castrol GP 4T till they discontinued it and brought out Castrol Actevo 4T 20W-50 as an alternative and continue to use that. http://www.castrolmoto.com/en/products/actevo.php

The data sheet for the GP 4T used to give a figure for zinc content but there is no mention of it in the Actevo data sheets. I was concerned about the problems caused by removal of ZDDP from modern products so I also use Extralube ZX1 - see http://www.team-zx1.com/What-Is-Extralube-ZX1 and http://www.team-zx1.com/Motorcycles

My 1920 Model K has now done 8000 plus miles and no problems - certainly no cluch slip. I have a King clutch fitted and use an oil filter.

Hope this helps - Steve

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Thanks Kris for the feedback. I should have mentioned that I have been running a filter since the rebuild. I also used the breakin oil for the first 100 miles or so and then replaced the filter and changed to the HD oil. Valvoline sounds like a definite possibility. Will see if others provide additional feedback on their oil preference. It's just starting to slip in high gear at full throttle and higher speeds.

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I now have 800 plus miles on my 29 kj for the cannonball. I used aeroshell 65
(30 wt) for the first 200 miles. I then put on a filter and am using Valvoline
racing straight 50 wt. I have had zero issues with the performance and the
clutch (king) is working just as it should. I know the Indian 4 club had some
input on the different types and weights of oil and I took that information and
went with the Valvoline. The nice thing about this is that you can get it just
about anywhere and since I'm doing the cannonball I wanted an oil I can readily
find and is what I believe good quality. If your not running a filter then I
personally like the non-detergent (like aeroshell) which is supposed to keep the
contaminants at the bottom of the crankcase and not suspended like detergent
oils. Best piece of advice in my opinion is just change all and any oil often. It's
the cheapest insurance money can buy.



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The clutch is starting to slip on my '31 KJ which has a fresh rebuilt engine and
about 300 road miles. I have new King Clutch plates and new clutch springs.
I've been using HD 20/50 regular oil with some ZDDP additive. Thinking of
switching to a synthetic oil that is wet clutch compatible without the using the
additive. I'd appreciate knowing what oil the Cannonball Henderson crowd is
going to use. Thanks.