Best Oil ?

Morning Boys and Girls ..

I have a 1999 1200 Sportster .. seems to drink oil like its going out of fashion .. whats the best oil to keep my engine tip-top ?

i'd get it checked for leaks! i have a 2002 883 and it uses hardly any oil between changes.
could be something wrong inside, any smoke when you run it?
i use screaming eagle or zodiac stuff from the indie near me.
dan

its been standing for a few days and its left no damp patches .. so I dont think its a leek .. had a mate following me who said it smelt a bit funny, but he could of been reffering to me

Ill check it again tonight, put a few miles on it and see what happens ... but for refrence whats the best brand of oil to use ?

[douglr88]

I use Harley oil but I don't think it matters. The main thing is to change it regularly. I change the oil every 2-3000 miles without fail. The engine has done about 75000 miles with no problems

[Phil]

Any more than a quart between oil changes in a Sportster is cause for concern.
Make sure you are not overfilling it.

[Alan B]

The oil type does matter, that's why the manual says use a diesel oil if you can't get the HD oil. Personally I use the HD oil, for what it uses the price doesn't matter so much, but if you use something else bear in mind you are running a big AIRCOOLED V twin not a watercooled motor which is what modern oils are designed for. Make sure whatever you use is suitable for a hot running aircooled engine.
Alan B

I just just changed my oil and filter and used Amsoil 20/50 seems to be ok, they do a couple of different ones,I used the cheapest @ around £9.50 a us quart it said it was for V twins they do a more expensive one but the difference was marginal in performance to warrant the extra cost as far as I could see.
and you get 10% discount
www.performanceoilsltd.co.uk

If your bike is eating oil then you have a problem. The only way it can be consumed is by being burned and to be burned it must have gotten into the combustion chamber. Appologies if I'm trying to tell you to suck eggs.
Oil can get past the valve guides usually from extreme weear or split/hardeded seals. or it can get past the rings. Badly worn or scored bored will cause this and so will using a too thin oil or now having an oil that is too thin (poor oil, broken down oil or fuelled down oil) . Give it an oil change in the 1st instance to see if this does the trick. If not then you might have more searching to do.