Primary case oil has probably been worried to death somewhere else so I apologise if I am covering old ground.

Just did the 3rd oil change on my '13 Ultra at 16000km on the clock. Took the dealers advice and used Syn3 in all three holes. Clutch take up has now gone to poo. It starts to engage from a stationary start in its normal smooth manner and then gets to a certain point where it "jerks" into final engagement. Can't get past it even on a very gentle take-off. Its still there only softer. I experienced this once before on a CBR1000F and it was just plain the wrong oil. Reverting back fixed it. But in this case this is the HD recommended oil. 

Has anyone got any ideas???

The Syn3 is crap, it's a semi synthetic oil for a start, I'd change to another brand, I use Mobil Full synthetic in mine.

p.s. you still might need a clutch adjustment.

Is this the stuff you use??  https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/mobil-1/mobil-1-v-twin-motorcycle-oil.

Two words I have to say to you cool, is , Manuel Manuel, HD . Genuinnne .

Problem is that there was no problem with clutch uptake with the previous oil( smooth as silk), which was HD's primary case oil, but there was an IMMEDIATE problem with the Syn3 in the primary case. It wasn't a case of the syn3 oil deteriorating - the problem occurred within 20km of changing it so is obviously the oil?? The dealer doesn't give a shit and isn't interested. Shrug shrug don't know its HD recommended oil.

I can simply go back to the previous oil but before I do it would be great to know if anyone has had this experience, if there is a reason for it, and if there is an oil that is used by lots of harley owners that gives good longevity. I'm not happy to have clutch behaviour like this. I have now done 2000km since the oil change and clutch behaviour hasn't changed - still the sudden uptake at the point of final engagement.

Don't want to see an epic discussion on this. Just can't believe this hasn't happened to others. If not and it's just me I'll start looking at the mechanical side of things although too coincidental for me that a problem would arise at the same time as an oil change, and after only 16000km total on the bike.

 

 

Found an independant Harley workshop in town the other day - didn't know he existed - apparently been there for 4 years and 10 years experience with harleys. He said the clutch issue with the Syn3 is known and the solution is to change to a good mineral primary case oil and it should fix itself in about 30km. Hope so. We'll wait and see.

I did change the oil last weekend straight after talking to the independant Harley guy. Probably would have sooner but was confused by the fact it had HD recommended oil in the primary. Haven't done the 300km it is supposed to take to go back to normal but will have by tomorrow night.

I can sort of understand that it may take a few km to eliminate the effect of the Syn3 as there would be molecular penetration of friction material with any oil.

Anyway lets hope it gets better otherwise you may be right.

molecular penetration of friction material huh?
No offence meant mate but I read your other thread about
the rear cylinder temp and I thought you were overthinking the whole thing.
It is now tomorrow night so how is the clutch behaving now?
And why do you have Gonzo the clown as your avatar?

Perhaps I should have said impregnation of friction material. I haven't ridden the bike today. It was too bloody hot.
As far as the head temperature thing is concerned I'm having fun from an engineering perspective, even though I'm repeating some data collection and observation others have already done in the US. There is always something to learn about everything and everything should be questioned.

My avatar is an actual photo of Albert Einstein, a genius and regarded as one of the greatest thinkers and innovators in history. Without him man would not have visited the moon. He revolutionised maths and physics and published over 300 scientific papers. He was altruistic and a great supporter of civil rights. he worked til he died at 76. He is someone I admire and look up to.

Gonzo the clown????? HMMMMM.........

OK smartarse what does altruistic mean?

Sorry!! It means "showing a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish" and is used generally to describe people who do things for others or follow a humanitarian cause without expectation of any reward or recognition. Like Mother Theresa, Dallai Llama etc.

Cheers for that mate. You are a wealth of information

Thanks but it doesn't quite work that way. I'm wired differently to most which creates problems. I'm whats called a high functioning autistic. It means I know a whole bunch of shit I can't possibly know without degrees and stuff that I don't have. My list of technological achievements is pretty long. It doesn't mean shit to me as I don't see the significance. Means I have had a lifetime of anxiety and depression. I don't feel emotion like normal people and my reality is quite different It is what it is.

On the other side I am 62, I love drinking too much piss, fucking hot and nasty women, outrunning the cops(I even run a flip plate on my ultra), generally being a deviate and crazy bastard with a fuck you attitude but also like to help anyone in need. 

Love it!!

Any final result here?

I've done over 1000km since primary oil change and it's improved a lot but clutch still tends to grab a bit at the last bit of release. More pronounced two-up. Adjusted the clutch 200km ago and made no difference. There is no slippage or shuddering. If I do a hard takeoff it is hardly detectable. Put up with it I guess.

Point taken. Winter is not that far away and I am planning on doing a fair bit of disassembly to clean the impossible to get places on the ultra so I think can probably wait until then to strip out the clutch and take a look. It's only done 22000km and i have done 17500km of that, mostly long miles not urban, so its a bit disappointing if there is a clutch issue. Is it common??  Maybe the clutch doesn't like taking off with the bike weighing 600+kg for 95% of the time. Should I think about a heavier clutch anyway with this load??

Yeah I've tried the low speed high gear test and also a stall down test which I don't really like to do and there is no sign of slippage.  There was no sign of excessive friction material on the derby cover when I changed the oil. A couple of times today it took up smoothly and that's a good sign for me that there is something mechanically wrong like spring or perhaps warped friction plate(s) as has been suggested.

Thanks for that.