Tennessee
.020 Over
barbagris:
The Indian clutch runs in the engine oil. Engine and tranny are essentially one unit.
Odd thing, they have the oil pump in the bottom of the engine, so if it ever fails, you have to crack the cases. HD has their pump on the side, about a two hour change out if it fails. Lots of negative talk about that issue, but no real documentation of the T-111 failing for bad pumps, less alone much else.
Also, there were early problems, (Indian only put out their first bikes in late 2014), of the crankcase sump not being able to get all the oil out of the bottom of the crankcase fast enough - causing the piston skirts to slap the remaining oil, making a loud "clacking" sound. The name "clacker" was born. So many theories on what was actually happening, but Polaris did start changing their skirt design, and did some upgrading on their sumps which seemed to cure it. Some people had the idea that changing the lean mixture, remapping, etc., would cure it, all kinds of ideas, but a guy down in Texas finally took an engine off a bike and set it up so that they could pump some extra oil into the crankcase through the drain plug while running, and created the sound dead on when he put a little extra in, about 6-8 ounces. Drain it out, clack gone.
So then the questions came up about tolerances in the pump stack when assembly happened, mainly dimensional creep. But in about 18 months, it seemed that no more clackers were coming off the line, so Polaris knew, but never admitted since no engine ever actually did die from the noise. No recall, and almost no dealers will even talk about the issue. Own one, though, and the noise - wow. I heard one once, and I would not want to own it. Mine does not do it, but I have a 2016, probably cured by then. Problem mostly appeared in 14's and 15's.
But for those who have "clackers", it is really loud, happens when the engine has warmed, and seems to appear around 1800-2300 RPM. I'm not talking about the usual tappet noise that V-twins put out, I'm talking firecrackers under your legs.
Anyway, as far as Motorkote, I can appreciate anybody wanting to stay with recommended manufacturer oil and for sure, it works just fine. But I just got tired of the hard shifting on my new Indian, the first to second shift when first starting out, so I tried it and it seemed to smooth it out.
With that success, I put a little into my Triumph, and got pretty much the same result, a smoother drive.
But I am an undocumented opinion with no scientific proof, and I am not trying to convince anyone to put anything in their engine beyond what the owner's manual says. I was just curious if anybody from this forum used it. I would not recommend it to anyone who has even a hint of being unsure. Stay with the recommended oil, a good brand.
It's kind of like trying to state the difference between Castrol and Valvoline. Most oils have at least some viscosities that have the API Certification Mark Starburst. But personally, it will be a cold day when I ever put a quart of Quaker State in any engine I own, starburst or not. That kind of thing.
The Indian clutch runs in the engine oil. Engine and tranny are essentially one unit.
Odd thing, they have the oil pump in the bottom of the engine, so if it ever fails, you have to crack the cases. HD has their pump on the side, about a two hour change out if it fails. Lots of negative talk about that issue, but no real documentation of the T-111 failing for bad pumps, less alone much else.
Also, there were early problems, (Indian only put out their first bikes in late 2014), of the crankcase sump not being able to get all the oil out of the bottom of the crankcase fast enough - causing the piston skirts to slap the remaining oil, making a loud "clacking" sound. The name "clacker" was born. So many theories on what was actually happening, but Polaris did start changing their skirt design, and did some upgrading on their sumps which seemed to cure it. Some people had the idea that changing the lean mixture, remapping, etc., would cure it, all kinds of ideas, but a guy down in Texas finally took an engine off a bike and set it up so that they could pump some extra oil into the crankcase through the drain plug while running, and created the sound dead on when he put a little extra in, about 6-8 ounces. Drain it out, clack gone.
So then the questions came up about tolerances in the pump stack when assembly happened, mainly dimensional creep. But in about 18 months, it seemed that no more clackers were coming off the line, so Polaris knew, but never admitted since no engine ever actually did die from the noise. No recall, and almost no dealers will even talk about the issue. Own one, though, and the noise - wow. I heard one once, and I would not want to own it. Mine does not do it, but I have a 2016, probably cured by then. Problem mostly appeared in 14's and 15's.
But for those who have "clackers", it is really loud, happens when the engine has warmed, and seems to appear around 1800-2300 RPM. I'm not talking about the usual tappet noise that V-twins put out, I'm talking firecrackers under your legs.
Anyway, as far as Motorkote, I can appreciate anybody wanting to stay with recommended manufacturer oil and for sure, it works just fine. But I just got tired of the hard shifting on my new Indian, the first to second shift when first starting out, so I tried it and it seemed to smooth it out.
With that success, I put a little into my Triumph, and got pretty much the same result, a smoother drive.
But I am an undocumented opinion with no scientific proof, and I am not trying to convince anyone to put anything in their engine beyond what the owner's manual says. I was just curious if anybody from this forum used it. I would not recommend it to anyone who has even a hint of being unsure. Stay with the recommended oil, a good brand.
It's kind of like trying to state the difference between Castrol and Valvoline. Most oils have at least some viscosities that have the API Certification Mark Starburst. But personally, it will be a cold day when I ever put a quart of Quaker State in any engine I own, starburst or not. That kind of thing.
