H-D servicing?

[nico]

just a question to all the harley guys , so a mate say's to me how he's paying extravgaint prices for a simple oil change. i tell him it shouldnt be a big thing since ive got the room and nesecary tools easy to do i think?,

so question to any one who knows is there any thing apart from using corect oil and filter that i should know i mean i service my honda every 5 thou never had an issue.

and can the corect grade of oil be perchaced fom super cheep? or do ya gota get it from a h,d dealer??

thanks in advance.

[JimO]

you need special HD oil it has a wallet on a chain and tassels

[Taz]

Look here Nico

http://www.hdtalking.com/oil_related_tips/

[Wefaknis]

great idea Anthrax.... :-)

[nico]

you need special HD oil it has a wallet on a chain and tassels


clasic ....................

[hmmmnz]

hd are remarkably simple bikes, the only difference between them and a sports bike (avoiding the obvious :D) is that they generally are dry sump engines.. like loads of dirt bikes, (and they have seperate gear boxes)
so not only do you have to drain the sump of oil, you also have to drain the oil tank, its hard to get a complete change, because there is always a little bit of oil left in the system,,
basically drain the sump and tank, put a litre in the tank, run the bike for 10-20 seconds, drain the sump and tank again, and refill the tank,
run for another 20seconds and check the tank level.
the gear box is like on a 2 stroke, just drain and refill,

[R1madness]

They are easy to do but make sure you use an oil specified for roller bearings not plain metal bearings.
Spectro Heavy Duty 20/50 is a spacific HD oil. i recommend that. They also make Gearbox and primary spacific oils. If you are stuck for oil use a DIESEL OIL for TOP UPS in your HD. Diesel oils are made to withstand much higher pressures (on the big end bearings due to high compression) which are needed with a roller bearing. There is less surface area on a roller bearing than a plain metal bearing hence the higher point to point load.

[R1madness]

hd are remarkably simple bikes, the only difference between them and a sports bike (avoiding the obvious :D) is that they generally are dry sump engines.. like loads of dirt bikes, (and they have seperate gear boxes)
so not only do you have to drain the sump of oil, you also have to drain the oil tank, its hard to get a complete change, because there is always a little bit of oil left in the system,,
basically drain the sump and tank, put a litre in the tank, run the bike for 10-20 seconds, drain the sump and tank again, and refill the tank,
run for another 20seconds and check the tank level.
the gear box is like on a 2 stroke, just drain and refill,

A harley engine inside is so different from a sports bike it funny. Plain bearings vrs roller bearings is just the start...
UMmmm if its dry sump it does not have a sump bung..... Some late model harleys (dyna) have a oil tank that looks like its part of the engine but they are still dry sump.
Also you forgot to mention the primary oil. its seperate to the gearbox as well on most older (per 2002 hogs). It needs drained and refilled (to the bottom of the clutch hub usually). Takes just under 950mls.
Its funny that so many people think HDs are simple but when you get deeper into them they are quite specialised and need a good understanding of them to get the best from them.

[paulmac]

engine is fine with 20-50 bike oil but use spectro primary oil. Prevents clutch slippage.

[The Pink Panther]

Compressor oil change ?

[doc]

I've used Moblil 1 and sportrans for 80k in mine never had a prob with bearing skate. Change both every 5k. They are so simple very little to maintain, other than oil changes. Never been back to the shop since new.

[Crasherfromwayback]

hd are remarkably simple bikes, the only difference between them and a sports bike (avoiding the obvious :D) is that they generally are dry sump engines.. like loads of dirt bikes, (and they have seperate gear boxes)
so not only do you have to drain the sump of oil, you also have to drain the oil tank, its hard to get a complete change, because there is always a little bit of oil left in the system,,
basically drain the sump and tank, put a litre in the tank, run the bike for 10-20 seconds, drain the sump and tank again, and refill the tank,
run for another 20seconds and check the tank level.
the gear box is like on a 2 stroke, just drain and refill,

They're all dry sump engines. All you have to do is let the thing slow idle for a few minutes to let the scavenger pump do it's thing, and return all of the oil residue that's in the cases back to the tank and you're good to go (drain).


They are easy to do but make sure you use an oil specified for roller bearings not plain metal bearings.
Spectro Heavy Duty 20/50 is a spacific HD oil. i recommend that. They also make Gearbox and primary spacific oils. If you are stuck for oil use a DIESEL OIL for TOP UPS in your HD. Diesel oils are made to withstand much higher pressures (on the big end bearings due to high compression) which are needed with a roller bearing. There is less surface area on a roller bearing than a plain metal bearing hence the higher point to point load.

Roller bearings are tough as hell, as a sphere is the greatest shape known to mankind for dispersing a load. They don't need any fancy oil, just one that's not too slimey, so (as has been said) the rollers don't skid.

[Owl]

They're all dry sump engines.

Mine wasn't!

[Crasherfromwayback]

Mine wasn't!

Maybe not...but these guys weren't referring to the V-rod family.

[scumdog]

I've used Moblil 1 and sportrans for 80k in mine never had a prob with bearing skate. Change both every 5k. They are so simple very little to maintain, other than oil changes. Never been back to the shop since new.

You mean to say there are 'bikes out there that require MORE than an oil/filter change as part of there periodic maintenance!???:shit::blink:

[Owl]

Maybe not...but these guys weren't referring to the V-rod family.

Niether was I.................95 FXD, wet sump, sump plug etc.:yes:

[Crasherfromwayback]

You mean to say there are 'bikes out there that require MORE than an oil/filter change as part of there periodic maintenance!???:shit::blink:

Hahaha...gotta love self adusting tappets and belt drive eh!

[Crasherfromwayback]

Niether was I.................95 FXD, wet sump, sump plug etc.:yes:

Sorry mate. An FXD (as are all pushrod engines) is dry sump. It's just that the oil tank is tacked on to the back of the cases. It's still seperate and dry sump. Sportys and Softails have an oil tank under the seat.

[doc]

Hahaha...gotta love self adusting tappets and belt drive eh!
The advantage of pushrods huh. Technology caused the economic downturn. More people with their hands out fixing ya stuff

[Crasherfromwayback]

Aye. Nothing wrong with pushrods if the engine design is sound. The Twin Cam is so much better than the Evo was in that regard.

[doc]

Aye. Nothing wrong with pushrods if the engine design is sound. The Twin Cam is so much better than the Evo was in that regard.

Bloody salesman. I'm not ready too move up to a bigus blockus yet

[Crasherfromwayback]

Bloody salesman. I'm not ready too move up to a bigus blockus yet

Hahaha...sorry! BUT...the Evo was only an alloy top end on the old Shovel. The angle of the pushrods was way too severe, and created way too much load on the rocker gear and the pushrods themselves. The Twin Cam, by spreading the cams further away from the centre of the crank cut the load on the push rods and rocker gear massively. That's why (apart from the fact that the Twin Cam is also internally much bigger and stronger) the TC can be hot rodded and revved much harder that an Evo and still not break.

[scumdog]

Hahaha...sorry! BUT...the Evo was only an alloy top end on the old Shovel. The angle of the pushrods was way too severe, and created way too much load on the rocker gear and the pushrods themselves. The Twin Cam, by spreading the cams further away from the centre of the crank cut the load on the push rods and rocker gear massively. That's why (apart from the fact that the Twin Cam is also internally much bigger and stronger) the TC can be hot rodded and revved much harder that an Evo and still not break.

Gotta love them Sportys for that reason!!

[Crasherfromwayback]

Gotta love them Sportys for that reason!!

Aye! That's why 99.9% of all HD based drag bikes used Sporty engines! Like the TC engine, the four cams of a Sporty were spaced much further away from the centre line of the crank.

[Taz]

You mean to say there are 'bikes out there that require MORE than an oil/filter change as part of there periodic maintenance!???:shit::blink:

Yep. They're called ducati's. Best avoided in my opinion.

[rok-the-boat]

I had a HD for ten years. I used HD oil for the engine only and standard gear oil for the primary and transmission. Never had a problem except that it is a lot of hassle doing three changes. Still, the gear oil, like a car - you can leave it longer - miss a change - and it still comes out clean.

[Flip]

HD's are easy to maintain.

Warm the oil, remove the sump bung on the oil tank, unscrew the filter (the little HD plastic filter spill thinggy usefull it stops the filter spilling oil down the front of the motor) replace with a new filter, replace sump bung refill with oil, start and check level.

Every second oil change replace the primary and gear box oil. The oil level on the primary can be confusing the first time you do it because the level is set against the side of the clutch basket, its easy to get to because it is behind the derby cover, my bike takes 1000ml in the primary.

I use HD Syn 3 because it can go in all 3 boxes. Otherwise any good quality motor oil in the motor and primary drive, gear oil in the gear box, QED. It takes almost 6 litres of oil in total to do the lot.

[rok-the-boat]

Hahaha...The angle of the pushrods was way too severe, and created way too much load on the rocker gear and the pushrods themselves.

Not that bad really. Evos just keep going and going. They rarely have cam problems and last longer than most Japos.

[Crasherfromwayback]

Not that bad really. Evos just keep going and going. They rarely have cam problems and last longer than most Japos.

Evo's are only ok if left stock. Once modified and revved too hard...they break. They're only an alloy top end on a shovel...which lets be honest..is/was well past it's use by date. Evos broke cases, crank pins, fucked pushrods and rocker gear when modified, and are nowhere near as good as even 70's Japanese engines. Fact.

[scumdog]

Evo's are only ok if left stock. Once modified and revved too hard...they break. They're only an alloy top end on a shovel...which lets be honest..is/was well past it's use by date. Evos broke cases, crank pins, fucked pushrods and rocker gear when modified, and are nowhere near as good as even 70's Japanese engines. Fact.

But unmodified will run forever.

[Crasherfromwayback]

But unmodified will run forever.

I'd hardly say forever. But they're ok stock. Not many left stock is the main problem. As I've said before...the Sporty engine is better/stronger than the big block evo.