• ...........now i ave 103 stg iv and this consumption of oil by different owners an myself leaves me wondering ,yes it uses up about 210mill every now an then .im very vigil with my equipment and like others everything must be right coz 2 day will be go as hard as you can when space presents itself ,and so on so bak home on levEL GROUND turn off and grab beer sit down with mate i saz gunna ....check   oil so i av push button device an push and saz 203f an 1 bar low on indicator its been 5 mins max ,not trusting that digital oil level device really i do trust just will check with original stick so do an yes ,saz low going by oil level see when taken out ,2 people here both harly men ,mate states he checks oil wen bikes level ,thas y shows under well hd book in hand saz oil level 2 be chjecked on jiffy stand few minutes after stopped ,he saz not on softails ah,i saz hang on 2000models on oil must be checked on jiffy stand according manuall ,he goes nah he hops on my bike sits on level 4  little bit now check your oil ,well of course level was where shoui;ld be an stated all softails owners fill thiers 2 weld mark in tank an hav been doin so 4 yrs ,also stated that when riding bike is mostly level an therefore must be right tried filling his softail as per book and wen sat upright oil was coming out of filler hole ,so he fills to this weld mark and leavel styes same he saz we do same on yours coz wen stood up oil was on rite level mark an wen using you are sittin on level ,now try this way 4 while an see if level changes if so then we go back old method testing on jiffystand ,he states thats why use useing oli coz to much in an has 2 eliminate then we check an go  needs more oil but if bike level not on jiffy oil level correct ,now who do you bielieve instructions by HD or owners who have been trying 2 understand y they say check like this on incline ,not many machines i know where u check oil level on angle ,my friend drag races for HD team and they all check oil bikes level in worklshop on stand levels are checked on lift level so us guys sayin were useing little bit oil in our 103ci stg iv's is due to overfilling that 210ml which engine has to burn of or push out sump breather makes sense we been puttin oil in we not needed an then burs offf then we put bak an we bielieve that our engines are useing oil and it always seems to be same amount ,my mate saz THATS Y ITS BURNIN IT TO GET RID AND GET BACK TO LEVEL IT NEEDS ,TRUST ME IVE BEEN RUNNIN MINE LIKE THIS FOR YRS AS MANY OTHERS ARE HIS IS SROKED 88CI -95 STG3 CARBY 2003 DUECE A BEAUTIFUL MACHINE CUSTOM BUILT BY MORGAN WACKER PURPLE GOLD BLACK CUSTOM PAINT A PROJECT THEY BUILT AN DISPLAYED AT CONVENTION CENTRE YRS AGO THEY CALL HIM RICKO anyway thats who talked to me about this what is the correct level of oil in our bikes ,his explanation on subject made instant sense but hd manual saz otherwise y MANGELED

Hi,

I believe instructions by HD they spot on

Thanks
Robots

A lot of what you typed was completely illegible to me, but I think I got the gist.

Your bike oil level always ends up 210ml down, and you aren't sure whether to fill the oil tank while the bike is level or leaning on the side stand.

When checking oil, I believe by the book the bike should be standing upright, and the dipstick should not be screwed down into place, but merely sitting losely above the fill opening.

Oil should not be checked cold, but ALWAYS on a warm engine.

When oil loss occurs in any engine, there can only be one of two causes. Either the oil is leaking/being spat out, or the engine is burning oil.

Harleys are renowned for spitting oil out through the breather hoses, and one of the largest causes of this is overfilling the oil tank.

My suggestion, if the oil level always drops by 210ml as you suggest, try leaving 210ml less in the oil tank, run it for awhile, keep a close eye on the level, and see how it goes.

If that solves your problem, well and good.

If it doesn't solve your problem, then maybe the 210ml you state isn't exactly accurate and instead it's just a case of you losing oil consistently.

If you are losing oil it is no doubt leaking from the oil tank into the sump, and this oil is then either exiting through the breather as a mist, or being routed into the air cleaner to be burnt with the fuel and/or to leak all over your leg and engine as the air cleaner filter gets soaked.

Are you seeing oil from a breather hose, especially on start up, or when the bike has been standing unused for some time?

Likewise do you see any signs of oil on your rear tyre, especially the right side?

Do you see any drips of oil on the ground under the bike?

Are you seeing oil on your right leg or the right side of the engine below the air cleaner?

If your answers are no, and the oil level is still dropping, then the other possibility is that you are burning oil, and the most probable cause would be valve stem seals. Look in the exhaust for signs of oil in one pipe or the other, and I'd also suggest a compression test.

However, if you have friends who drag race HD's, I'd suggest they're pretty clued up, and they should be able to check things over for you and come up with a viable solution pretty quickly.

Seriously....

Fill the bike to the right level (however you want to do it) then ride it and leave it overnight on level ground - I assume your garage/shed is level.

Now in the morning with the bike on its side stand - pull the dipstick and see where the level is - this is your new master level when cold. you can do the same baseline setting when she is hot as well.

The thing is, you now have the right levels when she is hot or cold and on the side stand. Just use these settings going forward; its what I have done for the past 20 years with my Evo (i can fill her up to the top fill line and within a week she will lower to be about an inch above the 'fill-me' line - BUT she just sits there from that point on....that's her natural level that she sits at)

too easy....

I've just been doing a little research on this, and it seems my own advice is a little dated and possibly not relevant to the newer models.

Here's what HD have to say:

Softail

http://www.harley-davidsonhongkong.com/service_softail.html

Dyna

http://www.harley-davidsonhongkong.com/service_dyna.html

 

It's only an oil level,not a scientific measurement.
From my first shovel to my latest twin cam,I have been happy
So long as it's close to the mark.

Hey Shingles, I have 14 Fat bob and it likes sitting on the fifth cross or square from the bottom when cold the two squares at the top of dipstick should have no oil on them when your bike is stone cold.

The oil should be checked on the jiffy stand on level ground and by screwing the dipstick all the way in.

Sounds like your over filling your oil a little and your bike is probably losing what you are putting in each time through the breathers.

Hi,

this after ride, right on level, nothing out of breather but probably better one X down, 

like tussock suggested, set up a standard and go from there

thanks

robots

 

well such a simple but sometimes complex task ,i can go out do 100ks or more pushin up hill down dale then long stretches were u can open up an so on get home park turn off bike is on level floor ,go get beer sit down for a moment try to take fullfillment of wow ,that was pretty full on still vibrating or zinging watever ok been a few min get up hobble over screw out oil measure always get burnt make sure get rag or garden glove alright out it comes wipe screw in remove ah ha perfect ,now sits 4 week there is no oil leaks or signs at end exhaust or any other places ,so mate an i ride 200klms 100 up an 100 bak sittin on 120 130 with some bursts at times get home sit down do same get beer ponder for a few min o gunna chek that oil level and is down coupla x x marks not end of da world but how can this b ,ive owned lots of machines so far truks tractors anything with an engine basicly ,an every now an then u own sumthin that sumtimes says full sumtimes not sometimes less then sometimes over full and u havent added any fluids ,this is a fact that has occured 2 me owning different machines and thinking u understand the requirements needed 2 maintain said machine but at different times when doing checks u find some mysterious happenings ,like i read the manual drained all fluid as manual states filter sump let sit stand up or watever insert bungs new filter fill with oil now fill so many litres run engine 4 a little turn off ,u now the usual even start again let idle i never reved any off my engines like people standing there reving an reving i just let idle few min then off wait a little screw out oil stick wipe insert do again an go hummm seems ok go for  ride nothin over the top 10k an 10 bak do procedure an then ponder ive noticed that my oil even after 100klms on hwy after few mins 5 oil warm but not hot hot like bike craklin but oil u would think would be quite hot to touch after ten min jus warm mates been with me wen done this ,put hand uderneath touch crankcase will be red hot but oil not so u would think oterwise ,they all jus said ,your motor must cool well ,and just wen i get oil  level worked out next time completely different ,sometimes i rather do go real aggressive as fast as it will go and i feel all is good no trouble is present probably during those bursts off all or nothing mid week middle of day giving it da be geezez is most likely cause of fluid evaporation ,but anyways i check after all rides of that nature as of course if put things under extremes there will be fluid loss just like an athlete sweating an losing water dissapation ,or water boiling levels will be lost and thats that ,i get big screwdriver u can do with a lot of objects i put end against barrell hold in hand put against ear and listnen top end valves its very distinct u hear em an i jus remember wat sounded like last time pistons an valve gear sonded like u can hear differences front an rear cylinder an is an old way of determining certain things may not apply in this modern age but does even log piece dowel works ok ah i jus ramblin now SHINGLES o i piked wrong photo dont no how 2 remove this my bass though wasnt supposed to be here but is sorry bought that

always chek on jiffy stand wat a wierd name 4 a sidestand ,an nah never have over filled myself very fastidious about cheking as per the manual ,bike came bak from shop overfilled i told them and anwser was itll b right ,i drained to make right an last night i put 120ml oil in coz i thought if using say 200ml after a while ,now this motor gets flogged burnouts reved hard i hav screaming eagle shift tacho light set up ,set light at 5800 cause so easy 2 hit limiter in first so this at least gives me warning ,the bike gets a workout when ridden i push hard no mamby pamby shit ,so thats probably not the best thing 2 do but ,thats how i am so i put oil useage down 2 abuse ,so after 175 klm ride last nite all HWY sitin on 120-130 acassionally opening flat out with bursts of 200ks per hour wen time was rite got home did usuall goinside get a beer bla bla bla after few minutes here e go screw out stick wipe insert fully pull out an shes readin spot on ,weather was cooler so engine not as hot as other times in stinkin hot weather wich make motor really hot wen hootin along ,its just one of those things i now from having hot cars an bikes if u change it and abuse it small amounts of lubricant will dissapate coz u made 2 go faster rev harder so it comes with little differences that we wanted 2 make faster ,an i use it hard well thats wat i wanted so little bit of oil 4 da fun i have ah i guess its my own fault but geezzez i have a blast wen riden it ,owened ovr 50 bikes wrecked a lot but dat HD gives an ol man a feelin thats hard 2 beatSHINGLES