Oil capacity questions for Dave

[Monk]

Did my first oil change in my li'l blue sporty today, surprisingly easy! After i found the drain plug, that is.
Here's the pic I could NOT find online anyplace:

The drain (plug) is the little upside-down black mushroom thingy.

One place'd said it'd be clipped to the frame, another said it was behind the case... lots of cornfusion!
It wasn't clipped to anything, just loose tube hangin' down there, but not where online sources had said.
After the change, I just tucked it up onto the thick platform immediately aft... out of the way if I bottom out on a stump or somethin'

Anyway, Dave..?
When adding the new oil, I stopped at 3 quarts, to go look up the capacity again, to be sure... I'd read 3.6 quarts at many places (including the 07 svc manual!) but at the last minute found some experts who say the manual is wrong - it's been revised to read 2.8 quarts now..?

Ruh-roh, maybe 3 quarts was too much? If I stand the bike straight up, the oil bathes the bottom quarter inch of the locking cap's fat part (above dipstick portion, way above the full line too).
What is the correct oil capacity of an '07 1200, please???

Also, when you check the oil, should the bike be on the kickstand lean, or held upright to get an accurate reading from the dipstick?

I'm feelin' like the dipstick at the moment.

Draining a few ounces wouldn't be hard, but do I need to?

Took it for a longish ride tonight, no oil smells or anything blowing out the intakes... seems okay.
Doesn't seem to run much cooler, though, either. Maybe there was synth in it already.

Sorry to bother you with this trivia, but it seems important if something so fundamental as the manual has bad info.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Monk

Did my first oil change in my li'l blue sporty today, surprisingly easy! After i found the drain plug, that is.
Here's the pic I could NOT find online anyplace:

The drain (plug) is the little upside-down black mushroom thingy.

One place'd said it'd be clipped to the frame, another said it was behind the case... lots of cornfusion!
It wasn't clipped to anything, just loose tube hangin' down there, but not where online sources had said.
After the change, I just tucked it up onto the thick platform immediately aft... out of the way if I bottom out on a stump or somethin'

Anyway, Dave..?
When adding the new oil, I stopped at 3 quarts, to go look up the capacity again, to be sure... I'd read 3.6 quarts at many places (including the 07 svc manual!) but at the last minute found some experts who say the manual is wrong - it's been revised to read 2.8 quarts now..?

Ruh-roh, maybe 3 quarts was too much? If I stand the bike straight up, the oil bathes the bottom quarter inch of the locking cap's fat part (above dipstick portion, way above the full line too).
What is the correct oil capacity of an '07 1200, please???

Also, when you check the oil, should the bike be on the kickstand lean, or held upright to get an accurate reading from the dipstick?

I'm feelin' like the dipstick at the moment.

Draining a few ounces wouldn't be hard, but do I need to?

Took it for a longish ride tonight, no oil smells or anything blowing out the intakes... seems okay.
Doesn't seem to run much cooler, though, either. Maybe there was synth in it already.

Sorry to bother you with this trivia, but it seems important if something so fundamental as the manual has bad info.

I have a 2008 Sportster XL883. It takes just under 3 quarts of oil at each change. I think that 2.8 or or so is about the right amount. Run the engine enough to warm it up, then check the dip stick again. I would not put in any more oil that it takes to bring it up to 2/3 of the maximum shown on the dipstick.

The first time that I changed the oil I used the oil capacity in the manual to judge how much oil to buy. I ended up using a large graduated syringe to remove the excess.

Pete

[scol]

Don't fill it to the top. My XL1200, I go to half way mark cold engine on kick stand, never fill it.

[Dave63]

Originally Posted by scol

Don't fill it to the top. My XL1200, I go to half way mark cold engine on kick stand, never fill it.

Ditto. Your service manual will state if the oil is to be checked on the jiffy stand or not. Dyna models get checked on the jiffy stands, because the oil tanks sit low. It's my impression that the sporties take just less than 3 qts as well, and filled to the cold line.

[scol]

Originally Posted by Dave63

Ditto. Your service manual will state if the oil is to be checked on the jiffy stand or not. Dyna models get checked on the jiffy stands, because the oil tanks sit low. It's my impression that the sporties take just less than 3 qts as well, and filled to the cold line.

There are some lessens I've learned the hard way.

[vlade]

I'm missin the part where you prefilled your filter and also where you ran up your engine and rechecked the level. Sporties being what they are without any significant changes, check while on the kickstand.
My 04 has a cheap friggin plastic clip that hooks on to an adjacent hose. Not sure yours looks the same on that.

[Monk]

Yes, of course I put about 4 oz into the new filter before I spun it on hand-tight only, and the oil pressure light went out about 3 seconds after starting it the first time. (Made and used Kainam's "oil change doofvcky" - it worked great! )
But thanx fer thinkin' of it!
Checked it hot today after about a 100 mile run and the level is still a bit high, but no problems manifesting, yet.

I'll keep an eye on it and take some out if necessary.

Just for the record, I used a new MoCo chrome filter and 3 qts of Mobil1 V-Twin 20-50 full synthetic.

The temp is about the same as before the change (~230° after an hour and a half @ 70-80 mph on the interstate).
I'm thinkin' it already had synth in it. Dealer couldn't tell me when I bought it.

Think I may change the gear lube next week.
Which raises another issue, I wanna look at the chain tension of the primary while I have the inspection port open... how do you tell if the tension is good..?

Dave I'm afraid the auto-adjuster install you wrote up is a bit much for my H-D tech skill level yet. But if I read you right, my '07 probably has that already..? Or was that just big twins?

[zetaseven]

My 05 has the clip, just clips on to frame. harley told me 3 qts,,,book says 2.8 sooooo anywhere inbetween ought to be fine. I also added a couple ounces of seafoam per Dave's thread. Sat mornin is first come first serve at the dealership. think i'll git in line early and do the Dyno tune. We'll see.

[Monk]

Originally Posted by zetaseven

My 05 has the clip, just clips on to frame. harley told me 3 qts,,,book says 2.8 sooooo anywhere inbetween ought to be fine. I also added a couple ounces of seafoam per Dave's thread. Sat mornin is first come first serve at the dealership. think i'll git in line early and do the Dyno tune. We'll see.

The clipped to the frame method is one I read, but could not find on my bike. I saw like 5 different descriptions of the drain type/location... but could find NO pix for the '07s at all.
So I took one. Doesn't seem like there're very many '07 1200 specific issues out there - at least not that I've had to lookup yet.
Maybe the next poor confused sap who needs the info will find it here.

The plastic plug pulled out easily once the hose clamp was loosened. Went back in by twisting it a little as it's reinserted...
It was just hangin' there in plain sight all the time, but I found it totally by accident.

[SCHMIDTYS]

HD started clipping the oil drain hose to the frame in '04 then went to the hanging with plastic plug by '06 I think . The manuals were printed before the change that adds to the confusion . Sportys get 3 quarts with the filter ... total 3 quarts .