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[105annivdyna]

I have a 08 SE Dyna.
It is using a quart of oil in 1000 miles.
Harley says this is considered normal consumption.
Let me know if you have this type of usage or not.
I would like to show them how abnormal this really is
with your feed back.
I will be contacting my attorney because I feel they aren't
going to do anything about it.

Thanks for any feedback you can give me.

[grc]

I have a 08 SE Dyna.
It is using a quart of oil in 1000 miles.
Harley says this is considered normal consumption.
Let me know if you have this type of usage or not.
I would like to show them how abnormal this really is
with your feed back.
I will be contacting my attorney because I feel they aren't
going to do anything about it.

Thanks for any feedback you can give me.

Harley has their own little world where everything is like it was in 1958.  Back then, 1000 miles per quart was probably pretty good.  In modern times 1000 miles per quart is BS.  The worst consumption I've experienced on the two Twin Cams I've owned is 1 quart in 3000 miles.  BTW, when you say Harley says, do you mean Milwaukee, or just the local yokel dealer?  Get your information straight from the source, since many dealerships tend to just throw out BS to get rid of you.  There shouldn't be just one number for so-called normal oil consumption, there should be a chart with a curve that varies with mileage.  As in higher consumption when brand new, lower consumption after "break-in", and then a gradual increase with higher mileage.  Before they can blow you off with that normal consumption stuff, they have to do a controlled consumption test and then compare the result to the chart.  Did they do any of that, or just give you the story after you told them you were getting 1000 miles per quart?

The lawyer is a good idea.  A good one combined with a decent judge will get that BS "normal consumption" ploy thrown out probably 9 times out of 10.  Harley can play with what they call normal all they want, but the legal system likes to look at how the other folks in the same industry compare.  It's a little tough to argue 1000 miles per quart is good if industry standards are several times higher.  The same could be said for the MoCo's BS new specs for brake rotor runout (5 times the normal industry standard), crankshaft runout (totally beyond comprehension and something a first semester mechanical engineering student would know is wrong), etc.  Give 'em hell!

(I wonder what burning a quart of oil every 1000 miles is doing to the emission levels of that bike.  Do you suppose it still meets EPA requirements?)

Jerry

[105annivdyna]

Jerry....THANK YOU!!!

I am very upset over all this. I spent 26k on this bike and can't accept this at all.
You info was very supportive.

Thanks

[1abastarsmda]

I put 14,000 miles on my 07 RK with a 96" and I have 12,500 miles on my 09 SEUC with the 110", and my oil level has never dropped between 5000 mile oil changes.

The question I have is where is your oil level starting at?  Is it at the full line?  Mine is always half way between the full line and the add oil line.  If you are starting at the full mark, you may be blowing oil out into your air cleaner.  Do you keep filling it back to the full line after every 1000 miles?  My understanding is that you should be running around that half way mark and if you are filling it beyond that, it could explain the excess oil usage.  Just a thought.

[105annivdyna]

That is interesting....

So are you saying that now that I am at the 5th x on the stick I should leave it there and see if I still loose oil?
How do you check you oil..cold or hot. On the stand? I check mine both cold before I leave and hot after I return after it sits for
15 min. I also check in the same spot in the garage, the floor is level in both directions.

[1abastarsmda]

That is interesting....

So are you saying that now that I am at the 5th x on the stick I should leave it there and see if I still loose oil?
How do you check you oil..cold or hot. On the stand? I check mine both cold before I leave and hot after I return after it sits for
15 min. I also check in the same spot in the garage, the floor is level in both directions.

That's where I leave mine at and I never seem to drop below that.  I have checked mine cold before, but normally I check it when it's hot and on the jiffy stand.

I recall asking the dealer about the oil level after they changed my oil for the first time, as I was concerned that they didn't fill it the entire way.  They told me that they never do and that I never should, unless I want to waste oil that's going to blow out into my air cleaner and just cause me unnecessary messes to contend with.  Maybe someone else will chime in on that comment to substantiate it for both you and me.  I'll be fairly upset if it's just some BS that they fed me, but I do think I read that elsewhere on more than one occasion and I believe it to be a fact.

[Firechief2]

I have no oil loss between changes (5000) miles, and as has been pointed out, I fill to the halfway mark on the dipstick cross-hatching.

[TN]

I have a 08 SE Dyna.
It is using a quart of oil in 1000 miles.
Harley says this is considered normal consumption.
Let me know if you have this type of usage or not.
I would like to show them how abnormal this really is
with your feed back.
I will be contacting my attorney because I feel they aren't
going to do anything about it.

Thanks for any feedback you can give me.

 

[dartman]

Ive gone through 10 HD Touring bikes since 96 the worst oil consumer of the bunch used a qt in 3,000 mi your consumption is excessive, if you went on any kind of trip you would have to carry oil with you like in the old days, my 48 pan head used a quart in a 1,000 and it had a chain oiler. Don't take no for an answer.

[Screamin]

Harley says this is considered normal consumption.

It's only normal if something's effed up.

[grc]

I also run my oil level one pint below the full (hot) mark on the dipstick.  Before I learned this trick years ago, I found the engine would use oil fairly rapidly until it reached that pint low point, then the consumption slowed way down.  It doesn't make theoretical sense on a dry sump oil system, but that's the way it seems to work in the real world.

Jerry

[britrider]

hi
just been reading this thread,I have 08 ultra and use very little oil  less than 2 pints in 4000 miles, and 2 pints to a 1000 miles seems like a problem to me  I am unsure about the idea of leaving the bike1 pint short of full (hot ) as it is dry sump and scavenges the oil at a higher rate than it delivers but am a great one for taking advise from people who have found that it stops the problem.   Question is are you burning the oil? blue ish smoke  out of the silencer will show that  and I would check compression of both pots. or is it smokey on the over-run  or when first started that  would indicate ( to me) that the problem could be at the valve guides.
Bottom line is that if my dealer said that was normal oil use I would smell a rodent

dave

[HDDOCFL]

I check mine cold, it sits on the halfway mark between full hot and cold and do not use any oil between 2500 mile oil changes so far, 09 SERG.  Doc

[Midnight Rider]

Dealer is as full of chit as a Christmas Turkey.  One quart per 1K is BS.  "Normal" MIGHT be 1 quart between 5K oil changes, IMO.  Run the bike 1/2 quart low, as suggested by many here.  On a lot of these engines, they seem to settle there anyway, as the excess is simply blown into the air cleaner unitl it reaches it's "happy spot", which is below the full mark on the dipstick, in most cases.

[mark kal]

the 110s have been leaking oil out the back end under load!! you may have heard this by now though!!

[LarryB]

the 110s have been leaking oil out the back end under load!! you may have heard this by now though!!

not on my 110.
i do get some in the A/C after oil change. but i put 3.5 quarts in and adjust as needed

[105annivdyna]

Here is an update to my oil usage.

I had the bike in the shop so they could test a few things.. compression, leak down etc...
In the process the topped the oil off to 7X on the stick (FULL)
At this time the bike had 1104 miles. When I got it home I checked the oil cold which I always do
for an apple to apple check. I know it should be checked hot and I do it also. But to see how much I'm dropping I do it cold.
Back to my point...

As I said bike had 1104 with a full reading. I have since put 849 miles on the bike for a total of 1953 on the odometer.
The cold reading now is 1 1/2 X. So, I went from 7X to 1 1/2X in 849 miles, dam near a quart.
I consider this excessive, do you agree??
I am going to meet the Regional Service Manager nest week and your support may be helpful.

Thanks For Your Feedback!!

[alejandro]

my dip stick has printed on it "check cold on jiffy stand"...

[cahdbiker]

I have no oil loss between changes (5000) miles, and as has been pointed out, I fill to the halfway mark on the dipstick cross-hatching.

Firechief2, How much oil do you put in after you change your oil and filter? Thanks in advance CAHDBIKER

[LarryB]

when changing oil, only put 3.5 qts in it . run it up to temp. then shut off and check. add as needed

[rlr09se]

Just did a 4500 mile trip in 8 days of pretty hard riding and maybe used a few ounces of oil on my 09 SEUC. My 07 UC did about the same, a few ounces between fluid changes.