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[ice6900]

Fxstsse 07  Softtail Springer     73,000km

after sitting in the garage unused for more than 3 months I checked the oil level before firing up.
Oil tank was bone dry, all the oil had leaked down into the sump!

I filled a little oil into the tank and fired the engine for a few revolutions and checked the level again. Sure enough, the pump pumped the oil back up into the Tank and everything seems ok.

Is that normal for all of the oil to leak down during such a long lay off?
On previous years I have ridden the bike a couple of times during winter, so have not encountered this problem before.

[twinotter]

It used to be very common with Softail series to drain all or most of their oil into the sump, especially if left sitting for awhile. A low pressure check valve in the system is supposed to prevent this from occurring, but they so stick open every now and then.
You did well by adding a little oil into the tank before starting, but now you may have an overfilled condition. Let the bike reach full temp, then check the level, you may have to remove some oil. over filled can pop the dipstick, or cuse excess oil to be pushed into your breathers/ air filter. twinotter