Owning the legendary bike – Harley-Davidson – is one of the most prestigious things for an enthusiastic rider. However, once you have bought the bike, you must learn how to maintain it. As visiting a mechanic is a costly affair, you must learn about the basic tasks such as: check the fluids, change the fluids, and many other simple functions that you can manage on your own.
If you are looking for a simple and easy way to check your transmission fluid in a Harley-Davidson Twin Cam engine, you can follow the steps in this tutorial.
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How to Check Transmission Oil level for a Soft-Tail Harley Davidson
If you are new to the Harley-Davidson club, you will need help understanding how to locate the duct for transmission fluid and check the dipstick. However, with a few easy steps and proper tools, you can easily manage on your own.
If you are wondering how to check the transmission fluid, here is a list of tools you will need to prepare:
Tools to Check Transmission Oil
- Allen Wrench
- Allen Key Drill Bit (H4 metric)
- Torque wrench
- Thread lockers
- Manual
Steps to Check Transmission Fluid
Checking transmission oil fluids is something you must do to maintain your bike. Here are the steps to follow:
Position and Temperature
Make sure that your bike is on ground level and on the jiffy stand (side stand). This is because the section of the transmission fluid sac is positioned in a manner that you can get a proper reading only when the bike is on the side stand. To avoid under or overfilling the transmission fluid you must ensure the bike is tilted.
Bring your bike to ambient temperature. You can do that by ensuring that your bike hasn’t run for a while before you check the transmission fluid level.
Get to the dipstick
Now, you need to reach the dipstick that, if you notice, is in a very inconvenient position. You need to bypass the rear shock adjuster and gain access to your dipstick. For that, you must prepare your tools and get ready to do a little physical work.
Remove the outer layers
Take your standard Allen wrench and attach an Allen drill bit of size H4 metric to it. Use this to unscrew the main screw of the electrical side cover that covers the inner machine of the bike and later the little plate.
Using the torque wrench remove the screws, put them away safely and carefully remove the panel. After removing the main panel, you will see a tiny flimsy cover at the bottom that’s barely attached to anything. Remove that and keep it away as well.
Final unscrewing
Now, unscrew the main preloaded adjuster to get access to the dipstick over the transmission fluid to check the liquid level. For that, we need a torque wrench and an imperial size Allen key to unscrew the preloaded adjuster.
If you observe, in some cases, there might be screws in different directions. Depending on whether the screws are lined in the horizontal or vertical direction, the size of the torque wrench will change. For further information you can check the following size:
● For vertical torque gratings, we need a torque of 24 to 36-inch pounds (2.7 to 4.1 Newton meters)
● For horizontal torque gratings, we need a torque of 60 to 84-inch pounds (6.8 to 9.5 Newton meters)
Once you have unscrewed it, remove the dipstick and wipe it clean on a washcloth. Now, put it back into the transmission fluid. However, make sure you aren’t screwing it back. Just lightly put it on top of the block until the ring touches the base of the hole.
Do the reading
Now, you must remove the dipstick for the second time to read it and check the fluid level. The dipstick has three readings: A, X, and F. ‘A’ is empty and it needs to be filled. ‘X’ stands for neutral, which means you do not need to fill the transmission fluid. ‘F’ stands for full.
Based on these readings you can decide what course of action needs to be taken. If it’s close to the A mark, it needs to be filled. Whereas if it’s close to the F mark you can leave it alone. However, if you think the fluid needs to be added there are a couple of things you must ensure before buying new fluid.
Put everything back in its place
After you have checked the fluid level, put everything back in its place. Take the torque and tightly screw the preloaded adjuster back to how it was positioned. Similarly, put the plastic cover and electrical panel properly using the screws.
Apart from the screws, you will also need a thread lock to ensure that it’s safely placed and won’t come off easily. If you do not have a thread lock at that moment, just use an alternative like a thread to cover it up temporarily.
How to Choose the Best Lubricant for Harley-Davidson
As discussed earlier, it’s better to be careful when you are choosing the lubricants for your vehicle. There are various factors to be considered. As a rule, we never mix oils or change brands.
If you live in a place where the temperatures are soaring, you should prefer using oils that are heavier and thicker with greater viscosity levels. This helps maintain the temperature in the bikes as the oils will last for a longer time under intense heat. For colder climates, you should use thinner lubricants that are less viscous. So, even if the weather is intensely cold, the lubricant won’t freeze and spoil your motorbike.
Depending on your bike model and preferred levels of viscosity you can look for good brands that have the following qualities:
● Great shear resistance
● Reduces wear and tear
● Anti-friction properties
● Protects the engine
● Great shear stability
● Good wet-clutch performance
● Protects against extreme temperatures
Why Is It Necessary To Change Your Gearbox Oil
Though it’s possible to forget about changing your oil, it is one of the most important tasks. Lubricant oils are quite necessary and even though it is a time-consuming task, you must change them regularly. They will save you from the situation of having to stand beside a motionless vehicle amidst heavy traffic on a busy day.
Lubricants not only facilitate a smooth engine and transmission experience but also help reduce friction, shear resistance, and basic wear and tear. If you try using your Harley-Davidson, without proper lubricants, it wouldn’t only damage the engine, but also stop the bike from functioning.
Conflicting Reports Oil Leakage in Harley Davidson
Recently, many reports about how transmission oil was seeping through the primary case had emerged. However, it turned out that the reports had a few issues with it. Most of the instances did not occur in the softail engines. Also, in the Harley-Davidson Twin Cam engine, they have fitted the transmission case in a way that it won’t spill easily. There is a retrofit in the primary case that stops oil from the transmission case to spill into the main shaft.
The report was mistaken in many ways. It could be because of how the transmission fuel was measured. It must also be due to the timing of when the transmission oil was measured.
You must never measure the oil when the bike is hot. It needs to be measured at ambient temperature. Also, the bike must always be on the side stand or jiffy stand to get the perfect reading.
Final Thoughts
A Harley-Davidson is a dream bike. Most people who purchase and use a Harley-Davidson are equally passionate about maintaining the bike, investing in the tools and materials that are required for the bike, and doing the tasks manually. Hence, it’s great to learn about simple ways to maintain the bike. Checking the fluid levels is an easy task once you do it regularly. It’s a great way to reconnect with your bike from a heavy work schedule, plus it also saves money from a professional mechanic visit.