Okay NewDude, I think I got ya, and conventional wisdom applied to chuckchili's post, I'm a bit slow sometimes.

So tomorrow, I will drain to the weld mark when warm and level, and next time I will try three quarts.

I appreciate your tolerance and help for the slow and challenged.

And by the way, your bike looks pretty clean too.

 

NOWHERE near as clean as yours, I assure you. your closeup shots prove that.

post some full shots, too!

 

That other picture was taken about three months ago, but I have one from yesterday I actually took of the wife, standing next to my bike. In this picture you can see the comfy setup for her.

 

yeah, yours is much cleaner.

lol how do you keep a bike that clean and not know how much oil to put in it?

seriously, though...get the manual

http://www.cyclemanuals.com/HD/hd6.htm

found it for download, too, but...not sure about the ethics of that one

 

It looks like you have a non-standard dipstick, but if you keep it around the bottom of the filler neck, at least until you have a proper answer, you will be OK. I have a display stand on my bike and usually check with the bike on that, in other words level.

 

The tank has three hoses going to it. One is the supply to the pumpthat comes off of the bottom of the tank. The second is a return to the tank that my go to the bottom or may go higher in the tank. The third is a vent line that has a tube inside that goes the highest in the tank. Now that we explained how the tank works we can talk about oil levels. The oil level needs to be lower than the vent line or you can over-pressure the system, causing gasket and seals to leak. In severe cases you can launch the oil filler cap a good distance too. Additionally you can force oil past the rings causing even more problems. Now to answer your question you need to keep the oil below the vent line, a little lower oil level 1/4"-1/2" is better than a higher level . If your dipstick isn't marked find a friend, etc. that is and measure it. Then transcribe the marks to yours. Hope this helps

 

Thank you grbrown.

 

Thank you so much miacycles, that helps me tremendously in determining how full my tank should be.

You would be amazed at the variance of opinion I found in my face to face inquiries. Not only in how full the tank should be, but in how much oil to add when changing the oil and filter.

 

While everybody has an opinion, there are only one true set of facts, no matter what you are talking about. That being said, sometimes you can improve on the true set of facts. Now, are you confused ???

 

Softail (Fatboy) = 3 qts

If you have oil on the stick, you're good to go. I put 2.5 qts in, ride it a little and add more if needed.