i just got a 74 ironhead 1000cc sportster first bike. drained oil, trans and primary to change a kick start ratchet. to drain it all i pulled two plugs from under bike and pulled off a hose to drain oil tank. i was told to use hd oil 70 in all 3. now i am worried cause i dont know how to refill the tran, or how much to fill the primary. i know the primary and tran are sort of connected, but im very confused. ive got the HD service manual, but it says nothing about how to change fluids, just when to. any help as to how to fill my bike up would be greatly appreciated.

 

70wt is very heavy unless your engine is in poor condition or you are riding in the Sahara. 20w-50 is fine for most. I run Pennz 20w-50 in my '77. That's what it has had in it since new. It now has 52k on it and is still going strong. The oil must work.

For the primary, I use 30wt non-detergent motor oil. It takes 24 onces. Yes, the primary and tranny are the same.

 

ok thank you
but how do i fill the trans/primary? do i just pour all 24 ounces in the primary and let it go into the trans by itself? or do i pour it in until it comes out of the primary level check hole? i just dont want to overfill anything and mess up my bike.

 

For the primary and trans, I recomend using the harley sport trans fluid. It is designed for the sportsters. I had a 76 and had no problems with it, I used harley 60 wt, ran a little quieter than with the 20w50. To fill the primary I just pulled the site plug on the side and filled it until it started dripping out of the hole.