Changed oil today in my new to me 2012 tri glide with oil
cooler. I added 3.5 qt. rode the block came back (bike not hot)
and checked the oil. MY STICK is very confusing, but if I were
to guess it is half of qt. or more over full. As I always like to run
Harleys a half qt. low.
Now I know all the dirty oil does not get changed, but I was thinking
with the oil cooler and new wix filter that 3.5 qt would leave me
about a half qt. low. Not a half qt. over full.... No such luck!
I checked some old threads and both of the manuals ......still not
clear. I did find threads that said some TG oil stick were incorrect.
Any suggestions??...tenn

 

With Tri Glides, you will not get all the oil out on a change. You probably have 1/2 qrt that did not drain. The 103 was built for 2 wheel on a jiffy stand, so oil will be left when not leaned.

 

So should we jack it up on the right side to get it all drained?

 

Also read the dip stick & make sure you aren't using the mark for when on the jiffy stand.
I always start off with 3qts, then run for a bit to warm up the oil then adjust accordingly up or down to be 1/2 to 3/4 low when finished. When the oil heats up hot at 3/4 low when cold, it will be just above 1/2 low when hot.

 

Actually, I do just that, but it wasn't to get more oil out. It was a thought by the Wiz, during a discussion about oil changes. I was complaining about the mess I got when I used the orange funnel thingy that I bought to do oil changes on my Heritage and Deluxe. Wiz said that's because it was designed to be used on a bike with a kickstand, instead of flat. When he said lift the right side of the bike, I got out my jack, and sonof a gun if it didn't work just fine!

 

where do i jack up my trike at on the right side............have a j&s jack......i guess i'm asking where to place the jack for the lift points.......thanks in advance.

 

Ditto

I asked the tech about that yesterday, he said there are baffles in the pan that even if ya jacked it up you wouldn't get more oil out. Probably wrong too ... but jacking it up to make the "orange thingie" work makes sense. I don't need to be ready for that for another 3800 miles.

Little off topic:
Do you guys recommend changing the oil every 2500 miles? I've heard you should do just the crankcase not the primary or tranny. I never have ... but it kinda makes sense.

 

[QUOTE=MB1953;13649313 orange funnel thingy [/QUOTE]

Another Question ... Which orange thingie? .. the one to catch the oil from the filter or the one to fill the primary or the one to fill the tranny and crankcase? Seems they are all orange. Since I haven't done an oil change yet on the tg, I wanted too know which one is gonna make the mess. If I had to guess, I'd think the one that catches the oil from the filter.

 

Okay ... one more ... since we are talking about dipsticks (don't go there), is my digital from my 2011 Ultra gonna be accurate without the lean? It was wonderful for the Ultra ... HD's website says it fits ... which it does, but is it accurate?

 

If in doubt just compare between the two dip sticks.
If you want to lift the Trike up a bit, just drive onto a 4x4 block or take a few pieces of 2x4s & make a small ramp for just one rear wheel. Don't have to worry about a jack on anything...............