ok what dipshit designed this??!?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,332
Likes: 3,873
From: Upstate New York
It's certainly not single step convenient, but I can't say I found the transmission dipstick overly difficult to get out, or in, or to top off the fluid if needed. I've certainly encountered others that were much worse.
Never have been overly concerned with the ounces it takes to fill, or what the manual says I should need. I always took that as a rough guide, and let the dipstick tell me how much I really need. Sometimes more, sometimes less, and that can be on the same vehicle on a different day. NBD to me. When I'm buying fluid, I'll buy more than I should need, so I don't run shy of it while changing it out.
If you want awkward fun for transmission oil, you're more than welcome to come try it on my old MG. As long as you're down there, check my brake fluid too.
Never have been overly concerned with the ounces it takes to fill, or what the manual says I should need. I always took that as a rough guide, and let the dipstick tell me how much I really need. Sometimes more, sometimes less, and that can be on the same vehicle on a different day. NBD to me. When I'm buying fluid, I'll buy more than I should need, so I don't run shy of it while changing it out.
If you want awkward fun for transmission oil, you're more than welcome to come try it on my old MG. As long as you're down there, check my brake fluid too.
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Road Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,101
Likes: 425
From: Pennsylvania
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 275
Likes: 65
From: So Cal
while youre there you might as well service the battery terminals for a bonus PITA.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,332
Likes: 3,873
From: Upstate New York
I love my 2025 fat boy.
However:
The transmission fluid fill is the most inaccessible thing I've ever seen
WTF?
Seriously. WTF??
Sorry. Thats just a bad design. not so much the motor and transmission, but packing everything around it so tightly that you can't access it
I expected all the hassle that came with swapping the cam and all that goes with that,
but if I had to do it every 5000 miles, I'd be really pissed off
you shouldn't have to work so hard just to change your transmission oil
However:
The transmission fluid fill is the most inaccessible thing I've ever seen
WTF?
Seriously. WTF??
Sorry. Thats just a bad design. not so much the motor and transmission, but packing everything around it so tightly that you can't access it
I expected all the hassle that came with swapping the cam and all that goes with that,
but if I had to do it every 5000 miles, I'd be really pissed off
you shouldn't have to work so hard just to change your transmission oil
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 265
Likes: 128
From: Westchester NY
Any time I get frustrated working on anything mechanical, I take a step back, and analyze, "could I have designed this better myself"
That includes thinking about where all other nearby and/or relevant components are (ex. oil pump, suspension, pipes, etc etc etc). At the end of the day, that transmission dipstick isn't isolated, it has to share space with everything else on the bike.
If I can improve & make it easier on service, or rig a custom tool specifically for the task, I'll do it. If not, just grumble, get it done, and hope it doesn't come up again for a very long time.
That includes thinking about where all other nearby and/or relevant components are (ex. oil pump, suspension, pipes, etc etc etc). At the end of the day, that transmission dipstick isn't isolated, it has to share space with everything else on the bike.
If I can improve & make it easier on service, or rig a custom tool specifically for the task, I'll do it. If not, just grumble, get it done, and hope it doesn't come up again for a very long time.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2024
Posts: 157
Likes: 65
From: Virginia
I was watching the maintenance videos on FixMyHog yesterday and he was going over the transmission fluid check. He dropped it in and the threads caught each time, like 4 in a row. Either he's got the angle right or there was some good editing.
It seems like the issue, for me at least, is getting the dipstick to line up so that the threads catch. That seems like a reasonable design enhancement that could be done. The location is really not that bad. Many of the car transmissions have a fill hole on the side you have to sneak oil into until is flows out.
It seems like the issue, for me at least, is getting the dipstick to line up so that the threads catch. That seems like a reasonable design enhancement that could be done. The location is really not that bad. Many of the car transmissions have a fill hole on the side you have to sneak oil into until is flows out.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 10,287
Likes: 7,773
From: West Central FL
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