On my 08 Fat Bob I have never had to top off my oil between oil changes. I know this is a good thing I just hope I am checking my oil correctly. The manual say's there is a hot check line and a cold check line. I Have done this both Hot and cold and the oil stays on the same line. Same thing with my tranny it stays on the same line hot or cold. if this normal why is there a hot & cold check line? ...

 

Same thing here. Good question.

 

As long as it doesn't get to or drop below the bottom line you are okay. Mine varies only 1 X between hot and cold. At the top mark when hot, 1 x below when cold. It's always been that way.

But you are supposed to ck the oil while on the jiffy stand, unscrew the dip stick, wipe it, screw it back in, unscrew it and check it then, according to the manual.

 

I pull into the oil station every 100 miles or so and top off the oil and check the gas, never added any in between gas changes

 

Did you smoke this morning dope man? LOL If not then maybe you should have LMAO!

Cold check is anywhere between the lines your safe! There isn't much difference between hot or cold as mentioned maybe 1 space on the dipper.

and frankjake has it exactly right for performing the check.

 

Hey fellas Harley now has a temp guage for our bikes that senses the oil level as well... the biggest problem... they didnt make enough of them so they are allready back ordered... P>S> Black or Chrome....uh huh oh yeah 139.95

 

I saw ayoung lady in the parts dept. at local H-dealer walking around quasi-advertising these. 139 $$ huh well i'm going to stick with " people have been riding harley's for 106 years without those" at that price!

 

The temp/level gauge has been around for a couple years. If you do a search I think you will find lots of problems with it. You have to press a button to get any reading, its hard to read, batteries run down, reliability suspect...

 

How many miles are on your bike?

I've got 17,500 on my 08 FXDF and yes... I periodically top off my oil between changes (I've been running 20w/50 pure synthetic since it was new).

My guess is... some oil is lost through the crank case ventilators. I think this is normal.

Keep checking your fluid levels & tire pressures prior to each ride, make the necessary adjustments & ride safe.

 

My bike only has 4000 miles on it which is why I posted this thread. This is my first Harley so I want to be sure I am not overlooking something by not having to top off before my next oil change which I am doing this weekend.