Where did it all go?
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 467
Likes: 0
From: Lancs, England
Just a note that all these HD engines have some blow by that mixes with the atomized oil in the crankcase and then is sucked up through the breather to the intake, burned, and out the exhaust. Some suck oil more than others. You can easily lose a quart every 1000 miles or so like this, sometimes it happens all of a sudden. There is no external indication of leaks and you wonder where it went. Just a quirk of the HD design.
Pugs - +1 on what Coldcase said, Aplogies if it sound like I (we) were having a go at you earlier, but you MUST - especially on a Harley - check your oil level frequently, it goes with ownership!
If you still had a quart of oil in there then my guess is that your motor will be fine, so don;t worry about it anymore. Oil lights will err on the side of caution usualy and come on well before any damage is caused. Having said that it's always good practice to stop and get some oil in there as soon as the light comes on
Just for information there are two usual ways in which oil lights work. 1) by oil pressure - the pressure is monitored by a sensor and the light will come on when the pressure drops below a certain level. 2) The oil level in the sump or tank is measured. I had this system on my Yamamha V.Max, but some design goon had put the level sensor at the front of the sump,. Everytime I accelerated hard (and the V.Max accellerated VERY hard) the oil lightt came on. The first time it happened I was really quite worried, until the guys on the forum put me right! The oil pick-up to the pump was at the rear of the sump though so no damage was ever casued.
I'm not sure which system is used on the Harley motors (maybe someone would like to enighten me?) but as they use an oil tank my guess would be it's a level sensor?
DON'T FORGET .......CHECK YOUR OIL!
Derv
Tourer
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 417
Likes: 1
From: Spartanburg, South Carolina
I was about to say that some here were being a little rough on the guy to say the least. Don't really see a need for the "common sense" comments as the guy was just asking for help. Not everyone does and 80 point inspection every single time they ride! Checking fluids, I understand. A simple explanation of what he could do in the furure would suffice. Not everyone on these forums is an engine guru and some folks need to understand that.
With that said, I hope all is well with the bike and things are back to normal.
With that said, I hope all is well with the bike and things are back to normal.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 8,750
Likes: 261
From: back home in Michigan
I was about to say that some here were being a little rough on the guy to say the least. Don't really see a need for the "common sense" comments as the guy was just asking for help. Not everyone does and 80 point inspection every single time they ride! Checking fluids, I understand. A simple explanation of what he could do in the furure would suffice. Not everyone on these forums is an engine guru and some folks need to understand that.
With that said, I hope all is well with the bike and things are back to normal.
With that said, I hope all is well with the bike and things are back to normal.
now I'm pretty sure pugs will be on the checking the bike stuff. LOL
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 323
Likes: 0
From: Mountaintop, PA
Took the bike out last night for about an hour and it seemed to run great and the oil level before and after the ride was good, so I hope that it was just a wake up call. I knew when I posted that I was going to my ***** busted some, which is fine and deserved. I have a thick skin. I am no mechanic, obviously, but am interested in learning the right way to take care of the bike and hope become more mechanically savvy with time (definitely not the type of person interested in gasing and parking it only). That is why I knew that if I asked the question here I would get candid answers and would learn a lot from them. And there has been a lot of great info provided for me - thanks to all, this forum is a great resource. And I will no doubt be on top of checking fluids now.
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 4,082
Likes: 11
From: Long Island, NY
Glad it all worked out well. Enjoy the ride!
Took the bike out last night for about an hour and it seemed to run great and the oil level before and after the ride was good, so I hope that it was just a wake up call. I knew when I posted that I was going to my ***** busted some, which is fine and deserved. I have a thick skin. I am no mechanic, obviously, but am interested in learning the right way to take care of the bike and hope become more mechanically savvy with time (definitely not the type of person interested in gasing and parking it only). That is why I knew that if I asked the question here I would get candid answers and would learn a lot from them. And there has been a lot of great info provided for me - thanks to all, this forum is a great resource. And I will no doubt be on top of checking fluids now.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 645
Likes: 0
From:
Based on the year of your bike and the low miles you should not have experienced such a large loss of oil. I have an 07 with 22K and lose no significant amount of oil between changes. Could it be that you were distracted when changing the oil the last time and were short a quart? I'd almost bet on it.
Thread Starter
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Tourer
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 323
Likes: 0
From: Mountaintop, PA
Based on the year of your bike and the low miles you should not have experienced such a large loss of oil. I have an 07 with 22K and lose no significant amount of oil between changes. Could it be that you were distracted when changing the oil the last time and were short a quart? I'd almost bet on it.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 645
Likes: 0
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I check oil about every other ride, but I ride a lot, almost daily. I know my cold level and hot, but as suggested, hot check is better in case of wet sumping, which would be an emergency.
Once it's a habit, you don't really miss the 2 seconds it takes.
Once it's a habit, you don't really miss the 2 seconds it takes.