Oil change intervals
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 12,946
Likes: 32
From: Colorado Springs, CO
RE: Oil change intervals
Hi,
First of all welcome to the forum. I also have had a metric bike, and I happen to still like them!! What you will find on a Harley is that they have CHARACTER!!!!!! These babies want a dad, somebody to love them and take care of them, so be forewarned, if you get one, you'll fall in love with them, unless you never cared for riding, then you'll sell and move on......as for me, I may have another metric someday(Kawasaki....), but I'll always have my Superglide in my stable......
. My recommendation is to try to ride a couple of different models to find what really does it for you. If you road a Goldwing for a long time, you will probably find an Electraglide more appealing, as it has the fairing and is sprung. etc. for cruising to Sturgis etc. without beating you all up. While Fatboys are cool, keep in mind that it's set up more for short rides,.....
IMHO, the FL's are where it's at.......i.e. Road Kings, Electra-glides, Street Glides, (road glides!!!!!), etc.
The Harley that can do everything well is the Superglide!!!! If of course you HAVE to have chrome you'll pick another, but I love my Superglide.
joe
First of all welcome to the forum. I also have had a metric bike, and I happen to still like them!! What you will find on a Harley is that they have CHARACTER!!!!!! These babies want a dad, somebody to love them and take care of them, so be forewarned, if you get one, you'll fall in love with them, unless you never cared for riding, then you'll sell and move on......as for me, I may have another metric someday(Kawasaki....), but I'll always have my Superglide in my stable......
. My recommendation is to try to ride a couple of different models to find what really does it for you. If you road a Goldwing for a long time, you will probably find an Electraglide more appealing, as it has the fairing and is sprung. etc. for cruising to Sturgis etc. without beating you all up. While Fatboys are cool, keep in mind that it's set up more for short rides,.....IMHO, the FL's are where it's at.......i.e. Road Kings, Electra-glides, Street Glides, (road glides!!!!!), etc.
The Harley that can do everything well is the Superglide!!!! If of course you HAVE to have chrome you'll pick another, but I love my Superglide.
joe
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Stage IV
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
RE: Oil change intervals
PocoCJ,
I had a 94 GL1500 from Aug 94 to Nov 99. The 1500's had hydraulic valve adjusters and didn't require manual adjustment. I only put 29K miles on it in the 5 years, but all I ever did was oil changes every 3K, 1 plug change, one coolant flush, one set of new brakes, one set of new tires, a new air filter, and a new battery.
I had a 94 GL1500 from Aug 94 to Nov 99. The 1500's had hydraulic valve adjusters and didn't require manual adjustment. I only put 29K miles on it in the 5 years, but all I ever did was oil changes every 3K, 1 plug change, one coolant flush, one set of new brakes, one set of new tires, a new air filter, and a new battery.
Cruiser
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 237
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Oil change intervals
Pococj, Honda calls for 8K oil changes on the Goldwing (but almost everyone does it a 4 or 5K). The valves only have to be checked at 32,000 miles and I know of bikes with over 100K that have never had to have one adjusted. When I sold my 02 Wing it had 35,000 miles on it and only had had 1 service done to it. It still had the original brake pads (still withing factory specs). At the one service it had they changed the air filer (but it was not really dirty), changed the plugs even though the old ones looked fine and changed the clutch/break fluid. I've owned 25 bikes and the wing is without doubt the lowest maintenance bike I've ever had. That said when you do have to work on it there is a fair abount of stuff you have to take off to get to things but still not a big deal. I always got about 12-12K on tires but alot of that seems to depend on where you live (some roads are hell on tires).
Gary
Gary
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,068
Likes: 1,477
From: Texas! Ya mean there's someplace else?
RE: Oil change intervals
Hey Gary, thanks for the info. The guy at work changes his oil at 3k miles, and his mech told him to have the valve lash set every 5k miles. Several of the guys I have ridden with who got 'Wings in the past year or so have had real problems with front tire wear, sometimes getting as low as 5k miles. They've gone round and round with Honda, and at first Honda denied there was a problem. Evidently they finally owned up to it 'cause one of the guys said they'd fixed his bike, but he didn't know what they'd done. Another guy on a 1500 lost his alternator and was told they had to remove the engine to change it.
I guess my point is that it really doesn't matter what bike someone has, there are quirks and issues with all of 'em.
I guess my point is that it really doesn't matter what bike someone has, there are quirks and issues with all of 'em.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 3,772
Likes: 9
From: Texas, USA
RE: Oil change intervals
Welcome & I do my oil 2,500 miles. I go by the manual on everything else.
Question? Why a fat boy? Don't get me wrong, I love Fat Boys & was going to buy one until I rode a Road King. There is no comparing. I do 2 up riding with my wife & he touring bike are way better for that!
Question? Why a fat boy? Don't get me wrong, I love Fat Boys & was going to buy one until I rode a Road King. There is no comparing. I do 2 up riding with my wife & he touring bike are way better for that!
Cruiser
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 126
Likes: 0
From:
RE: Oil change intervals
Ditto on using Amsoil & when its not available I use Mobil #1 the car stuff. I use a 70--90 synthetic trans oil. I change all of the fluids every 1500 or 2000 miles. I just enjoy doing it and it makes me run better..
.
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Stage IV
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
RE: Oil change intervals
To be honest, I just like the look of the Fat Boy. Everything is dependent on whether my wife intends to ride with me when the time comes. We rode the Gold Wing together and she loved it, but she develops neck strain pretty easily which puts her out of commission for several days. She's afraid that the weight of a helmet and wind buffeting (no matter how minimal) will only cause her pain and she's not talking like we'll ever do any substantial two-up riding ever again. I'm still eyeing the 1800 Gold Wings and haven't ruled out anything yet, I'm just exploring all the possibilities.
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