Every oil change I was getting told I'm a quart down....one of the first ones told I had metal shavings in oil, then next few I'm always down a quart...now 20k and 3 years later the last oil change was told I had 1 cup left, system had to be flushed numerous times to get the black oil out. So.......wtf?????? I used synthetic and change at the longest intervals every 5k.

Obviously there's issues here. Wouldn't the oil light come on if I'm that low? Anyone out there have these issues?

 

One issue is that you don't seem to be checking oil levels between services?! Most bikes I've owned use some oil along the way, but as the level drops so will consumption increase. If you don't have an Owners manual you can download one via the H-D website, just go to the Owners tab.

 

That's a good point and well taken. I just assumed that a brand new bike wouldn't use up oil, it's brand new, why would it? So I assumed the dealer was just screwing w/me and just relied on what I thought was common sense that a new product wouldn't consume that much oil. I guess I just trusted that everything was working right, brand new. Chalk it up to inexperience w/my first motorcycle..I assumed it was as reliable as a 2002 Honda at least..lol.

Still wonder why didn't the oil light come on?

 

I don't have as recent a bike as yours, but none of mine have an oil level light, the light will come on when pressure drops too low IIRC. It will remain reliable while the oil level is fine!

 

"Still wonder why didn't the oil light come on?"

When the oil light comes on, you've fubared the engine...in a minor to major way...CHECK YOUR OIL LEVEL REGULARLY!

~ all engines MUST use oil...it's the oil rings that control how much oil gets used..a thick layer of oil is splashed on the cylinder wall, the oil rings wipe the wall but leave a thin film to lubricate the compression rings. That thin film gets burned off when the fuel ignites...that is why all engines must use some oil.

The less oil an engine uses, the more compression ring wear and the shorter their life.
If an engine uses too much oil, you'll get smoke out the pipes..time for new oil rings.

How much is used (some should be used) just depends on those oil rings..as long as you don't see smoke coming out the pipes, the rings are working within the specs of the manufacturer...

 

OP, think of your oil light as a "Replace Engine Soon" light; it's not quite as predictive as one would like. Check your oil every time you ride.