then find out why you are 3/4 qt low. It should not be burning it and may be sumping.

 

What does sumping the oil mean?

 

Our Sportsters and older big twins have a separate oil tank, which is above the crankcases. There are various valves designed to keep the oil in that tank, until the engine starts running and the pump draws oil from the tank, circulates it around the engine and returns it to the tank.

There are occasions when oil can work it's way from the tank through the valves into the engine crankcase. On a car, for example, the oil tank is a 'sump' under the engine, so we tend to say the oil has 'sumped' in our Harleys, meaning its gone into the engine.

Hope that helps.

 

Mate before you add oil make sure you start it run it and then idle for about 2 minutes before turning it off , wait till it cools down and then check the oil. This is very important with the M8's otherwise the oil looks low when it's not..

 

Just want to add: there is a section in the Service manual that shows where the cold check is on the dip stick. You can take your pocket knife and add a notch there if you want. When I do an oil change on a (new to me) bike I always do the change and ride it several miles to get the oil circulated real good then park the bike overnight. That level is your cold check level. Iv'e been riding Harleys for almost 50 years and never paid for an oil change. My latest bike is a 2017 Road Glide with almost 20 k on it. Do the change interval by the book.