I guess my question is this. Did the MoCo figure it out part way through the year and fix it at the plant? I don't seem to be having this problem and my bike has an August birthday. (Which is not very late in the model year, now is it?)

Mac

 

Well Seems Im going thru oil too. Not sure how much yet But its down again. I have a 05 1200R with about 2050 miles on it. I switched to using Amsoil 20w50 in all cavities at about 1250 miles. Checked the oil today and it's at the add line, Again. So I pulled the plugs. Front cylinder plug is a nice light grey color. Back cylinder plug was black. Wasnt moist or guuy but I was able to see small black flakes. Cleaned them up with a wire brush and reinstalled.

I was just getting ready to do another oil change and add a oil cooler too. Any thoughts on this from you guys. CobraKid, Just how Much Noise did you have to make? If I take it to them and they find out there's Amsoil and not HD Oil are they gonna go Oh your warrent is void. What to do, What to do.

This is my First Harley and 1 quart in 1000 miles is Way to much. Reminds me of a Vega I use to own. I can also see the dealer being real S*itHeads about doing the work and trying to get out of it anyway they can. In my case I could also see them doing Just the Back cylinder too. Thankfully I havent done any motor mods yet.

Am I being too paranoid here guys. I will probably throw another set of plugs in it and really watch the oil for the next couple of weeks to see what happens. If it's down again I will call my dealer to see what they say. Thanks...


LV

 

I would definately hold off on the cooler, as far as the amsoil, I would venture to say that unless they had an oil analysis done, they wouldn't even know. Give them a call and feel them out as far as what they want you to do with the consumption , but don't let them tell you " they all do it" or any other nonsense either. If they don't work with you , ask for a factory rep to speak to.

 

LordVngr,
When I first noticed the oil consumption at 2200 miles, "I had added a qt", I told the service manager about it and his responce was to keep an eye on it, as this is acceptable with HD, "1 qt. every thousand miles", well, this was not acceptable with me. I kept an eye on it and added another qt. between 2200 and 3300 miles, went back to the dealer and told the service manager in passing as I went straight to the General Manager. He called the Regional Rep and was told to keep an eye on it, it was then that I told them I was writing a letter to the MoCo with names and numbers, I also had the plugs that I replaced that day in my pocket, showed them to him and it seemed to do the trick. Had the top motor mechanic come out and look at, all he did was stick his fingers up the exhaust pipe and state that it was the valve seals. They took the bike and performed tests on it, she passed them all, so they had to tear into it and found out the rings were installed wrong at the factory, they replaced the rings and the valve seals under warranty. She seems to be running really stronger now and no oil loss, it has been about three weeks. Hopefully this was the fix and she will be problem free from here on out. Hope this helps ya out Ya can't sit back and let them throw words at ya like this is acceptable, not for the money we paid for our Scoots.

 

Glad you got it fixed, don't you hate it when something was installed incorrectly and still passed QC.


John TN

 

TCSTD

Why would you hold off on the Cooler? Also after a quick ride yesterday I rechecked the oil. It was down but not as much as I first indicated (Checked it Cold). It still bothers me that the back cylinder plug was black. Any Ideas on that.

Finally I wanted to ask your opinion on Amsoil verses Redline. I was on Redlines site and liked what I was seeing. I was thinking of switching over to redline But not sure what to use. I have a 05 1200R. I was thinking of the 20w60 Synthetic oil for the motor But what about the gearbox. Currently running amsoil 20w50 in everything. Your thoughts Please. Any links where I can buy Redline. Thanks...


LV

 

You can order the redline shockproof heavy here for the gearbox http://www.myoilshop.com/
Mobil1 V Twin here http://store.avlube.com/index.html

The reason for holding off on the cooler was in case you had to take it in to the dealer for repairs, one less thing they could blame it on.

Amsoil vs redline, go with the redline, you can't get amsoil on the road , but speed shops carry redline in case you need it.
As far as the plugs, the rear one would usually look a bit richer than the front (with carbs)because of the design of the engine and the intake tract, too much richer usually indicates some sort of a problem

I Think that about wraps it up ?
Take a look here for some usefull info https://www.hdforums.com/m_67591/tm.htm

 

As for Amsoil.. I've started seeing it popup at Napa auto stores.. I however don't have a clue as to what states these stores are in.. I still wish we had Sonic here in MN!!!

But you are right TC.. Hard to find on the road...

NFE