My book calls for 45 ounces of oil in the primary (07 Electra Glide Standard). Seeing as there is always some left after draining how can I be sure I am not over filling it? I have been told to fill until the oil touches the bottom of the clutch plate. Can I go a little under or over this without any problem? Is the amount of oil that critical? Thanks for the help.

 

I usually fill just to the bottom of the clutch plate. A little less doesn't seem to cause any issues but too much does (well, I experienced some issues with too much...your results may be different).

 

With bike straight up, fill until the lube just touches the outer shell.

Make a note of how much you put in, now you will know exactly how much you need to have on hand to service the primary.

I agree with Pine Tree, a little less won`t hurt a thing, but don`t overfill.

 

With all our oil reservoirs the service manual tells us how much oil to have available and the level to fill up to. The latter is the correct thing to do, as Dan points out.

 

Yea, but wouldn't it be nice if the primary's derby cover actually lined up neatly with the clutch pack and let you see that level easily? For that matter, a dip stick would also be darn nice. Heck, even a fill port like a car differential or lawnmower engine, where you fill until it overflows.

 

That option gets my money, but can you imagine the time we would spend in here explaining that the bike has to be on the jiffy (or not!), over and over......

 

I have to ask a dumb question I guess. It's been said not to over fill. What happens if you do get the level up a little more than the diagram? I've measured the amount that is supposed to be required and it does not come to that level. Or it doesn't look like it. Dang hard to tell in that cavity. So I've added more until I can truly see it. With the odd ball amount you'd think they would have some real way to check level like a dip stick.

 

I suspect we were both writing at the same time! The filler plug gets my money. However until that happens, fill to the level, don't put too much faith in the quantity required as per the manual, that is only for guidance IMHO. I don't think there will be any problems if the actual level is just a little high. I only recently refilled both my Sporty and Buell, but don't recall much about doing it!