I just got back from a cross country. on my 07 Heritage. Put 6K + on the bike and with the 4 K previous since last oil change. Drained tranny and noticed it was milky in appearance. Also changed the primary oil but it looked OK. During trip there were no real temperature extremes. If the tranny is a closed system how can I be getting water in it or is condensation causing the problem. Any one else have this problem.

 

If you still have it, you might want to measure the volume of lubricant you drained from the trans. Also, if water is getting into the trans, I'd expect it to appear as beads rather than to mix with the trans lube. You didn't accidentally add something unusual before / during your trip, did you?

 

The tranny ain't exactly closed. It has a vent tube that water can get in, particularly if you wash it with high pressure hose. Another easy route for water to get in is by the dipstick o-ring if it is damaged.

 

Thanks for the input. I also wanted to measure the fluid that came out, but had to leave for a work emergency and when I got back my son had drianed the oil into collection pan. I also thought about the seal on the dipstick. Looks OK at first glance. I'll be checking that again. I will also have to find where the vent is and check that for correct fit. I did get rained on a couple times during my trip so I'm thinking somehow a small amount of water got into the tranny. I've changed the tranny oil twice before and all was normal, never got rained on like this trip so I'm thinking either a bad seal or the vent is not working properly.

 

You didn't mention what you're using in your transmission. It's safe to say that the tranny fluid is contaminated with something (water). ATF fluid will give that appearance if contaminated with water. The (U-shaped) transmission vent hose is connected to the chromed, transmission cover.

 

You could get water in fom several places. Vent hose, clutch cable housing, loose top chrome cover bolts, dipstick. Go over all to make sure they are tight.

 

Using Redline? I'm guessing you are, and the milky appearance is emulsification. I had the same problem and was told that I had introduced water causing the problem. I switched transmission oils, did everything else the same, and problem went away. HMMMM.

 

I appreciate all the help. I use HD Formula + in tranny. I havent added anything. and do not power wash bike. Its definitely water. I'll kkep an eye on it. If it happens again I'll have the dealer check it out. I cant find the vent hose. If anyone can take a picture of its location I would appreciate itso i can check that.

 

I had the same problem with my 05 train. It was so bad that on the second service, Hoppy saved it to show me. (Anahop HD in East Palatka, across from the Cheyenne Saloon....great guy) He suspected that the dealer (Daytona HD) had not changed it on the 1000 mile. This was probably not the case. I did all my own maintenance after that so I could keep a closer eye on everything. The dealer used whatever the book says to use on the 1000 mile and Hoppy used Revtech synthetic, I think. I bought all synthetic from HD and still saw the same milky oil in the trans. I got to thinking about what was happening, did some reading and came to the conclusion that the oil was probably too thin. I changed to Super Tech 80w90 GL-5 gear oil from Wal-mart (yup wal-mart!) and I had no more milky trans oil problems. I run Valvoline 20w50 motorcycle oil in the engine and primary. This set-up also seemed to quiet the trans quite a bit and the shift clunk is also lessened. I don't have a clue what the difference is besides being synthetic vs conventional and the gear oil vs engine oil (obviously the gear oil is substantially thicker). At 5000 on my new bike I'm going to run synthetic in the engine, conventional Valvoline in the primary and 80w90 gear oil in the trans.

P.S. The trans is pretty small. just look on top of it. There is a black rubber hose that sticks up on an angle with a J hook at the top that is supposed to keep water from getting in it. I had thought about putting a check valve or filter of some kind on the end of the hose, but the gear oil eliminated the problem and I have not looked back.

 

It would look like a strawberry milkshake. Normal !