Went riding with my wife yesterday. She said it seemed her bike was running a little hotter than normal, a 2016 Heritage with a 103 HO TC. We stopped in a parking lot and I looked over the bike. All seemed normal on the outside, not leaks, nothing seemed loose etc. I pulled the oil filler neck cap and saw some foam in the oil in the tank. The oil still looked pretty clean but was difficult to get a level reading on the stick with the foam. We stayed there for a no more than 5 minutes. Just before we left, I looked at the dipstick one more time and foam was gone and the reading on the dipstick was right at the full mark.

Normal for this engine or should I be worried about internal engine parts? We've only had the bike for about a year and I've never owned a TC before. We did get and extended warranty when we bought it, but if this is normal then I won't bother to bring it up to the dealer. The bike is all stock except for a tune from Fuel Moto. Thanks in advance.

 

I wouldn’t worry about it at all. Especially if it was the first stop after the bike sat a few days. If you want to add to your paranoia you could get a temperature dip stick.

 

It's not unusual to see some foam in the oil bag.

It can be common if you checked the oil before the engine had a chance to heat the oil sufficiently to burn off the aqueous contaminants. The other suggestion I would make is to keep the oil level halfway between "ADD" and "FULL" on the dipstick. That, too, can help reduce the development of foam.

What did your wife notice or feel that seemed like the bike was running hotter than normal? The 103 HO TC engines do run hot.