I performed my own 5K service on my '06 FXSTi this weekend and it only cost me $86 bucks for parts and 6 qts of Syn3 oil. Dealers around here in Portland charge $325 for a 5K service. I'm no professional wrench, but I like to wrench when I can. I bought the service manual within a couple of weeks of buying the bike last June and since then, have been acquiring a few tools, lubes and anti-seize I didn't already have. And of course this board has given me lots of info and good tech links.

So once I got all the parts and oil, I made a copy of the 2500 mile service check list my dealer performed and compared that to the 5000 mile check list in the manual. They were pretty much indentical. So I had my checklist, my parts and all the tools I needed. I woke up to rain on Saturday so I went for it.

First off, let me say, for the 5000 mile service, my dealer charges 1.5 hrs for the 3 hole oil change and then 1.5 hrs for a 20 point check of the remaining items. No frick'n way, can they do the job I did in 3 hrs. I know I'm not as proficant as a tech who does this kind of work every day, but I'm no idiot and some jobs just take time, I don't care how much experiene you have. For example, to properly lube the throttle grip, throttle and idle cables, you have to disassemble the throttle housing and remove the cables to get lube down the cables. Then use graffite on the grip, put all back together and then re-adjust the throttle and idle cables. I did this over Xmas when I got some new grips, so I knew what I was doing and this took me probably at least 20 mins. So there's 20 out of 90 mins shot on one item. Checking all spokes takes about 5 mins. Completely dissassembling the clutch lever, lubing the clutch cable, cleaning the clutch lever and re-greasing is another 20 min, so we have just used up half of the alloted time on only 3 items. Adjusting the clutch at the clutch is pretty fast, maybe 5 more mins. This adjustment took me a least a 1/2 hr. So I think you get my point. I think the techs must have to blow by most items and just check it off, ie, if it ain't broke, don't adjust it. For example it was obvious to me that my clutch cable assembly was never cleaned and lubed during the 1000 or the 2500 service checks I paid for.

Charging 1.5hrs for the 3 hole oil change is about right. However I decided to scavage the remaining oil out of the motor so that took a little longer since I've never done that before and had to think about the procedure a little. But well worth the extra time. If you think about it, the oil bag holds 3.5 qts of oil and the motor holds about 1 qt, which you can't drain with out pumping it out. That's a 1:3.5 ratio. I was amazed how dirty the tranny and primary oil was only after 2500 miles. The manual says to changes the primary every 10K and the tranny every 20K if memory serves me right. In the future, I'm doing motor oil every 2500 and primary/tranny every 5K.

The tranny drain plug on the softails is sure a b*tch to get to and even harder to get the plug threads started. The 2 shocks makes it hard to see and get to the tranny plug. To start the plug, I had to use a long allen T wrench.

The only item I did not complete was geasing the front fork bearing and checking the front wheel for "fall away", but both of these items were done during the 2500 service from the dealer.

So overall it was a great experience. I feel like I know my bike a whole lot better now, am not shy to dig into it now, feel like I did a much more thorough job then the dealer and I saved a couple hundred. However, I was real sore on Sunday from all the times I had to get up from the garage floor and get another tool

 

Congrats! You saved money, plus you know it was all done right.

 

Good job, I'm getting ready to do my 5000 mile service as well.

 

Good job priceamp! I'm a long way from the 5K service, but had planned on trying to do it myself. I'm a pretty good wrench, but you know how the dealer makes you feel about servicing your own 'baby!' I wasn't sure if I was 'going there' or not! Your post makes me know for sure that I can, and willdo it when the time comes!

Thanks...

Steve

 

I hope you do not mind a couple of stupid question's, but you said 3.5 in oil box and 1 quart in motor? How did you get the quart out of motor? And where is the tranny drain plug? I thought it was under motor, right side and about in the middle, I hate to sound stupid but I get different answer's and by your post sound's like you know what your doing, I can get a allen wrench in the plug I think tranny plug is, when you removed your oil filter did a lot of oil come out? How much? Thank's for any and all help!! I to am trying to save some money, the dealer allready have about all I have. Thank's again and if you have time might give a quick lesson for the more un-wrench guy's, Thank you a lot! PURPLE HAZE

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Yeah, I know what you mean. At my dealership, the sales guys are cool and the part guys are great, but the service and chrome folks really try to intimidate me to only let them work on my bike. One of the chrome specialists reamed me a new a$$ hole when I told her I installed my on SERT and have been tweaking the base map to reduce decel pop and have successfully reduced the popping. She told me, "yeah, you guys from Intel think you know everything." After I picked my jaw off the floor, I thought to myself, how in the heck did she know I work at Intel, she doesn't know me from Adam.

So now I say, *** em.

 

No such thing as a stupid question. Not sure if I know what I'm talking about :-) , but I am pretty good at researching. Check out the DIY oil related category in this forum, you will find several good threads on scavenge oil change (https://www.hdforums.com/m_254963/tm.htm). I did not buy the scavenge kit from Rogue Choppers (http://www.roguechopper.com/). I bought 4' of 3/8" tubing and a hose clamp from the hardware store and the line removing tool from Sears.

The tranny plug is between the 2 shocks. The plug you're referring too is I believe the motor plug. Analogous to the oil pan drain plug on a car. I haven't not seen this plug covered in the manual, however it must be in the manual somewhere, but what else could it be? So you might ask, why don't I just drain that? Guess the answer would be that you still wouldn't get the old oil out of the pump, oil wells and the return and feed lines.

 

Purple haze



Run the bike in an upright position for about 2 minutes before draining the oil and this purges the oil left in the motor to the tank for draining better.It should be warmed up also.There's no way of removing the filter without some oil getting on the motor. As far as the trans drain, On the softail, it's inbetween the shocks under the transmission, only one there so you can't miss it. Use a socket to break it loose , not the allen in the middle. Check the "O" ring and replace if needed, they are only 25 cents.
The engine oil drain looks like this from underneath the frame.





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Thank you Glide and Priceamp, just wanted to be sure about the other plug I had thought was a drain plug but now I know the oil plug is recessed in it's on little place and I can get socket on that but the other plug? Is that a oil drain plug also? Thank's a lot! I heard you can use a piece of card board and put under oil filter so it might not make a big mess, and you are right PRICEAMP when I went to dealer to buy oil filter and wrench they started to give me third degree on why I was not buying there Synthtic oil, I just said allready had it, I bought the MOBIL 1 for V TWIN'S at AUTO ZONE it is in black bottle hard to find when I was looking for silver bottle but it was 20w 50w & $7.99 a quart. Thank's guy's!!! PURPLE HAZE.

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The other plug between the shocks is the trans drain plug, not engine oil.