Well, I checked the air cleaner this morning and it was dry as a bone. While there were no new leaks I noticed slight wetness around the tranny fill plug. If it is a tranny seal, am I correct that this is now a dealer issue? A side question to those Fat Boy owners with service manuals, do the different fluids have different dyes or colorations?

 

There's a good chance that you are actually leaking from the primary. Give it a good cleaning before your next long ride then check it out.

 

See. That's what you get for getting an EFI instead of a carb.

Only kidding.

Mine turned out to be the oil tank being too full as well. Drained it a bit and haven't had one problem since with over 7K on it now. You will notice your mileage increase usually after your first 1K service and especially after your 5K service.

 

Ha Ha! Seriously though are those V&H Long Shots on your bike? They look great. Do you like their sound?

 

I Noticed on my Heritage even though the manual says 3.5 Qt's of oil when replacing filter it actually only takes 3 Qt's to fill it. Maby you have to much oil in it. I run mine so the oil is barley touching the bottom of the stick when it is on the jiffy stand. It is on full when upright

 

Even after a filter change there is still about 1/2 quart of dirty oil in the engine (somewhere). I've seen a device that you screw on to the oil filter mount and use to purge that dirty oil out. I put the link somewhere, but now I can't find it. If I do, I will post it on this thread.

 

Ever get this resolved?
Assume there's more than 275 miles on it now, and so it should be more obvious if it's engine lube or transmission.
Take a look at your engine oil dipstick.
Still clean and golden?
If it's starting to go black, and starting to smell like used oil, which it will after only a few hundred miles, then it should become easier to identify if your drip is engine of trans. lube. Transmission lube will stay clean and golden, or milky white, and doesn't have the combustion smells you get from engine lube.
If the inside of the air-cleaner is clean and dry of oil, then it's not blow-by, and it sounds like an actual leak.
If you park the bike on the sidewalk, next to a high curb, you should be able to see under the motor and trans. quite easily.
Key areas are the transmission drain plug, (up between the two horizontal hydraulic dampers), the sump drain plug, the seal between inner and outer primary casings, primary drain plug, and worst case, weeping from the joint between the two crankcase halves. This requires casing replacement, and a complete engine rebuild, but should be the least likely scenario. If oil comes out next to the belt drive, could be a weeping drive shaft oil seal: the belt will be wet too.
All the other leak points should be obvious and an easy fix, but it's your dealer's responsibility to get his *** in gear and fix it.
However, it's easier to get this done, if you have pre-identified the problem, and can point out the leakage point when you arrive.
If there's a mess of oil under the motor, degrease it first, asnd then take it for a few mile ride. Then it should be easy to check where it's coming from.
It's a good diea to locate this kind of thing pretty quickly, as although it's probably pretty simple, and nothing to worry about, it could be something like a loose transmission drain plug, which could dump the oil on your back tire if it lets go.
Better safe than sorry, right?

 

I had a bad seal causing a leak from the primary at 500ish miles or so.. I took it in, got it fixed.. warranty work.. Been fine ever since. The bike was fine but probably the seal was either defective or assembled incorrectly.. I tend to think the latter. A $2 part with a full day's labor.. not on my dime.

On a brand new bike, it's very likely something simple but definitely NOT YOUR problem to endure. That's what warranties are for. I say, you pay way too much for a harley that leaks, anything.. at all, ever! And the dealer should be able to service your bike in a timely manner given an appointment setup and do the job correctly, otherwise, take it up with H-D's phone support directly. Make this a distant memory by having it fixed properly.

Do not tolerate for one second any leak from that bike. Period. It's not just "character" or "marking it's territory". It is a DEFECT that the Japanese and German bike manufacturers do not tolerate, so why should harley owners who paid 40-60% more for their hog already. Sorry, it's a pet peave of mine. The minute I see a leak on mine, it will be fixed.. If it cannot be fixed, it will be sold and a Victory or Yamaha or Beemer will be sitting happily in it's place after the leak stains are removed.

Off my soapbox now. Good luck.

Spring doth approacheth! Finally! [8D]

 

Oya, mine was fixed when I had the 1k service done. gasket was pinched during original setup.

 

Thanks all for the info. The dealer has set me up with an appt. for this weekend though it means I'll have miss a local HOG ride. I'll keep y'all posted on the progress.