Hello everybody,
Can someone help a newby to the group out please? Let me fill ya in...and any responses/comments would be appreciated. Here goes:
As a retirement present last year (I retired from 25 years in the Army) I got a 2006 Heritage Softail (FSTCI) classic. I live in the Mojave desert, so I'm concerned about heat. I recently bought a billetcool oil cooler & am about to instal it. I worked maintenance in the military, so I've got some skills, but I have never changed the oil in my softail. I want to document everything with pictures (and maybe even video) to see how well this thing (the billetcool) works & I was planning on turning it all into a ".pdf" file to send to the folks at billetcool, so future people will have clear instructions with pictures.
Can someone please spell out the oil change procedures for me on my 2006 Heritage Softail, 88B? Thanks
-Clutch-
P.S. My email is clutchglass@gmail.comPlease also email me your post(s) to that address.

 

Can't help you with the instructions for a softail, but welcome to the forum.

 

Start the bike and warm it up. This will make the oil easier to flow out, as well as insure that all the oil is scavaged out of the crankcase and into the oil bag.

You will find the drain plug on the right side in the frame. It is right near the swing arm bolt in the bottom of the frame. You will have to get the bike up a little or feel for it. It is kind of recessed into the bottom of the frame and faces down. The plug is 5/8" with an allen head recess in the center of it. You can use a socket or an Allen wrench, but I recommend the socket, at least to get it loose. You need to loosen the filler cap so that the oil will drain good.

You will need a filter wrench that will go on the filter but clear the electrical plug to the stator in the left side of the cases. HD makes a couple that will work. Place a piece of cardboard under the filter to make a little funnel so you spill a minimal amount of oil when you take the filter off.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Bill

 

I always remove the electrical plug to the stator, when removing the filter.

Not sure that the oil cooler makes much of a difference. I use synthetics, as they hold up to the heat. Also change my oil every 1500 miles. Probably over kill, but it's a cheap and easy PM.

 

I change the oil and filter in my 2006 heritage softail classic regularly and each time I put in 3.5 quarts measure the drained oil before recycling and it measures slightly less than 3quarts...each time I stand the bike level rock it side to side to get more out also the engine warm and the results are the same...after checking the oil level I have to get the turkey baster out and remock standve oil to the prper level while it is on the ki

 

Do you think it might be easier to just put in less (maybe 3 quarts), check the level, and add what is needed to bring it up to the desired level? It seems a bit backasswards to put too much in just to suck it back out.

 

I don't have a softail, but this looks like a good tutorial. (there are pics of girls in bikinis on the sides so maybe NSFW)

http://www.dudeworld.com.au/HOWTO.ENGINE.HTML
http://www.dudeworld.com.au/HOWTO.GEARBOX.HTML
http://www.dudeworld.com.au/HOWTO.PRIMARY.HTML

 

There are plenty of videos on YouTube on this.

 

Find a decent V twin synthetic oil, pay attention to the flash point. Higher is better. M1 V Twin 20-50's flash point is 214, Amsoil V Twin 20-50 is 242, etc. both are decent oils. Amsoil also makes a straight 60 synthetic, something to think about.
That 88B should have a 3 qt capacity, put in 2.5 qts initially and warm in up, then top it off with the rest. Remember to add a lil oil to the filter when installing it.
Oil coolers are nice but my consensus is that without going to a high volume oil pump I wouldn't, that's just my druthers though.

 

The owner's manual has good directions on changing your oil. Even has a diagram, which the service manual for my 2003, doesn't.