OK guys, so the Oil change went well an I am going to change the transmission fluid on Saturday. I have a service manual on order but it won't be here by then.

I know where the drain plug is for the transmission and I have 1 quart(32 oz) of fluid I purchased at the HD Dealer.

If I remove the drain plug and dump the old fluid, can I fill from the primary chain inspection cover, It is held on with what looks like 2 torx bolts.

any gotchas? I have read I should just pour the whole 32 oz, Can I see the level I should fill to from with the inspection cover removed or do I need to remove the derby cover. I'd rather not do that as I do not have the tools to ensure proper torque or know the pattern for putting the bolts back on ( I am assuming there is a proper pattern)

Also is there a gasket for the inspection cover?

I plan on doing this with the stand on a 2x4 so as the bike will be leaning as little as possible.

Can't wait till I get this service manual, but any suggestions would be appreciated, you guys are great.

94-sporty

 

Pull the plug and stand the bike up straight and let it drain all the way out.You can add one 32 ounce amount of oil to the trans through the inspection cover.There is a seal but generally speaking it can be reused.If it falls loose hold it in place with a couple small daps of petroleum jelly.Sit on the bike and hold it up straight until it just drips.I hope you didn't get syn 3 for the trans it has been traced back to clutch slippage.Simple job man.

 

I have a 95' deluxe, my inspection cover has two flathead alen heads, thats where I fill mine, and no, you can't see or check the level, but it is 32oz. There is an O ring on the plug and on the insection cover that you may want to look at........ Hope that helps.

 

I have a 94 also. You can fill it either from the chain inspection cover(the small one with 2 screws above the shifter) and that one uses just a simple o-ring gasket allong with 2 small o-rings on each screw. For proper fluid level, you'll need to take off the clutch cover which has 4 screws and has a square shaped o-ring for sealing and can be a pain to put back on sometimes. All the o-ring seals generally are reusable unless cracked. Anyhow for proper fluid level you want to fill the primary with the bike standing as straight up as possible,and fill till the oil just touches the very bottom of the clutch diaphram spring. And for reference in case you don't know what the diaphram spring is, when you look at the clutch basket, it's the black metal face, it's basically a big slightly conical spring washer, the wall of it is about 1 inch wide, and like I said it's ussually black/bluish in appearance. So get the oil level to just touch it or even jsut under it is fine too as long as it's up to the edge off the clutch basket.

I've tried a number of weights and types of oils for the primary, and so far my favorite is mobil 1 synthetic 75w90 gear oil, and i've ran it in all weather temps from 30 to 110 degrees out and it always ran great with it.

As for Gotcha's, sometimes you'll find those cover screws will be locked in there pretty damn good and you'll strip the torx out.......if this happens don't worry, just take a 1/4 or 5/16 drill bit and just drill the head of the bolt till the head pops off, but don't drill any further.....then once you get the cover out of the way, take a visegrip and unscrew the thread stud left behind......in most cases they'll come out super easily at this point. And i'd recomend replacing them with allen headed bolts if you need to replace them, they don't strip nearly as easily as the torx heads do.

 

The books say 32 ounces, and usually there's no problem pouring in 32 ounces in there and calling it good.

But, every once in a while after a primary lube change, the clutch seems to drag. There is a specific level called for so the clutch plates don't pick up too much lube. On my 96 I have found that 30 ounces does the trick. The clutch releases completely now when warm. It releases so completely that if I pull in the clutch and wait 5 seconds, there is little or no first gear "thunk" when it is warm.

Not really a "gotcha" but if your clutch starts dragging on you making finding neutral difficult after a primary lube change, that's what's going on.

 

No one is talking about a sportster as old as mine. I have a '72 1000 cc. What gear oil should I be using? Fill to the same levels as all of these others?

jz