Ok guys and gals...went to change my oil as part of my 1k service the other night, and had a slight issue.

(Note, I converted everything to oz to make this post easier to understand)
• 1 US liquid quart = 32 US liquid oz
• Oil capacity of bike (2005 XL1200R) = 3.6 quart = 115 oz

• Rode bike to warm up, checked oil level when hot, level was fine
• Drained oil and removed old oil filter
• Filled new oil filter with 4 oz of oil and installed.
• Now I needed to add 111 oz more oil into the bike to total 115 oz (3.6 quarts)
• Filled bike with 106 oz oil, did not add the additional 5 oz (to get to 111 oz) since I noticed too much oil was already in the bike.
• Bought turkey baster and sucked out 20 oz of oil, making the total amout added = 86 oz.
• Rode bike, checked oil when warm, oil level is perfect.

Went back to my drain pan and measured the total amount of oil I removed from the bike, and sure enough it was 83 oz.

So the net summary is that I drained and re-added about 85 oz. of oil, when a full oil change should be swapping 115 oz of oil. This means that approximately 30 ounces of oil remained in the bike throughout this process.

Is this normal? Only thing I can think of is that I drained the oil with bike leaning on kick stand. Should I have secured it upright, and would that have allowed the additional 30 oz of oil to drain?

That reflects my experience (I have an '04 1200c). I'm only able to add 3 Quarts (including the amount I add to the filter) during oil changes. I think either the capacity listed in the manual is not accurate or a lot of residual oil stays in the crankcase and/or lines.

you can check out this thread. there is a few posts that state how much oil still remains in the bike when you do the oil change. There is some oil that does remain in the bike. you will not get every ounce of oil out of it when you change the oil. I don't know exactly how much will stay but this thread may answer your question.

http://xlforum.net/forums/showthread.php?t=13610&highlight=scavenger

sflier is right.

If you drain it real good, it will take a total of 3 qt (which includes the little you put in the new filter). The book says the capacity is 3.6 qt. My guess is there is .6 qt in the crankcase that cannot be removed through conventional methods.

At least .6 quarts. I am able to pull out a bit over a full quart of crappy oil with the scavenger. There is alot left in the crankcase,camchest,heads and the lines themselves.

Thanks guys...good information and now I feel better.

I cannot believe they don't mention this in the service manual. They say drain (using no special method, just pull the tube) and then add 3.6 quarts minus the 4 oz in the filter. Crazy.

so that that mean that a turkey baster needs to be added to the service manual??

so that that mean that a turkey baster needs to be added to the service manual??

Someone needs to beat some engineer at the MoCo over the head with a turkey baster!!!

Agreed...in that little section in the front of the manual that lists/shows all the specialty tools they need to add "Turkey Baster...$2.59". :)

$2.59?

We're talking Harley-Davidson. The price would have to be $102.59

Why are you turning a simple oil change into rocket science? Follow the factory recommendation and you'll be fine. A few ounces more or less won't make a rip of difference.

:banapart :banapart :banapart
All that work to the exact oz.....wow,I wish I gave a damn about my oil change like that :roflblack :roflblack
I drain it and fill it to proper level.

Went back to my drain pan and measured the total amount of oil I removed from the bike,
Yer kidding right? :roflblack

Maybe there's a big air bubble in the oil tank. Get a long needle and see if you can pop it and then check the oil level again. :wonderlan

Cheers,

Brett

Hey willprevale...it wouldn't concern you that the service manual specifically calls for draining 3.6 quarts (115 oz) out of the bike and you only got 2.6 quarts (85 oz) out??? That's a full quart of old oil still in your bike.

If that isn't a red flag in your book I hope you take your bike to the dealership for service. I only went to all the measuring/converting trouble when I realized that I was that much short. Before hearing from others here on the XL Forum that this somewhat normal, it seemed like a pretty big issue to me.

Hey willprevale...it wouldn't concern you that the service manual specifically calls for draining 3.6 quarts (115 oz) out of the bike and you only got 2.6 quarts (85 oz) out??? That's a full quart of old oil still in your bike.

If that isn't a red flag in your book I hope you take your bike to the dealership for service. I only went to all the measuring/converting trouble when I realized that I was that much short. Before hearing from others here on the XL Forum that this somewhat normal, it seemed like a pretty big issue to me.


I don't know what year you have, but on my '03. The service manual states to drain the oil and fill it up again. Didn't specify that X amount of quarts needs to be drained. I suspect your manual said the same thing as mine, since the MoCO like to reuse alot of the manual text. :smoke

Hey willprevale....
All due respect friend, I've been riding and maintaning Sportsters since 1968. I think I know my way around them. I can appreciate your concerns but it's a bit of overkill.

Do like Klown sez and you'll be fine.

DirtDevil, Will's one of the good guys, kinda like his son cantolina. They mean no harm in anything. They just talk straight. If you need to know anything about sportsters, these are two of the guys you can trust inequivocally :smoke

Totally Unequivocally too! We all have different concerns regarding our bikes...some insist on theirs being CLEAN and spotless. Me, I clean the windshield when the bugs are too many,,and OFF I go..I ride TOO MUCH to be worrying about cleaning the darn thing. I am out to Conquer the Wind!!!

Hey willprevale...it wouldn't concern you that the service manual specifically calls for draining 3.6 quarts (115 oz) out of the bike and you only got 2.6 quarts (85 oz) out??? That's a full quart of old oil still in your bike.

If that isn't a red flag in your book I hope you take your bike to the dealership for service. I only went to all the measuring/converting trouble when I realized that I was that much short. Before hearing from others here on the XL Forum that this somewhat normal, it seemed like a pretty big issue to me.

Don't feel bad, I about tripped when I found out that I could only fit about 3 qts back into her as well.
And I believe the manual says to add 3.6 qts, not to drain that much. Could be wrong though since I don't have it here handy.

Gotcha, no offense meant. Its just that when I see oil capacity = 3.6 quarts, I expected to be able to put 3.6 in instead of 2.6. Now I know the rest of the story :)

At least .6 quarts. I am able to pull out a bit over a full quart of crappy oil with the scavenger. There is alot left in the crankcase,camchest,heads and the lines themselves.

If it's that bad, than dump it again soon, then always keep your oil fresh.

I put 4 qts of oil on the counter at the dealer and he took one and put it back and told me just to pour 3 qts in and it will be OK. So I warmed it up and drained it poured a little in the filter and dumped the rest in the oil tank and after a short ride my oil level was rite in the middle of the check stick in the same spot before I changed it. 3 qts is perfect I don't care what the manual says.

I don't know if this was mentioned or not, but the best thing you can do is scavenge the sump to get the most oil out. At which case I could only get a best of 3 quarts to go in. You can scavenge the sump by sitting on the bike with it upright and not on the kick stand and letting it idle for a short period of time. Do not blip the throttle during that time.