When checking the oil or doing any other maintenance procedure on your Harley Davidson bike, please always refer to the manual. There are no all-purpose maintenance tips that will fit all the bikes by a certain manufacturer. If you don't have the manual for your bike, you can get one for free from the official website of the Harley Davidson: here.
When checking the oil level in your Harley Davidson bike's engine, you may go both ways - on a kickstand and level. The dipstick has two measures that will help you.
Just have a look at your dipstick and you will see the different levels. Also, read the manual to get more info about your engine.
The proper way to check the engine oil level in your bike
I would recommend doing that on a kickstand because this way your bike won't need any other support and you will still be able to measure the oil level easily.
So, here's what you need to do:
- start the bike and let it warm up (or just do the checkups after you stop driving);
- let the engine cool down and the oil go down to the oil pan, usually, it takes about 5-10 minutes;
- make sure your bike is on the level ground, not on the hill;
- make sure the bike is on its jiffy stand;
- take the dipstick out of the engine and use clean tissue to wipe it;
- insert the dipstick back into the engine;
- take the dipstick out of the engine and look at the level;
- if the oil level is low, add some oil slowly checking the level on the dipstick regularly.
Almost the same procedure is OK for checking the level of the transmission fluid if you have the transmission with a dipstick. But some mechanics prefer checking transmission fluids when the bike is level - they just know what the level should be, and it's OK.
Make sure you know what's written in the manual
Harley Davidson is good for making an open database with service manuals for every bike they have sold in the US and in all other countries. You can get these manuals in different languages and find any specific model of the bike.
So, I recommend you get the manual and read it in terms of oil checkups. The thing is that Harley has made dozens of different engines and the tips that are perfect for one machine will not be good for another one.
Make sure you know what Harley says about the engine in your bike. Otherwise, you may be doing the checkups in the wrong way and your engine oil and transmission fluid levels are not optimal.
Please write in the comments about your experience with oil-level checking in Harley bikes!
About the authors
The CarAraC research team is composed of seasoned auto mechanics and automotive industry professionals, including individuals with advanced degrees and certifications in their field. Our team members boast prestigious credentials, reflecting their extensive knowledge and skills. These qualifications include: IMI: Institute of the Motor Industry, ASE-Certified Master Automobile Technicians; Coventry University, Graduate of MA in Automotive Journalism; Politecnico di Torino, Italy, MS Automotive Engineering; Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Mechanical University in Skopje; TOC Automotive College; DHA Suffa University, Department of Mechanical Engineering
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