Servicing your Motorcycle

Servicing of your Harley-Davidson motorcycle is only recommended to be performed by a qualified service technician.
Unfortunately, the majority of the riding community does not trust their dealer and chooses to service their own motorcycle.

Regular engine oil & filter changing is probably the the most critical thing that your bike cannot go without, although this is not considered a regular service.
 1K, 2.5K, 5K, 10K, 20K and 50K services involve many more things than just oil changes. 
Many customers like to say "I do all my own services." when they usually just change their oils.

 

Refer to your service manual as to the location of the engine oil, transmission oil and primary oil drain plugs on your model of motorcycle.
Remove the drain plug and clean the threads and magnet, inspect O-rings and replace as necessary (where applicable). Try to drain the waste oil into a suitable container, just parking your bike over the storm drain in the street and draining it into the sewer is usually frowned upon in most cities.
Always use the paste type of Teflon sealant to coat the cleaned drain plug threads. Never use Teflon tape because the next time you remove the plug, part of the tape remains in the hole and is pushed into the oil tank on reinsertion and can cause damage to your oiling system.
Use a filter wrench to remove the oil filter and use a spray degreaser to clean the mess that it always makes. Be sure that the degreaser or brake cleaner will not harm painted or plastic surfaces."PJ-1 SuperCleaner" is a great product for removing oil almost anywhere on you bike.
Fill the new oil filter about half way with fresh oil and apply a liberal film of oil to the rubber seal on the new filter. Never use a wrench to tighten the new oil filter, hand tight only!

Refill the oil tank and transmission with the proper level of oil.
Check or adjust primary chain tension for correct slack for your model (DO NOT set the primary chain tension tighter than the spec for your model!).
Adjust clutch, lube and adjust the clutch cable. Refill the primary housing with the proper level and type of oil.
 Do not reuse old gaskets.
Clean or replace the air filter as needed (some air filters require oil after cleaning). K&N sells a very good air filter cleaning and oiling products.
Lube and adjust the throttle cables making sure the elbow of the cable gets lubed.
Check and/or adjust tire pressure (tire pressure is the most neglected maintenance on a bike).
Check brake pad thickness and condition, brake disk condition, brake fluid level and condition and brake operation.
Inspect or change the spark plugs, be sure that they are gapped properly, apply a small amount of Anti-Seize to the threads.
Inspect drive chain or belt for correct tension and condition.
Check axle and pinch bolt torques.
Check battery terminals and connections.
Check charging system operation.
Check all lights, signals and horn operation.
Lube all footrest pivots, lever pivots, saddlebag and tourpack hinges, key locks and the Jiffy stand.
Check all fasteners and visually inspect the entire motorcycle for wear, leaks or anything abnormal.

  Checking for diagnostic trouble codes 
(dtc's or engine codes)
Turn on the ignition and flip the right handlebar "Run/Stop" switch to "Run", the engine light in the speedo will come on for 4 seconds and then go out. If you have a current trouble code the engine light will stay on. If you have a stored or historical code the light come on for 4 seconds and go out for 4 more seconds and then come on again for 8 seconds and then stays out.
If you have a current or historic dtc, you can retrieve it by following the speedo diagnostics outlined in your service manual, but you probably will not be able to make the repair yourself so I would recommend that you get it to your dealer a.s.a.p.

 

BigTwin - Transmission / Primary oils

Up to 1984

Transmission Oil
HD semi synthetic (*obsolete) 
Bel-Ray 90W  
Bel-Ray 85W-140  

'84 -'06 (5 Speed)

Transmission Oil
HD semi synthetic (*obsolete) 
Bel-Ray 90W  
Bel-Ray 85W-140  
H-D Formula +
H-D Syn3

Primary Oil
H-D Primary oil (*obsolete) 
H-D Formula +
H-D Syn3

2007+ (6 Speed) {also '06 Dyna}

Transmission Oil  
H-D Formula +
H-D Syn3

Primary Oil 
H-D Formula +
H-D Syn3

Sportster Trans/primary Oils

Pre 1971
Same oil used in the engine or lighter

1971 - 1983
 H-D Special light (*obsolete)
 15-20w engine oil

1984 - Present
H-D Sport-trans oil (*obsolete)
H-D Formula +
H-D Syn3

 

(*obsolete) indicates that it is no longer manufactured for Harley-Davidson.
It still can be found in some aftermarket shops and
dealerships that stockpiled a lot of it years ago.

 

 

Oil Brands & Types

Harley-Davidson oil is always worth the extra money. I can't stress this enough with my customers. I'm not a salesman or anything, I try to only use H-D oil in any bike I work on, even when I worked in aftermarket shops (I even recommend HD oil in the Big Dogs and other S&S motors).
H-Ds and most other V-Twins are roller bearing engines and most others (foreign bikes, automotive, ect.) are flat "Babbitt bearing" or "Plain bearing" style engines, which require as "Slick" as possible oil (synthetic). If that type of oil is used in a Harley motor, you could be faced with what is called "Bearing Skate", that is when the roller bearing starts to slide on it's race instead of roll and creates flat spots, which creates friction and heat, which winds up at engine failure. Harley oil is formulated to be sort of..... tacky, to allow the bearings to roll. It is also formulated to withstand higher temperatures, for those days stuck in traffic. More research has gone into developing Harley-Davidson oil than anything else they make because of how hot the motors were getting back in the '70s.
The snappy comeback is usually "Yeah, who is making the oil for Harley this week?" and my answer is "Why should it matter?" Harley-Davidson has a specific set of specifications that the oil manufacturer must be able to produce and as long as the oil meets those specs, who cares who makes it, somebody has to. (I don't think H-D has any plans on going into the oil refinery biz.)
As for what weight to run? I use 20/50 in my '79, the multi-weight allows the old shovels to get oil pressure to the top end quicker when the motor is cold and will allow the starter to turn the motor over a little easier, but if you live in a warmer climate you might want to run something heavier or some thing lighter in colder climates. (I switch to HD 10/40 in November or the damn thing won't start)

Update!

Awhile back I noticed in some of the popular bike rags (magazines) some adds for Mobile1 synthetic oil for use in Harley-Davidsons. Always trying to keep up with the market, I like to try to have the most accurate and up to date info to offer my customers and being curious about how they had addressed the "Bearing Skate" problem, I started making some phone calls, starting with the number in the add. After explaining to the teenager that answered the phone exactly what information I was looking for, he simply said, "Sure, our oil is OK to use in Harleys!" After some coaxing I finally convinced him I needed a little more "in-depth" answer, he transferred me to another line who gave me a number for tech info, so I called that. They said that they would send me an "Information Package". Two weeks later I received it. It was full of useless technical jargon (expected to confuse the common lay-person, I'm sure) and completely danced around the questions I had.... So I called them back! The person that answered the phone said he would send me an "Information Package" again and I told him that he already did and that I had it in my hand and could he connect me with someone who actually "knows what he's talking about". (I actually used that phrase, Hah!) So he said he would put me in touch with their "Research and Development Tech". After about 45 minutes on hold he finally picked up and I introduced myself and told him I was seeking information about the best product to provide to my customers, knowing that in the past, H-D motors would commonly develop the "bearing skate" condition when using synthetic oil. I inquired about Mobile1 Oil and what had been done to alleviate the adverse condition. His reply was that nothing at all had been done to Mobile1 Oil as their scientists have determined that the condition of "Bearing Skate" is a myth and does not exist. When I asked if I could speak to one of the "Scientists" I was told they were unavailable. When I asked if I could send to the scientists some of the parts that had been removed from low mileage H-D motors after exclusive use of synthetic motor oils, I was given a flat "No" and a "Thank you for calling." and hung up on.
After the whole thing, I was left with the impression that nobody employed at Mobil Oil Company has any interest in selling their product at all ! (I guess that's what advertising agencies are for)
Now H-D is marketing their own brand of synthetic oil (Syn3). The HD Synthetic was initially designed for the V-Rod (which was designed by Porsche and is no different than any other foreign bike, the V-Rod uses a "Plain bearing" motor - not roller bearings) but now they claim it's ok for your older bike too (hmmmmm, aren't these the same folks that want to sell you a new bike?). After calling the good folks at the H-D tech line, they said "Yes, it's ok to use the H-D Synthetic oil (Syn3) in TwinCam and earlier motors" but when I asked them if they actually recommended using it in those motors the answer was a flat "No, we do not recommend that you use our synthetic oil in the roller bearing type motors, we recommend that you use our standard Harley-Davidson 20/50, 10/40 or the straight weights 40-60w, depending on the climate.
Bourget Bike Works initially believed so heavily in the synthetics that they actually milled the Mobil1 logo in the aluminum oil tank caps of all of their motorcycles only to find that the new motors were having some problems breaking-in properly so they changed their policies to using standard oil types (preferably H-D oil) during the break-in period (as recommended by S&S) and then switching to Mobil1 Synthetic V-Twin Motor Oil after the break-in period was complete. 2 years later, after trying to keep up with an overwhelming amount of warranty claims, Roger Bourget made the statement that he did not want any type of synthetic motor oils anywhere near his bikes ever. His company has since backed away from that statement and now claims that you can use any motor oil of your choosing after the warranty period is up.
Big Dog Motorcycles, the second largest selling American motorcycle company in the world (second only to H-D), very boldly states right in their owners manual that the use of synthetic motor oils will VOID the warranty.
S&S Cycle remains neutral on the subject stating that Harley-Davidson oil is required during the warranty period and then it is OK to use any motor oil of  your choosing after the warranty period is complete.

I am not totally against synthetic oils, I prefer to use synthetic oils in my wife's Honda and her Buick and I even use Synthetic oil in my 1963 GMC pickup, I will also say that they tend to work very well in H-D transmissions and primaries. If you choose to use Synthetic motor oils in your V-Twin, roller bearing style motors, you may notice right away that the engine seems to run quieter and cooler than it did with H-D oil, but do not be fooled, you might not like the early component failures and major engine damage you could experience after only 20,000 or 30,000 miles.
The only RIGHT answer to the oil debate is... It's your bike and you should use whatever oil you believe in. I have given you my opinion based on observations over years in the field and I really don't care if you use "Johnson's Baby Oil". 
It's your bike, choose your poison.

I will no longer answer questions for or against any oil brand or type, so don't waste your or my time asking.