Only time dealer changed my oil on any of my bikes was at the 1k service. After that I do my own. How much metal shavings on the drain plug? What is the mileage and age of the bike? A little is normal on air heads but ours should me minimal. A better indication is to take the oil filter and cut it in half and see what's in there.
DIY oil change
Anyone in here change there own oil? And Harley told me it was OK to have metal shavings off of the drain plug?
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
2012 dx bike has 5000 miles on it. They didn’t seem to concerned in the amount of shavings. I told them I’m changing over to amsoil to see if t cleans things up. I also told them I lost 3/4 of a quart of oil in the last 1000 miles.
3/4 quart in 1000 is normal and will go down with some miles. My bike uses much less Mobie 1 than it did on factory oil.
Magnets are a funny thing and what looks like shavings may not be. I've seen misreading of magnetic drain plugs lead to hundreds of thousands of $$ in unnecessary parts changes in aviation.
Get a white cloth (t-shirt material) or white paper towel, grab the material off the drain plug and smear onto the cloth. You will then see the real size and shape of the material. Once removed from the magnet you will find the material is much smaller than it appeared on the magnet. If the particles are large enough to feel them as you swipe on the cloth (like sand or bigger) you have a problem.
Magnets are a funny thing and what looks like shavings may not be. I've seen misreading of magnetic drain plugs lead to hundreds of thousands of $$ in unnecessary parts changes in aviation.
Get a white cloth (t-shirt material) or white paper towel, grab the material off the drain plug and smear onto the cloth. You will then see the real size and shape of the material. Once removed from the magnet you will find the material is much smaller than it appeared on the magnet. If the particles are large enough to feel them as you swipe on the cloth (like sand or bigger) you have a problem.
Know what your oil's dying to tell you.
Mikes right, and you can go gold and also do an oil analysis like I do and find out all the metal ppm in suspension in the oil, the oil ph, and as tested oil viscosity - for instance my last test my 20/50 was 16 weight, ( low ) ph of 7.4 ( caution ) no coolant, excessive dirt ( silicon ) or fuel in the 4350 mile sample. Time for an oil change ! Nothing to be alarmed about, re-sample for a wear trend. So I reduced change interval to 3000-3500 miles, two years use absolute max. I personally don't want to be riding 110+ Mph two up or 130+ one up and have an engine failure that I could have known was coming. But that's just me - :blahblah:
Mikes right, and you can go gold and also do an oil analysis like I do and find out all the metal ppm in suspension in the oil, the oil ph, and as tested oil viscosity - for instance my last test my 20/50 was 16 weight, ( low ) ph of 7.4 ( caution ) no coolant, excessive dirt ( silicon ) or fuel in the 4350 mile sample. Time for an oil change ! Nothing to be alarmed about, re-sample for a wear trend. So I reduced change interval to 3000-3500 miles, two years use absolute max. I personally don't want to be riding 110+ Mph two up or 130+ one up and have an engine failure that I could have known was coming. But that's just me - :blahblah:
Yeah I went and talked to them this morning and showed them the paper towel I put it on. They didn’t seem to concerned. I’m changing over to amsoil now and I’m actually going to change again in 1000 miles just to be safe. Metal particular scare me. But I’m probably being to cautious about it.
A healthy engine will produce x amount of fine metal in a given mileage interval. I seldom see more then half the magnet with a slight dust coating. First or second oil change when new, It had a small 1/16" dia ball stuck to it. That concerned me but in the last few years, nothing has changed. It also never burns oil and in 5k with Amsoil it never needs to be topped up. Mind you, I gave the rings a good workout on the trip home from the dealer to seat them in fast. Not high rpms but lots of repeated load cycles. These engines that are oil burners had a botched ring break in from driving them too easy at first without ring loading and it will take a shit load of miles to get them to seat in now.Yeah I went and talked to them this morning and showed them the paper towel I put it on. They didn’t seem to concerned. I’m changing over to amsoil now and I’m actually going to change again in 1000 miles just to be safe. Metal particular scare me. But I’m probably being to cautious about it.
If you are getting slivers on the plug, you have some form of issue. It may clear up with more miles as most do but if not, I'd be worried something is eating itself up. Cutting the filter apart is a better view of what's going on for debri and amounts.
We had a saying in aircraft that unless the particle is big enough to have it's own part number to not worry about it. This is not the case with these Revolution engines. Aircraft engines are pretty crude in comparison and make lots of metal but again, they have a normal amount too that's acceptable. Revolution, once broken in should only have light dust on the plug at oil change time or the odd small spec here and there.
Ron
I, too show no loss of oil in between changes. Only time I had an oil issue was when I once overfilled. I'm surprised to read how much oil loss is occurring on some of these engines. Same with the magnet, wasn't even anything to wipe off when I changed oil a few weeks ago. 29,000 miles on a 2011.
I got my 02 with 35k on it. A bit of material on the magnet. Like y'all said. Wipe it on a clean white cloth. Everything was just a smear.
Magnets by their nature will have fines looking spikey. Unless you can feel it between you fingers, good to go.
You also have to keep in mind Revos run a common oil bath. Engine, transmission, clutch, chains and all guides and shoes run in the same black and greasy. Tends to put stuff in there over time. Just think about how much clutch friction material goes in there everytime you do a hole shot.
Magnets by their nature will have fines looking spikey. Unless you can feel it between you fingers, good to go.
You also have to keep in mind Revos run a common oil bath. Engine, transmission, clutch, chains and all guides and shoes run in the same black and greasy. Tends to put stuff in there over time. Just think about how much clutch friction material goes in there everytime you do a hole shot.
Switching to Amzoil will reduce your oil consumption as well. I saw oil loss in the same relative amounts you did when I ran H-D oil. After switching to Amzoil, I dont lose any between oil changes.2012 dx bike has 5000 miles on it. They didn’t seem to concerned in the amount of shavings. I told them I’m changing over to amsoil to see if t cleans things up. I also told them I lost 3/4 of a quart of oil in the last 1000 miles.
My 2013 NRS received both Amsoil synthetic oil and filter on its first oil change. It has ~6,0000 miles on it now and on its 3rd oil change.
Never noticed any unusual amount of metal on the magnet and hasn't burned any oil....
Never noticed any unusual amount of metal on the magnet and hasn't burned any oil....
1 - 11 of 11 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Harley Davidson V-Rod Forum
A forum community dedicated to Harley Davidson V-Rod Motorcycle owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, performance, classifieds, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Recommended Communities
