DOC HARLEY: OIL LEVEL WHEN TO CHECK & ADD

Doc Harley from the Service Clinic at Low Country Harley-Davidson to help you with the health of your motorcycle! This week he talks about the best time to check your motorcycle's oil level.

Doc Harley is a motorcycle technician at Low Country Harley-Davidson with over thirty years working on motorcycles. Over the years at the dealership he has worked on Harley-Davidson, Buell, and Triumph motorcycles with a few other brands here and there from trade-ins. There are thousands of how-to videos out on youtube and other websites across the world. Doc’s goal is to help solve problems that people run into when using their service manual, share insights only found as a certified Harley® technician, and some of the tips he’s picked up over the years.

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Looking to meet Doc and the other members of the LCHD team? Visit us at:
Low Country Harley-Davidson
4707 Dorchester Road
Charleston, SC 29405

[travisdarling]

If Doc Harley had chosen to be a teacher and I was one of his students, I would have been on the honor roll no doubt. I really enjoy the videos, it's like my favorite TV show. Doc Harley explains procedures in a way a person with a 4 letter vocabulary can easy understand.
Thank you much for all the useful information, and the time everyone involved in making these videos. It's time not wasted, Doc Harley and all behind the scenes you have a lot of class!
It's not the road you take, it's how you take the road!

[waynesiminski]

Not the first time I heard of this happening. Good reminder to always be familiar with the info in the owners manual. Thanks Doc.

[medimaldonado]

Thanks! Just checked mine and saw it was at the bottom. I was about to add a quart but good thing I checked YouTube and your video before!

[theonebe]

That by far is the best thing I've learned about a motorcycle. I don't own a Harley but that's really good to know to tell people that do. Thanx for the hip tip! 👍

[victorcarneiro]

Haha I Just checked the dipstick on my ‘17 48 and it was on minimum. I’m glad I saw this video before adding some more. Thanks a lot, saved me a lot of hassle :)

[shannonbarrios]

Yeah I just bought a sportster and the oil cap blew off and before that the oil was leaking out if the cap, I took some out and brought it back to where it needs to be and it runs 100 percent better and doesn't leak anymore or blow the cap off

[steveross]

Thanks Doc. Not as silly as you might imagine as the vast majority of bikes today are unit engines with wet sumps. Harley is rare in the fact it uses a dry sump, so oil bleed back to the crankcase is an issue. Radial aircraft engines also suffer from this to the point of hydraulic lock-up of the bottom cylinder! Glad that can’t happen! 😱

[stephenmoretti]

Tip: get your oil level at the right mark when it's hot then a few hours later when it's cold see where it is on the dip stick, etch a mark on it and you'll know it's at a correct level before start up, always works for me.

[davidgiles]

I have an 07 Goldwing. Four quarts in, 5, 000 kms later four quarts out. I never check the oil, I never felt the need. The bike has 81, 000 miles on it.

[umberct]

Thank you for informative videos.
I watch them and take notes.

[dennisharrison]

I learned this years ago on old dry sump yamaha tt500

[duggydugg]

excellent point ! my 91 FL H urped oil all over on start . thanks

[lineman]

question" I have a Heritage 2004 softail..and when checking the oil the bike is leaning on the stand..is this the time to check it? or should it be standing upright for a proper reading?

[Mytwistedvoices]

All my bikes are wet. Just bought one with a separate tanks. Thanks for the great advice!

[billheinzl]

Doc I'm just starting out I love your videos God bless I have a 2004 883 Sportster now when a kickstands down it leans to the side really low it's a factory kickstand my big question is this when I check the oil level should I put some wood underneath to make it more upright than on such a slant to check the oil? Thank you

[robertorey]

Just picked up a 95 soft tail herritage. Nothing on the dip stick. Should I check it after starting it? Don’t have owners manual

[daviddavis]

Doc I bought my 02 heratige softail classic last summer. The person I bought from didn't have owners manual with it. Do you know what the correct way to check oil on this year?

[eguyntx]

Excellent video that happened to me once!

[eduardoperel]

Dear Doc, one question I have the FP3 on my 2015 883. If I reduce the idle RPM from 1020 the normal to 900 I can damage the engine?

[awa]

Hi, I've got a 2007 FXDL. My question is on checking the trans oil level. The Clymer manual says park it on the jiffy stand. The straight underneath it says do not check the level on the jiffy stand. 2ndly, it says do not screw the dips tick home, whereas on YouTube, most advice says DO screw the dips tick home. Can you please clear this up for me, Doc Harley