Why would the salesman even say that, that is just dumb !
Yes it happens, happens on allot of Bikes and Cars, not just Harleys, it is so minor that as many have said it all collects on the magnet...
I am surprised at some of the dealers and how they stay in buisness with some of the dumb a$$ stuff they their salesman say and do...
I have come across salesman that know less than i do about the bikes they are selling and overheard them telling people in the showroom flat out BS about bikes, warranties and other things..

No offense if there are any Harley Sales people here, it was just targeted at guys like this one and a couple I have encountered

 

Used motor oil will always have some amount of metal particles in it. Engines eat themselves. If they didn't a motor would last forever and we'd never have to rebuild them.

I've packaged up oil from a lot of airplanes, where oil analysis during oil changes is done, and sent it out to companies that test it. They can not only tell you how much metal is in the oil, they can usually say from which part in the motor it came from.

But what you are looking for is trend analysis. When over the course of several checks the amount of metal stays constant you are experiencing normal engine wear. But if all of a sudden the amount spikes, then we look at what the metal is and further check that part of the motor.

Harleys aren't airplanes and don't need that kind of preventive testing, and yes, that was a rather dumb off hand comment for a salesman to make . . .