No, you're right... mistakenly thought he was talking about crankcase... and it's a general rule of thumb-ish that I made up by myself.

 

I'm quoting myself because it's time for a big ol' slab of humble pie.

Stone Cold, I checked part #'s for '17 Freewheeler & Road King, and they are identical. That proves your point without having to go to the dealer. I haven't stood mine up to check it yet, but it's definitely going to be overly full.

Whether this has any effect on transfer will take time of course, but I want to give you a big shout out for bringing this to our attention. Somewhat surprised it hadn't dawned on anybody else yet.

Thanks!!

 

MJ Webb, how have you been checking yours? Has the bike been upright or on the jiffy stand throughout all this? If this all turns out to be due to a simple misprint in the manuals...

On the other hand Steve Cole has been losing ALL of his hasn't he?

 

Did my own 1000 mi. service. 28 oz in the tranny reads right at full on the side stand. Oh yea, its a 17 road glide. :>)

 

For the record when running at higher RPM on the Dyno every M8 we have run transfers fluid. If left alone while developing calibrations for various exhaust, Air Cleaner combination it will transfer the fluid to a level that the transmission begins making noises from running near dry.
One of my personal bikes has been transferring fluid and been returned to dealership several times with no solution from HD. Last test was about 80 miles of foot hill and mountain riding and it transfered 22 oz. So it sits parked!

 

I'm hoping I got mine fixed today!

Mine has never transfered a lot of fluid. But at about the 6 oz. mark the shifting changes for the worse and neutral becomes a slight issue in finding. When the tranny fluid level and transfer case levels are good netrual is a breeze from 1st or 2nd. 3 oz. down on the stick you can't find netural from 2nd gear. 6 oz. down in the tranny shifts get real bad and neutral gets iffy from 1st. And it starts getting noisy in all shifts.

And it does not matter which combo of lube I use. Be it HD, M1, Amsoil or Redline. I've spent a small fortune on lube for this bike. lololololol

I checked the vent hole in the gasket today. It was tiny and plugged. I made a new one out of 1/16" vegetable fiber gasket material pre soaked it in 20/50 oil then dabbed it dry with a 1/16" vent hole. Installed the gasket and went for a fun filled 250 mile ride. I also raised the default rpm with the FP3 to 6500 rpm so I could beat on it a tad.

All seems well so far!

 

There is not a whole lot of difference when checked on jiffy stand or on a lift (upright). I'll bet most shops check both tranny and crankcase while upright on the lift.

 

From Service Bulletin M1296A (standard procedure clarification)
This information applies to all 2006-2013 Dyna and 2007-2013 Softail and Touring models with 6-speed transmission,including CVO, Trike, Sidecar and Police models. Procedure for all Twin Cam™model motorcycles. They are to be checked while cold, resting on level ground.Two wheeled motorcycles are to be checked on the jiffy stand.
1. Remove the transmission dipstick and wipe off.
2. Insert dipstick and thread dipstick in until the O-ring makes contact with the case. Do not tighten.
3. Remove dipstick. Lubricant level must be between the ADD and FULL marks.
4. Add the specified Genuine H-D lubricant as necessary.
5. Install dipstick. Tighten to 25-75 in-lbs(2.8-8.5 Nm).

 

Just to be clear here. You made a new gasket for the top cover of the transmission. In the process you increased the size of the vent hole in the gasket to 1/16".
I know of several other individuals who have done that with positive results.

 

I wish that you would check your transmission with the bike upright. It may well be that it makes no difference whether it is upright or on the jiffy stand to get a correct reading. Texaswiz may be right. If you mark the level of a container of fluid with a line and then tilt it there will be a point where the fluid will still touch the line. It is possible that Harley's engineers designed the transmission dipstick to be at that point in their transmission. I won't be around my bike until tonight so for me to do this is not possible. I was never saying this transfer problem doesn't exist, but when the service manager said to check the level upright and I have always done it that way on previous bikes, and you have to check it upright on trikes, it made me start asking questions. The answer may well have nothing to do with solving the problem.