That theory has been brought up by several forum members. It does seem plausible although I have not sorted out in my head if it is pressure related. Something has to be acting as the vehicle and be moving it from the transmission to the primary case. It might be pressure or perhaps a "spinning" or "screwing" motion is occurring at a certain rpm.
The clutch push rod seems like it could be the "vehicle" to do that. When it initially happened to me the first thing that popped into my empty head was that the transmission vent was plugged. Who knows, maybe a mud dauber had crawled into the open hose and plugged it. That might explain the increase in pressure which was pushing the transmission fluid across to the primary. That theory was shot down in about 10 seconds when I checked the hose and found it to be pristine. No cigar.

Like most here, I am not an expert on these new engines. I have never even had the primary case off because mine has not needed anything done to it, because it is so new. We do have one gentleman in particular who frequents this forum who is a real expert and has documented this phenomenon and can apparently make it happen at will. Up to this point he has not actually put in writing what he thinks is happening inside the transmission to make this happen. But I feel certain that as soon as he is ready to let the cat out of the bag he will make his thoughts known to all. He may be waiting for the MOCO to acknowledge that the problem actually exists before he makes his thoughts known. Stay tuned!

 

Have you identified a pattern, e.g., this only happens on bikes built before some date?

 

No just trying to see if there's any pattern. Not enough info to tell yet.

 

My build date is August 11 / 16 on my Road King. I just started following this thread a couple nights ago and must admit I'd never checked my transmission oil because I have not had any external leakage. I have approx 2650 miles on mine with the 1k service having been done by my dealer. So after reading this thread I went out and checked mine. Sitting on the side stand not having moved for a day was right on the add mark so thinking very little if any oil has transferred. I'm not a real spirited rider but being an old trucker/ farmer I do use the engine as my primary brake. I will now keep a closer eye on the tranny level.

 

12/16 build date. No lubricant transfer.

 

Good to hear no lub was transferred

 

Thanks... I am getting very close finalizing my decision to buy a new RK and it is time to begin the shopping project. Normally I would prioritize price, this time I might need to prioritize build date.

 

Based on the discussion here, I checked the fluid level last night and again this morning. I could not see any fluid on the stick. I took it into the dealer at lunch and they checked it again confirming what I saw. They topped it off for free (Gengras East Hartford CT is a great dealership) and told me to check it regularly.

My bike has 9300 miles on it and I put on 3000 since last oil change. Gonna take it in for the 10k soon and will have all three fluids changed.

Thanks for the heads up!

 

It would be interesting to see what effect the oil transfer problem has on new bike sales. I was set to sign on the line and hand over the cash on a new M8 Road king but after reading about the problems some of you are experiencing I could`nt bring myself to part with the biggest part of a years earnings on a bike that may or maynot give me heart ache.
By giving this reason to the salesman I hope I have played a small part in getting HD to notice that something is not quite right on some M8 engines.

 

10/16 build. Definitely transferring oil. We bought first two RG M8s from best deal in town. Both bikes are doing it. 4- 6 oz each.
Yes it will affect sales. It yes enthusiasts that ultimately decide the outcomes of a product.
But they ARE great to ride.
MoCo needs to get positive , step up and BACK their product.
Amen.