that is odd..it took 30 oz for my trans to read Full..drained cold on the jiffy stand..for whatever reason they omitted the part of bringing the engine to operating temperature on the changing transmission fluid instruction, unlike as stated for engine oil and Primary fluid..also have noticed that upright or on jiffy stand didn't matter for trans fluid level check since my wife's Freewheeler registers exactly the same..guess it just isn't an exact science in this regard

 

Did you check your transmission after you added the oil? If not, maybe your ratiorite isn’t accurate. I poured a quart in when I did my service and it was right at the full mark cold. Also I don’t see how it would transfer if it wasn’t running, but you weren’t inferring it did as you said the primary was at the correct level.

 

Nah it didn't transfer, and I didn't check it after adding the 28oz. I suppose it's possible that a Ratio-rite isn't accurate, but it kind of seems that it has one job, and it does it.

It sounds like mine needs 2oz more to be full than yours does, but both need more than the 28oz that Harley recommends.

 

Yeah I think the manual even says 28 oz. is approximate. That’s probably the reason so many have had a service done at the dealership and found they were low right afterwards, the tech puts in 28 oz. and calls it good, doesn’t check the level. I imagine there is more than one mold for these transmission cases, wouldn’t be hard for the volume to vary from one to the other.

 

That's a fair and honest evaluation. Thanks.

This sentence strikes a chord with me. "I suppose it's possible that if I held it at 5 K rpms for an extended run I could see the issue return."

The first time (four or five months ago) I read this thread coincided with my loading a FuelMoto map into my new PowerVision tuner and taking it for a few "extra spirited" rides to fill in empty cells in the canned map. Therefore I rode about 40 miles in a manner that I'd never do again. Kind of like an all out dyno run (or two). Extended time at high rpm with partial throttle, time at high rpm with full throttle. Low RPM with full and partial throttle etc. I was trying to fill all the cells that I didn't get to with "normal riding". For those that have never done this please understand this lasts for a very short while. Like a dyno run it's a bit weird, but you're not abusing the bike. Your bike should last a decade or more, even under these "weird" conditions for extended periods.

It was during this tank of fuel (less than a tank by far) that my bike simply puked most of the trans fluid to the primary. It was shocking. I'm talking about musch less than an hour of riding. Kind of like Steve Cole's reaction with several bikes on his dyno. I would not have noticed without this thread.

Since then my worst transfer was a two hour drive at 85 to 95 mph on the interstate. This was significant transfer, but not as overwhelming as a dyno run, or an attempt to fill in odd cells on a canned map. And "regular riding" commuting to and form work etc, results in minimal transfer. Therefore, my bike may never have been as bad at the transfering compared to those who think they have "no transfer" and others who think they have "moderate transfer" but have never pushed their bike for even a small amount of time.

But most importantly, no matter how you ride your bike, This $hit shouldn't happen at all!!!!!

I've been riding since 1971. In competition, for enjoyment, and for simple transportation. We should not accept this situation as OK! Were it not for this thread, and a couple other threads on other forums, I would have never checked my tranny fluid. Haven't in 40 years except for bikes that shared fluid with the engine. You shouldn't have to accept it either.

There's a solution to this somewhere. I'm afraid the MoCo knows it's "too expensive" to acknowledge the solution.

Ask yourself, "Who can afford the solution better, HD or you and I"? If you "think" your bike is immune to this situation, it probably isn't. We pay premium prices for our HD's. We should expect a premium product.

Did you lay out $25k to $45k for this ****? I didn't.


Peace out....

 

After I made a new trans cover gasket after I found the hole south of one of the bolt holes as small as a pin ***** and plugged at that and added a hole in the solid part of the gasket that acts as a splash guard for the front gear set i've had no transfer. None it's gone done and over with.

When the wife and I made the Bike Blues and BBQ day run our goal was to Blow the bike up and scrap it out and eat it. Or decide if we wanted to keep it with all it's bipolar issues or part it out on ebay and recoup our money over the long run. After the tranny gasket all transfer stopped.

We rode the hell out of the bike! Ground the board supports, twisted the frame, made the front brake rotors change to a bronze / tin color. Beat on the farm tractor transmission like a step child and proved HD hasn't one damn clue what a slipper clutch really is, the idiots. The forks tried like hell to do there job. The rear shocks a complete failure in anything but a straight line,, made the bike waddle in corners and shake it's head. You don't like that mother farker take this!

We fell for the bike. I pushed it way hard. The wife felt out the rear end and only asked that I don't drag a hand and keep the front wheel on the ground. And to her credit the rear does get a tad stupid if you wheelie the King. But it two wheel drifts and plays almost well.

I rode the bike to work this week for 2 of the 5 days. Rain and lack of sleep kept me off the other three days. Tranny fluid still perfect. We are keeping our King. Now to find out why the rockers and valves rattle like China junk with above spec oil pressure.

Thank God This Is My Last Modern Harley!

 

Still no more migration on mine . After next weekends trip it will have over 5,000 miles on sense they looked it over at HD.
I guess some will thank god it is their last Harley. We will pray for many more years of riding and needing a new one of two before we are done.

 

Can somebody sum up the current status of this issue? This thread is getting really long at 187 pages and is hard to keep up. Has anybody figured out exactly what is causing the transfer? Has the MOCO acknowledged a problem? Have they offered any fix? Has anybody had their bike fixed that solved the problem? Waiting to pull trigger on M8.

 

If you read the last 50 pages you’ll get answers to most of your questions. Basically, this is a problem that affects some bikes. About 1/3 of the M8’s on this site according to a poll that was taken. Probably a smaller percentage of total sales. If you ask any service manager at any dealership he will have never heard of it. The MOCO seems to feel it’s caused by crankcase vacuum sucking past the main seal. Apparently in some cases, like with psyshack, it can be caused by a transmission that is not venting. Some that have experienced it are no longer after getting some miles on their machines. Some have had dealer repairs that haven’t worked, not sure if there have been dealer repairs that did work. Basically I wouldn’t let this stop me from buying an M8. If you’re thinking about a new softail they have cable actuated clutches, so they’re not likely to transfer. Even if you’re going touring I wouldn’t hesitate, the M8 is a much better power plant than the Twincam. You will enjoy it much more than you expect. Just don’t go past stage 2 upgrade.

 

Some did it a lot some did it a little seems most not at all.
Mine did not , then it did.
It went to HD they got it in . Removed transmission cover, inspected gasket, replaced a O ring that I think had nothing to do with it. blew out some passages in the area of the cover.
Had it back now about 4,500 miles couple longer trip couple short ones. No more problem. I have been checking mine by opening the primary to look for more lube than there should be. I have a wheel chalk installed in garage I pull it in . When it is cool I open primary and check. No change what so ever sense the service.