Back in February, I purchased this Softail, which is a 2012 with 25,000 miles on it. Harley Said they had serviced the bike as they do all their trade in's. Service manager stated the next service is due in 5,000 miles, and the bill for it would be between $400-$500.

My Question; I'm on the extended warranty, and 5,000 miles seems a bit much for the lubrication change, especially an air cooled motor. I've purchased the service manual to do the service myself. Am I in the majority or minority thinking 5,000 is a bit much on the engine? What mileage interval do you follow?

Thanks in advance for your answers and opinions.

 

I use full synthetic oil and the ONLY time I change it before 5000 miles is if I'm headed out for a trip. Sometimes I bring a filter with me and change it in the parking lot of an auto parts store or quickee lube place if the trip is extended or I'd be throwing away more than a 1000 miles worth of oil.

Other than that, motor and primary at 5000 (primary is conventional oil), trans at 15,000.

 

5,000 is probably overkill. The main killer of oil "back in the day" was the choke on the the carburetor. When you started the engine cold, the choke was dumping lots of raw fuel in the motor...contaminating the oil. With fuel injection, the fuel is so precisely metered this is no longer a problem.

 

5000 is fine or more if you want to use Synthetic. I wouldn't go less than 5000 like said above unless you are leaving on a trip.

 

I use SYN3 in everything. I plan on trying Redline next primary / trans change.

Motor, primary and trans. 5,000 miles on motor, 10,000 miles on primary / trans. If you have basic mechanical skills and a service manual, you should be fine.

 

Why do you surmise the Harley tech advised you that the next service should be in 5000 miles?

Because Harley recommends changing the engine oil every 5000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.

Very good for purchasing the service manual. If you don't have the owner's manual, get it here.

 

With a good quality sinth. Lube you can go further in all three cases. Though each requires their own distance intervels.
Tranny I'd go between 10 or 15k mi
Crank between 5 and 7 ( check levels periodically )
Prymary 5 k max due to alternator and clutch makn a muck
Been usin sinthetic in bikes since mid eighties

 

Some think that 5000 miles is overkill. I'm the opposite. Three quarts of motor oil is pretty cheap, and heat is a killer of oil. Air cooled motor run hot. Much hotter than liquid cooled. And since air cooled motors depend on oil as a coolant as well as lubrication, I prefer to keep it fresh. So, i'll change it about every 3k. Filter every other change.

 

There is a lot more than just an oil change when it comes to x mile services.

 

I have gone 5000 miles between oil changes, most of the time it is somewhere between 3000 and 4000.

A lot depends on what kind of miles...short trips, hard riding, especially in hot weather, these will put more "wear" on the oil than cross country type cruising.

As was stated, there is a lot more to changing the oil on a 5000 mile service.

While I check all the fasteners whenever I do an oil change, I am also keeping a constant eye/check on them, even between changes.