Before you guys go hog wild over the new M8's, T think you should investigate the M8 thread concerning trans fluid migrating into the primary . See " who's been having to add trans fluid" thread, as well as other threads pertaining to this problem that the MOCO is not acknolaging. Steve Cole has isolated the problem to high R.P.M.s. I know some of you think the 114 is like a race motor, it's still just a Harley. It's worth the investigation.

 

Some people like the new, some people don't, but I think most people here will wait several years before buying a new softail. M8 bugs aside, there's just too many new things at once and there's bound to be bugs that need to be worked out.

 

The oil migration is a very well known problem. I know a fellow with a 2017 that has the problem. Harley sent a fellow from the factory to see if it could be fixed.No luck - - Harley ended up giving him a brand new bike...still has problem, but not as serious. He thinks the problem is worse when doing a lot of local ridding which requires more shifting.

 

Last night I located and read through that thread you mentioned, which is now well over 100 pages long... I couldn't find anything that mentioned if it affects 114 motors, or whether it had been corrected for the 2018 lineup.
Any idea?

 

Edit: wrong topic, my bad... early morning confusion.

Watching...

 

how does oil from the primary migrate to the tranny, they don't even share a seal.

 

It's anybodies guess... The MoCo is being tight lipped about it... some dealerships don't even know the problem exists (or they are flat out liars).

Some who are well versed on Hd motorcycles, who are not affiliated with the MoCo, are trying to figure it out. There are many suspicions, but no one has found the smoking gun... yet....

The MoCo has a list of dealer checks for anyone with the problem. There have been several "fixes", none of which has worked on every bike. It suggests the MoCo isn't completely sure what the cause is. Some people have been given new transmissions, no good. The new guess is a new seal and new spacer with a beveled edge... some have had it installed, and still have the problem.

I was excited about a new M8 touring bike in spring 2018... those plans are on hold until I know it has been identified and fixed....

 

The trans main shaft is hollow and used for two things....

One, the clutch pushrod travels between the clutch cable/hydraulic actuator under the trans side cover to the the clutch in the primary, via this hollow shaft.

Two, the shaft is not sealed. It has a secondary job of allowing the pressure to equalize between the trans and primary, and vent out the trans vent, if necessary.

The only way you can lose 8oz of trans oil and have it show up in the primary, is via this shaft...... that much is agreed on. Now why/how it is doing this is an ongoing discussion...

The scary part of this issue is it is unknown how many bikes are affected. It is NOT an issue on all bikes. The transfer rate appears to be dependent on how hard you run the engine, higher rpms have been shown to increase transfer. If you don't look for it, most people won't know they have it...

For example; you ride easy between service visits. You may only have 2-3oz of transfer. The service tech dumps old fluids, without ever checking levels first... and then fills both to proper levels. Even if they did notice the trans a couple ounces low, it would be no cause for concern and they certainly wouldn't look to see if it's in the trans....

Several dyno tuners have tuned bikes, and seen 10oz transferred during the tuning process. One posted that he tuned an '18 CVO Limited, and it transferred 10oz during the tune... so it seems it hasn't been fixed for the '18 models..

 

^^^ That is absolutely nuts.

 

From reading through the previously mentioned thread, the one common characteristic of this "transfer" seems to be that it occurs when the engine is run at 4000-5000 RPM for extended periods - or like you mentioned, when being dyno'ed.
If that's really the cause, it sounds like it would rule out trouble for a fair number of riders, myself included.