Changed the oil for the 1st time since we got it on the 2012 Iron 883. I was surprised only about 1 quart drained.

I put back almost 3 qt, but that was definitely too much oil, so I drained it again and filled her up correctly, she took 1.5 qt. Rode a couple of miles, checked the level, and it was still good, at the high mark.

I don't understand how come so little oil came of the bike.
Anyone with similar experience?

 

It sounds like you drained the oil out of the primary... which only holds 1qt. The oil tank should hold almost 3qts. That does sound weird.

Did you crank the engine and let it run for about 5 minutes to get the oil warm before draining?

I don't ask these silly questions to be insulting - but rather, because sometimes we overlook the simple things.

 

Definitely engine oil.
I didn't warm up the engine beforehand, just thought it would only take a little longer to drain because the oil is thicker. Something else I should know?

I did the exact same thing on my 1200 (cold engine), and about 2.5 qt oil came out. Changed filter too, on both bikes.

 

That does sound weird... sorry I don't have any other insight... sounds odd.

 

Your oil may have drained into the engine sump, check ball inside system sometimes does that. There may have only been 1.5 quarts in the tank, and the rest was still in the engine, that's why you should warm up the engine completely. Your 1200 may have had a check ball that sealed better. Mine will leak down from mid stick to the lower end of stick after sitting a couple weeks. Just sat for almost a month waiting for my new battery, and oil was at lower tip of dipstick. After a ride, back up to proper level.

John

 

Thx for the explanation John, makes sense...

 

If you change the filter and drain the engine oil on the 883 engine which i have it takes 2.5 quarts to bring it to the perfect level which is about halfway to the full level on the dipstick. Its always the same at every oil change on my bike.