Background Info:

I bought my 2003 Sportster Hugger XL in August. It had 1,700 miles on it when I got it. I checked the oil in it when I got it and it was full and clean. It now has 3,700 miles on it.

1) I pulled the air filter cover off today to see what filter it had on there and there was a significant amount of oil in the filter and around the cover. Just wondering if this is normal.

2) I checked the dipstick and there was barely any oil residue on it when I pulled it out. It's only been 2,000 miles since I last checked it when it was clean and full. I checked the Sportster maintenance sticky in the forum and it said you should be good from 1,000 to 5,000 miles. Is it possible it still has the original oil in it? I've never noticed a leak or anything like that.

 

Did you run the bike prior to checking the dipstick?

Oil is the lifeblood of your bike, IMO don't wait to 5,000 for changes. It's cheap, so change it often.

Oil in the breather is normal, don't worry.

Oh, check your oil level often, as well as air pressure in tires. 2,000 between checks is WAY too long.

 

No, I didn't run it before I checked it. I figured that would just lower the oil level as it got it flowing through the engine. Should I try that?

 

You should check the oil when it's hot! If you have oil in the air box you are running to much oil in the bike. Oil in the air box is not normal.

 

If this is the original oil change it as soon a possible. considering that it is a 2003 i would have changed it before riding it the first time. when you do chang the oil only fill it to the middle of the dipstick between the marks. if you fill the oil to the full line on a sportster it will come out in the aircleaner. this is a very common issue of sportsters so only fill with oil to the middle of the dipstick. alway check the oil before every ride. Like stated before take the bike out for a little spin for 15 to 20 minutes then check the oil to get a more accurate reading. Just to keep my bike in top shape i change my oil at 3000 miles on the dot. even though the bike only has 3700 miles or so considering the age of the bike you might want to change the primary oil as well. i would have checked that as well before riding it very far.

 

Oil in the air cleaner is real common and it's not because the bike is over full, my newest bike the 07 RK even did it.
You always have to start the bike before checking the oil, there is a check valve in the oil system that slowly let's the oil from the oil tank seep back into the crankcase.

 

You are used to thinking about wet sump (like cars, where the oil drains into the oil pan by gravity).

There are two things in a Harley that will make the oil level higher when you just shut off the engine:
1) When the oil warms up, it expands,
2) A Harley runs a dry sump, so when the engine is running, the oil pump scavenges everything collected in the bottom of the engine and puts it in the oil tank. Oil is fed by gravity from the tank back down to another cavity in the oil pump to be shoved under pressure through the oil filter and then into the bearings & other critical engine parts.

The oil in you breather is from the crankcase vents. A little exhaust (called blow by) always gets around the rings, and the piston moving up and down also displaces air. This air has to go somewhere, and since it is coming from inside the engine, there is a little oil suspended like mist in that air.

Long ago, the crankcase was vented to the outside, but the environmentalists got their knickers in a bunch. The engineers re-routed the vent into the air intake, where the oil is supposed to be sucked back into the engine and burned. Under some conditions, you blow more mist at the intake than is being sucked into the engine, and it ends up on your air filter. A stain on the filter and some film on the ham can is normal. A dripping air filter is another problem.

There is a little check valve that requires a little pressure to allow oil back to the engine. If this valve does not work properly, oil can drain from the tank back into the engine when it is not running. Since there is no room in the engine for this extra oil, it is forced through the breather (as a stream, not a mist) when you crank the engine and you have a real mess in the air cleaner.

 

Oil in the air box is not normal , it's either has too much oil or he has blow by, which I highly doubt .

 

I'd have to venture a guess that you haven't owned a Harley very long. While running the oil level a bit lower (half way between the ADD & FULL marks) will reduce blow-by, it seldom eliminates the issue. That's why there are a number of kits on the market for installing a breather bypass system.

This is just one example:

 

I'm going by what my manual says. Which I'm pretty close to quoting. Makes absolutely no since what so ever, that it's normal for you to have oil pushing up into you intake.