I have been riding street bikes off and on for 24 years now. My last sportster I had for eight years. I have always performed or attempted to perform my own repaars and modifications to not only my motorcycles but to to my vehicles as well. I am a shade tree mechanic with 6 years industrial maintenance experience. I recently traded in my '04 1200 for a '12 1200, "72" model. With my previous bike I had changed the oil a couple of times but I had never performed the 1K, 5K, or 10K service. My budget is a lot tighter than it used to be so I decided to perform the 1000 mile service myself. At the local dealer I picked up four quarts of synthetic motor oil, a new filter and a tube of Harley lube (for the clutch cable). The parts guy said it would take almost three quarts of oil for the engine and he was right. When I asked for synthetic clutch/primary fluid he handed me the fourth quart of syn motor oil. The engine oil change was straight forward. For the clutch/primary fluid change I cut the side out of an empty quart bottle and drained the fluid in there (for measuring purposes). Almost exactcly a quart came out so I simply removed the primary inspection cover, made a home made funnel and put a quart back in through the inspection cover. Lubricating the clutch cable was very simple with the little needle shaped applicator that the lube came in. I was hoping the transmission would shift with less clunk after changing to synthetic but it's still clunky. Any recommendations for a clutch/primary fluid?
Total parts cost was around $71.

 

thanks for the write up. I just did my engine oil a couple weeks ago and gonna do the Primary oil this weekend.

Is it truly as easy as it sounds? just drain from a nipple below, and then fill to 1qt via funnel to the inspection hole?

 

Yep, just that easy. There is an o-ring on the drain plug and o-rings on the inspection plate screws so watch for those. Also don't forget to get some thread sealant for the drain plug. I used Loctite thread sealant.

 

When I did my 1000 mile I went with the Formula+

It shifts smooth as butter, but I can't see the oil making that much of a difference. I assume you adjusted the clutch?

 

Spectro Primary Fluid = golden primary/clutch lube!!!

 

Thanks. Actually no I didn't adjust the clutch. It still feels the same as the day I picked it up. Always been a clunk sound going into first and a little less noticable clunk going through the gears. There was a good bit of shavings on the magnet also.

 

That KLUNK is the beauty of a Harley ..I was told they could get rid of it but they didn't want to.... There is alot more that needs to be done @ 1000 mile service than just fluid change . Clutch adjustment is one that needs to be done . Do you have the service manuel ? If not YOU NEED ONE , It will tell you what needs to be done and how to do it ...

 

A tech at my local harley dealer told me about an oil from redline that is made to quiet down the "clunk" and rattles in the tranny. I havent tried it yet myself but he highly recommended it. Can be found here>http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=112&pcid=13

Seems legit. anyone have any first hand experience?

 

Welcome to the world of DIY!

You should also make sure all the fasteners on the bike are torqued to spec. Also, don't neglect the air filter.

 

If you don't have the manual I'd get it first thing. There is a checklist for all of the things that need to be done for the 1K service. Check off what you do and date it. The critical fasteners are the main thing, you will find a few things loose. I lost a bolt from my rear brake master cylinder at 500 miles.

You need some sort of documentation for warranty reasons if you have any issues down the road.