Before the ride yesterday, I decided to check the transmission fluid level. With bike cold, on leveled surface and on jiffy stand, I took out the dipstick only to find it dry. There was no fluid even at the lowest point of the dipstick. My bike has 4k miles, with 1k mile service done at around 1400 miles by the dealer. I see no leaks anywhere whatsoever. So where is the fluid? Is this normal? Should I check it with the bike standing up instead?

Bike rides fine (I think? I don't know anymore what fine and not fine is lol). As always, I have trouble with finding N but I get it good most of the time on red lights. This thing doesn't shift buttery smooth and it slams on 1st gear, but it's been doing this since I got it with 800 miles on the clock.

I bought some Red Line heavy fluid on Amazon just in case. I will probably just replace the fluid when it arrives, but it is concerning to me that I don't see any fluid on a dip stick?

 

"Harley trans oil migrating"

If this ^ is the case your primary will be overfull

 

I would call your dealer first…they may come get or hey may advise to add some then bring it in

 

If your bike is an early 2019 build, it may not have the primary vent from the factory. Definitely call your dealer and tell them your situation. They may come and get the bike and check for trans to primary migration. I definitely wouldn't ride it with a bone dry dipstick.

 

I'm with Erilflynn, let the dealership know, that's a warranty issue, especially since you just had service done, they should have caught it...

 

I suspect if you remove your derby cover, fluid will pour out... it will be way overfilled..

BUT..... Since it's under warranty, don't touch it...

Bring it back to your dealer, tell them what happened, tell them you suspect trans to primary fluid migration, and you want the level of the primary fluid inspected... But as others have suggested, have the dealer come and get it, or refill the trans (keeping track of amount of fluid it takes to reach the proper level on the dipstick) before riding to the dealer..

They will be familiar with the issue and will probably install the new primary vent to stop the transfer...

For something to do, search "M8 transmission to primary fluid migration" and you should get a couple days of reading, on this forum alone, to familiarize yourself with the issue, and history of the MoCo trying to find a fix... it appears the "primary vent fix" may be the one that works...

 

Migration is unlikely. Most likely it was never full . Before doing anything bike straight up open primary see if it runs out. That will confirm migration or not. If nothing runs out. Slow a couple oz at a time to find how low you trans is. It may be just a few short.
Just a reminder screw it back in until O ring touches to check.

 

I don't think the bike is under warranty any longer. Production date is Feb 2019. I also checked for the vent and I do not see it installed on the primary.

 

Ughhh...yeah...I read all this stuff before and I am familiar with the little vent kit after reading all the threads some time ago. I just went along with the "just ride the damn thing" motto, so I did. Back then, I only had maybe 2k miles on the bike so I didn't think I should worry about anything like that. But, with 5k service approaching, I wanted to check fluids. I noticed my engine level was low too, so I added a whole quart (!!!!!!) to level it out to where it should be.

I am going to call the dealer that did my 1k service and ask.

 

Production date is not when the warranty period starts.

The warranty starts when the bike is sold.