Bike level for primary oil change

[submax]

Hi all,
I did some searching and couldn't find a definitive answer about this. I'm changing the transmission oil on my XB12Ss and the shop manual calls for the bike to be upright and level (all in capital letters, so I assume that means it is important ). Do most folks use just a rear stand, rear and front stands combined, or some other method for leveling the bike? It seems like just the rear stand is probably close enough, but I don't know how sensitive the oil level measurement is to this.
Thanks!
James

 

[TPEHAK]

No stands

 

[GregoXB]

No stands

I wish people would stop posting this video, it is wrong. DO NOT TORQUE YOUR OIL DRAIN PLUGS!!!! YOU WILL STRIP THE THREADS!!! Just snug them on there, that is more than sufficient.

Hi all,
I did some searching and couldn't find a definitive answer about this. I'm changing the transmission oil on my XB12Ss and the shop manual calls for the bike to be upright and level (all in capital letters, so I assume that means it is important ). Do most folks use just a rear stand, rear and front stands combined, or some other method for leveling the bike? It seems like just the rear stand is probably close enough, but I don't know how sensitive the oil level measurement is to this.
Thanks!
James

Yes the bike should be upright when draining the primary oil. I put my bike on front and rear stands when changing the primary oil. It makes it much easier to drink a beer while the oil drains.

 

[user_deleted]

james: put a small block of wood under the sidestand and remove the drain plug and let it drain for perhaps 1/2 hour if you can. best method to drain the primary. replace the O-ring on the plug. i have them in stock...will send you one for free if you need one. refill with exactly one quart of fluid of your choice. i prefer amsoil 20wt-50 motorcycle oil or their new 20wt-50 primary/trans fluid which is outstanding. one quart gets you right on the money. no need to measure anything.

 

[GregoXB]

james: put a small block of wood under the sidestand and remove the drain plug and let it drain for perhaps 1/2 hour if you can. best method to drain the primary. replace the O-ring on the plug. i have them in stock...will send you one for free if you need one. refill with exactly one quart of fluid of your choice. i prefer amsoil 20wt-50 motorcycle oil or their new 20wt-50 primary/trans fluid which is outstanding. one quart gets you right on the money. no need to measure anything.

View attachment 8592

Interesting. Did not realize they had that fluid. I just changed my oil yesterday, but I will look into that for my next oil change....

 

[user_deleted]

^^^^^^greg: it's actually not all that exciting of a new product. see copy and past below from amsoil website and read first paragraph ONLY. the dedicated v-twin primary fluid and v-twin trans fluid is more of a marketing ploy than anything else IMO. when you "read between the lines" it's nothing more than their dedicated 20wt-50 motorcycle oil with a slightly different additive package and labeling on container. it's intended for those OCD harley/buell/triumph owners who just have to have something.....anything.....specifically labeled for the driveline component it's being used in. really nothing more than that.

https://www.amsoil.com/newsstand/motorcycles/articles/amsoil-introduces-premium-new-products/

 

[Outlaw]

^^^

 

[BuellyBagger]

^^^^^^greg: it's actually not all that exciting of a new product. see copy and past below from amsoil website and read first paragraph ONLY. the dedicated v-twin primary fluid and v-twin trans fluid is more of a marketing ploy than anything else IMO. when you "read between the lines" it's nothing more than their dedicated 20wt-50 motorcycle oil with a slightly different additive package and labeling on container. it's intended for those OCD harley/buell/triumph owners who just have to have something.....anything.....specifically labeled for the driveline component it's being used in. really nothing more than that.

https://www.amsoil.com/newsstand/motorcycles/articles/amsoil-introduces-premium-new-products/

So it's amsoil's version of Harley's formula+?

 

[user_deleted]

no cody. it's what i call "dedicated specialty" packaging. for those anal retentive and OCD types that say to themselves "by God if i'm going to put oil in my primary drive it better say primary drive right on the front of the container". you know the type.

 

[BuellyBagger]

wow john, by the way the amsoil description reads they practically said exactly that! I'm sure it will sell like hot cakes anyway.

And not to drag on an oil discussion, but am I doing any good at all using formula+ in the primary and trans? Or just wasting time and money. Only reason I really do it is because I've always just stuck with doing what the oe manual says. For example I use sae90 "marine" gear oil in my boats outdrive even though I'm sure automotive gear oil would be fine...

 

[submax]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

John - thanks for the offer of the o-ring! I already have one and was planning to replace it. This is the one final place that I'm undoing the problems that the dealer gave me when I took the bike to them a couple of years ago after I first purchased it. The primary drain bolt (like the swingarm drain bolt) was torqued way too tight. Fortunately, it looks like the threads are ok, but the o-ring was totally destroyed. I actually drained the transmission oil last weekend by riding the bike to get it warm, letting it sit on the side stand for 5 minutes or so and then putting it up on my rear stand for several hours. I would assume that did a good enough job of draining the old oil. Haven't had a chance to finish the job since family stuff came up (which is why I let it drain for so long). It seemed like most folks say that 1 qt is exactly the right amount as you indicate. Some say that they try to measure and get slightly different amounts, but I assume transmission operation isn't too sensitive to that. I plan on using Mobil 1 V-Twin which is the same stuff I use in the swingarm. Seems like most folks say it works well in the transmission and it's handy since I can get it just down the road from my house. :up:

 

[user_deleted]

you're not hurting anything at all cody but keep in mind 2 important things about lubricants:
1-up to 25% of a quart container of oil consists of the "additive package" compounds
2-tons of marketing jibberish and corporate-speak has always been part of the "lubrication industry" mainly due to the sheer size and volume of annual sales.
i'm not a particular fan NOR hater of H-D house brand Formula-3 oil. the actual history of it was as follows: Castrol company always supplied the factory fill fluids to H-D much in the same style that East Penn Manufacturing(think Deka/Big Crank) always has supplied the OEM batteries. and it's alot of volume because it involves factory fluid fills as well as dealer stock for customer sales and service. prior to the KC plant opening in late 1998 all H-D's were built across the river from me at the York plant. as per the plant production manager at the time "real PITA stocking all these assorted oils for both small and big-twins". so H-D corporate went to Castrol and asked for a specific viscosity and specific additive package for all temps as well as engine/primar/trans application. in other words their directive was "we want 1 oil and 1 oil only" to simplify everything. hence the formula 3 "one bottle does it all" oil. nothing wrong with it at all.....i just don't use it.
in all honesty cody with the exception of some crazy-assed fluids such as gear-lube or ATF.....i've used virtually every conceivable compatible JASO-MA rated lube you could think of in the primary. still to this day nothing and i mean nothing out-performs Amsoil 20wt-50 motorcycle oil in that cavity. great stuff!

 

[user_deleted]

Some say that they try to measure and get slightly different amounts, but I assume transmission operation isn't too sensitive to that. I plan on using Mobil 1 V-Twin which is the same stuff I use in the swingarm. Seems like most folks say it works well in the transmission and it's handy since I can get it just down the road from my house.

james: OCD types measure. not necessary. one US quart right on the mark. never used Mobil 1 cycle oils but heard nice things about them....comparable to Amsoil "nice things".
and on both of those drain plugs james....install new o-ring on each and just use a simple short 3/8th drive ratchet and 5/8th socket to install. simply snug up then an slight extra "oomph" to compress the o-ring and you're good to go.

 

[submax]

I'll let you know how the Mobil 1 works for me, John. And, thanks for the reminder about the o-rings. I can just imagine the dealer pulling out a breaker bar to tighten the drain bolts...just to make sure that the o-rings are well compressed. :black_eyed:

 

[user_deleted]

I'll let you know how the Mobil 1 works for me, John. And, thanks for the reminder about the o-rings. I can just imagine the dealer pulling out a breaker bar to tighten the drain bolts...just to make sure that the o-rings are well compressed. :black_eyed:

LOL james...............OR the poor recent MTI grad who had my beloved and dearly departed father as his "guest instructor" for the 4 hour "how to tighten motorcycle fasteners" class who simply cut course time to 17 seconds by telling those in attendance: "just tighten 'er up till she won't go any more".

 

[Cooter]

My daddy used to say "tighten them until they feel loose again, then 1/2 a turn".






But he was a terrible fixer guy...