M8 Motor using oil?

[520fd]

Went to HOG meeting the other day. Several guys bought new 2017 bikes. One guy asked me if my trike was using oil. He said his was. About a quart every 1000 miles. I find that hard to believe. He also said others that had oil use issues, have had the dealer install new rings. and one guy had rings and piston. One that didn't work after the fix, had a new factory motor installed. I went home and checked my oil. I haven't used any oil to speak of. I have 3000 miles on the oil change, and I'm still good. Anyone else hear any stories like this? Hope not.

[rhino 2]

Went to HOG meeting the other day. Several guys bought new 2017 bikes. One guy asked me if my trike was using oil. He said his was. About a quart every 1000 miles. I find that hard to believe. He also said others that had oil use issues, have had the dealer install new rings. and one guy had rings and piston. One that didn't work after the fix, had a new factory motor installed. I went home and checked my oil. I haven't used any oil to speak of. I have 3000 miles on the oil change, and I'm still good. Anyone else hear any stories like this? Hope not.

Nope, I have a little over 3 thousand miles on my 17 T/G, Oil level still good.....

But that doesn't mean that some aren't having a problem..

But its good to know, And maybe something to keep an eye on...

[Cool Inferno]

I may be one of those. Down a quart and 1/4 just over 800 miles on my 17 TG. On an oil consumption test now by the dealer. Unfortunately I have not been able to put in some miles for the test because of hurricane issues. Hopefully all will be okay because I really don't want the dealer to have to change pistons and or rings on a new ride.

[Jack Klarich]

If my M8 used 1qt in a thousand miles I would be wanting a new top end including new breathers and cooling jets

[Mykneesbehurtin]

8600 miles on my M8 and so far so good

[NHBAGGER]

My local Independent shop had a customer that used a quart in 1000 miles also on an M8.

[TAC]

Mine hasn't used any in 6000 miles

[Cool Inferno]

Does anyone know what HD says is the acceptable level of oil consumption? I want to be prepared with that information before I get the results. I heard from one person that a quart per 1000 miles is acceptable. However I think that's bull. I've had about six Harleys already and none of them have shown heavy oil consumption except this one.

[rhino 2]

Does anyone know what HD says is the acceptable level of oil consumption? I want to be prepared with that information before I get the results. I heard from one person that a quart per 1000 miles is acceptable. However I think that's bull. I've had about six Harleys already and none of them have shown heavy oil consumption except this one.

They may say A qt per thousand is acceptable , But to me thats not... That said i'm not Harley so what i think is or isn't, Doesn't mean a hill of beans...

One thing i do know, And I'm not saying this in your case.... Some people try to keep the oil level right at the full mark, Again not saying in your case, And oil will seek its own level .Ive always kept mine at 1/2 Qt under the full line on all bikes i has and it stays there for 6k .....Back in 2008 when the Spyder first came out a lot of newbies were attracted to it, And being nimrods would check the oil just about every day, And trying to keep the level right at the top at all times... What they were doing just filling the air box with blow-by...

I would leave my Spyder's level halfway up the dip stick...And it stayed there between oil changes...

[Firewrench22]

What I've always heard is that the MoCo says proper oil level is halfway between full and add. Makes you wonder why they mark the dipstick the way they do. Mine's not an M8, but I fill to the halfway mark. It might use an ounce or two during the 2500 miles that I use as maintenance interval. Why do I change it so soon? Because I can! And with DK's remote filter mount, no mess!

[rhino 2]

What I've always heard is that the MoCo says proper oil level is halfway between full and add. Makes you wonder why they mark the dipstick the way they do. Mine's not an M8, but I fill to the halfway mark. It might use an ounce or two during the 2500 miles that I use as maintenance interval. Why do I change it so soon? Because I can! And with DK's remote filter mount, no mess!

They have to put a top line otherwise people will fill the crankcase till the oil runs out the top...

[Cool Inferno]

They may say A qt per thousand is acceptable , But to me thats not... That said i'm not Harley so what i think is or isn't, Doesn't mean a hill of beans...

One thing i do know, And I'm not saying this in your case.... Some people try to keep the oil level right at the full mark, Again not saying in your case, And oil will seek its own level .Ive always kept mine at 1/2 Qt under the full line on all bikes i has and it stays there for 6k .....Back in 2008 when the Spyder first came out a lot of newbies were attracted to it, And being nimrods would check the oil just about every day, And trying to keep the level right at the top at all times... What they were doing just filling the air box with blow-by...

I would leave my Spyder's level halfway up the dip stick...And it stayed there between oil changes...

As for mine it was slightly below the full mark when I first got it. I remember checking it again when it was between the 400 to 500 mile point and I found it close to 3/4 low I believe. At a little over the 800 mile point I noticed then that it was below the fill mark and that's when I decided time to take it in to get checked. During the initial 200 to 300 mile range I checked the intake to see if I had any oil puking out of the breathers. I only found a very very light film of oil in the intake portion of the throttle body. It was nothing alarming but I still chose to bypass the breather lines so that they could vent externally. I have no indicators at all that show that the oil has being pushed out through the breathers.

I'm aware that if overfilled you have a good chance of puking oil out through the breathers, but that is not the case here. You can see those problems frequently with the 883s and the 1200s if overfilled or filled to the max. My concern is that I can't find any evidence at all of where the oil is going or if its being burnt. The exhaust pipes look good, no oil stains or indicators of oil on the trike, no oil on the floor where it is parked in the garage, etc. I did check the primary just in case it was a transfer issue, but that looked okay with no extra oil in it. I guess it's just a matter of wait and see at this point once I take it back in. Going to ask them to do a compression and leakdown test just in case.

Good thing that I don't have the transmission to the primary oil transfer problem that some M8s are experiencing, because that would break the camels back for sure. HD still hasn't figured out a fix for that one.

[MikeyTX]

If my M8 used 1qt in a thousand miles I would be wanting a new top end including new breathers and cooling jets

My ex wife has a cooling jet. Most call it a broom. . . . . . . .

[vito]

...

Good thing that I don't have the transmission to the primary oil transfer problem that some M8s are experiencing, because that would break the camels back for sure. HD still hasn't figured out a fix for that one.

I suspect H-D has it well figured out. I had a similar oil transfer problem on my Evo. A supplier had sold them some poorly cast porous cases but they didn't know which bikes got them and they didn't want to start a panic so they waited until an owner complained then replaced the cases and bearings free. In my case I had about 100,000 miles on the bike when I finally noticed it so I paid for new rod bearings and got new lower end. How could anybody bitch about that?

[Jack Klarich]

Does anyone know what HD says is the acceptable level of oil consumption? I want to be prepared with that information before I get the results. I heard from one person that a quart per 1000 miles is acceptable. However I think that's bull. I've had about six Harleys already and none of them have shown heavy oil consumption except this one.

Knowing how they think they would say They all do that

JMO, NO they dont

None of my Harleys have or I would have carried them back to the dealer

And I dont want to hear them say OOPS, those were early production models

That dont fly by me any more

[MDO]

Knowing how they think they would say They all do that

JMO, NO they dont

None of my Harleys have or I would have carried them back to the dealer

And I dont want to hear them say OOPS, those were early production models

That dont fly by me any more

When I brought my 17 FW back for the 1,000 mile service, it was a quart low & the service mgr. said all the M8's were doing that during the break in. They installed Syn3 & on my 2,000 mile ride back to St. Louis, it did not burn any.

[MikeyTX]

They may say A qt per thousand is acceptable , But to me thats not... That said i'm not Harley so what i think is or isn't, Doesn't mean a hill of beans...

One thing i do know, And I'm not saying this in your case.... Some people try to keep the oil level right at the full mark, Again not saying in your case, And oil will seek its own level .Ive always kept mine at 1/2 Qt under the full line on all bikes i has and it stays there for 6k .....Back in 2008 when the Spyder first came out a lot of newbies were attracted to it, And being nimrods would check the oil just about every day, And trying to keep the level right at the top at all times... What they were doing just filling the air box with blow-by...

I would leave my Spyder's level halfway up the dip stick...And it stayed there between oil changes...

Yup. 1/2 qt down works for me. No blow by either.

[DK Custom Products]

Regarding M8's using oil-

In some cases, there is a migration of the engine oil to the transmission. This is a seal problem. HD has come out with several upgrades to the seal. As of three weeks ago the most recent seal was still letting oil migrate from the engine to the transmission.

If your engine oil is low, check your transmission fluid level. If it is overfull, take it to the dealership. This is a known issue, and covered by warranty.

Regarding oil level-

From the HD owners manual-

"The correct oil level should register midway between the FULL and ADD marks on the dipstick.

If oil level is at or below the ADD mark, add only enough oil to bring the level to the middle of the two marks on the dipstick."

Of course, this is confusing because HD refers to the top mark as "Full" when in reality, they say in the same sentence that midway between the two marks is full.

While it is true if it is at or below the ADD mark, then some oil should be added. What is NOT true, is if it is at the FULL mark, it is full. If it is at the Full mark it is OVERFILLED.

Some will point out that the above applies to a cold oil check, and that is correct.

It is also correct that the manual states that you can fill the oil to the top mark on a hot oil check.

IT IS ALSO CORRECT that the manual states that when it is HOT, as long as it is above the lower mark you do NOT need to add any oil at all.

Experience has shown that the ideal level is midway between the two marks, hot or cold.

Kevin

[Capt.Bob]

Kevin, Your explanation of the proper oil levels to maintain is right smack on the money! This thread has made me so paranoid with my M8 TGU that I have been checking the engine oil and checked the transmission fluid very carefully before riding today. Happily, everything was exactly where it needed to be for both "holes".

[rhino 2]

I remember when the CanAm Spyder first came out and the newbies over there were so paranoid about oil levels that they were checking it 10 times a day I actually think that they were taking at least a half quart out by accident checking it that often����