2019 Oil Migration?

[ISP-FL]

I have been hearing "something" from the front of my 19 trike for the past month or so. It is almost like a different wind noise or maybe a slight rubbing noise after riding for awhile. We were out west, in different elevations, and it was extremely hot, so I kind of blew it off.

Yesterday I heard it again. Checked my tranny oil and nothing on the bottom of the dipstick! I added a couple ounces and with a storm coming put bike back in the trailer. Going to get it out later today or tomorrow and investigate further.

If I understand the whole migration issue correctly, oil would have been sucked from my tranny to my primary? So I should be able to drop the derby cover and find too much Syn-3?

At 1,000 miles I had Rock Star Harley (used to be Six Bends) in Ft. Myers do the service. At 5,000 miles I did my own engine oil change. Engine oil has not went up or down now with 7,000 miles on the ticker. All three holes have Syn-3 in them.

Of course the problem is who knows if the dimwit at Rock Star Harley actually put the correct amount of fluid in the tranny in the first place. I guess the only way I'm going to know is to level out and keep riding and checking?

[rhino 2]

I have been hearing "something" from the front of my 19 trike for the past month or so. It is almost like a different wind noise or maybe a slight rubbing noise after riding for awhile. We were out west, in different elevations, and it was extremely hot, so I kind of blew it off.

Yesterday I heard it again. Checked my tranny oil and nothing on the bottom of the dipstick! I added a couple ounces and with a storm coming put bike back in the trailer. Going to get it out later today or tomorrow and investigate further.

If I understand the whole migration issue correctly, oil would have been sucked from my tranny to my primary? So I should be able to drop the derby cover and find too much Syn-3?

At 1,000 miles I had Rock Star Harley (used to be Six Bends) in Ft. Myers do the service. At 5,000 miles I did my own engine oil change. Engine oil has not went up or down now with 7,000 miles on the ticker. All three holes have Syn-3 in them.

Of course the problem is who knows if the dimwit at Rock Star Harley actually put the correct amount of fluid in the tranny in the first place. I guess the only way I'm going to know is to level out and keep riding and checking?

Yep......Thats the procedure....My 17 would transfer every 8 hundred miles...When i first brought that up to my dealer...Harley told the dealer to level out the fluids and let me drive a thousand miles, And then they would check it out....From what i understand the 19 come with a breather tube in the primary to fix the problem....

[1dn5up]

The basics Joe , the trans holds a little more than a quart. Pop the derby cover and you should not get any run off . Yes , put a catch bucket under just in case .

[FuzzyWuzHe]

As I understand it, yes, the tranny fluid moves to the primary. So, yep, I would pull the Darby, level off the fluids and keep checking at regular intervals. Harley sells a quick check dipstick for the tranny, like $15, that allows checking it quickly with just your fingers. I would start with like 500 mile increments and keep close tabs on it.

I recently found out that this could affect any hydraulic clutch Harley ... I thought it was just the M8's, so I've added this to my maintenance plan.

Good news ... there is a fix for this issue, a vent, that appears to be working. You're still under warrantee, so it will be gratis for you.

[ISP-FL]

Definitely interested in the quick check dip stick for the tranny. I'll try to get to a local dealership this afternoon and pick one up along with a quart of Syn-3.

I'll be p%##@& off big time if I have this issue! It comes at a bad time too. At 11am we are taking our only car into the body shop for the hail damage estimate. The adjuster is meeting us there. I'm sure it will take them over a week to fix the 300 plus dents so the TG has to be our transportation for awhile.

[MDO]

I have been hearing "something" from the front of my 19 trike for the past month or so. It is almost like a different wind noise or maybe a slight rubbing noise after riding for awhile. We were out west, in different elevations, and it was extremely hot, so I kind of blew it off.

Yesterday I heard it again. Checked my tranny oil and nothing on the bottom of the dipstick! I added a couple ounces and with a storm coming put bike back in the trailer. Going to get it out later today or tomorrow and investigate further.

If I understand the whole migration issue correctly, oil would have been sucked from my tranny to my primary? So I should be able to drop the derby cover and find too much Syn-3?

At 1,000 miles I had Rock Star Harley (used to be Six Bends) in Ft. Myers do the service. At 5,000 miles I did my own engine oil change. Engine oil has not went up or down now with 7,000 miles on the ticker. All three holes have Syn-3 in them.

Of course the problem is who knows if the dimwit at Rock Star Harley actually put the correct amount of fluid in the tranny in the first place. I guess the only way I'm going to know is to level out and keep riding and checking?

I would keep a couple things in mind.

Like stated, you pull the derby cover & you have migration, your going to have a mess, so put a small clean container under it & have towels. you should be able to balance it out with the excess in the primary & you probably don't need to buy any right now. It's all there, just not in the correct places.

The tranny should be checked at ambient temperature, unlike the engine, where they say do it hot.

I check the engine hot once to verify the level & then after that, check it cold, as I find it easier.

Let us know & defiantly get the vent fix installed N/C at your dealer. Kevin from DK Customs is having the issue on his 19 TG also.

[Jack Klarich]

This is a real bummer Joe

The good news is it takes a good tech about an hour to install the HD fix, and it is getting good results

Keep us updated and good luck

[Gold Nugget]

Was given the wrong part # for the speed check dipstick.

Sorry!

Anyone have the correct # for the M-8 Trike?

Just checked mine @ 4,500 and all is well.

[graygoat]

Just a thought in another direction if your fluid levels turn out ok. I had been monitoring the right side motor mount bolt, the one that is hard to get at. Kept having to give it about a quarter turn every 700 miles or so. Told the dealer about it at the 25k service & they put a lock washer on it. About 500 miles later I hear a squeek/chirp sound on rougher roads. I couldn't find it, thought it was suspension related (never thought to check that bolt so soon). Back to the dealer and they said that bolt was gone. Back on now with double lock nut & thread locker, no more noise. I will really be watching it now! Not sure if the M8 has the same setup or not, but just thought I would toss this out there.

Hope you get your issue resolved.

[ISP-FL]

Thanks for replies. When I get a little more time this weekend I'm going to be checking more closely to motor mount bolts and everything else to try to narrow down the noise.

On a positive note, I dropped the derby cover. Have a large container and a roll of paper towels standing by. Nothing! The level was what I would consider perfect. I recorded where it was with a close up photo shot. Since the engine/tranny was cold I made sure my tranny level was perfect on the dipstick.

With the amount of miles I have it may turn out I don't have an oil migration issue. I guess I'll know in 800 to 1,000 miles for sure.

[DK Custom Products]

Thanks for replies. When I get a little more time this weekend I'm going to be checking more closely to motor mount bolts and everything else to try to narrow down the noise.

On a positive note, I dropped the derby cover. Have a large container and a roll of paper towels standing by. Nothing! The level was what I would consider perfect. I recorded where it was with a close up photo shot. Since the engine/tranny was cold I made sure my tranny level was perfect on the dipstick.

With the amount of miles I have it may turn out I don't have an oil migration issue. I guess I'll know in 800 to 1,000 miles for sure.

Around 15 years ago I had some warranty work done on my Road King. After riding it a bit it seemed to make a bit different noise/feel when shifting.

I checked the transmission dipstick. Dry. They had forgotten to refill the trans after working on it.

That may be your case. But if it's not, and you do have oil migrating from the trans to the primary, it is a relatively easy fix with the primary vent.

I am getting migration on my '19 and will be getting the vent installed.

Kevin

[Mykneesbehurtin]

[/COLOR]Yep......Thats the procedure....My 17 would transfer every 8 hundred miles...When i first brought that up to my dealer...Harley told the dealer to level out the fluids and let me drive a thousand miles, And then they would check it out....From what i understand the 19 come with a breather tube in the primary to fix the problem....

A far as i know the 19 did not have the vent,but the 2020 does have it.

[Jack Klarich]

A far as i know the 19 did not have the vent,but the 2020 does have it.

Late production run of 19 Model Year started the vent from the factory

[ISP-FL]

Around 15 years ago I had some warranty work done on my Road King. After riding it a bit it seemed to make a bit different noise/feel when shifting.

I checked the transmission dipstick. Dry. They had forgotten to refill the trans after working on it.

That may be your case. But if it's not, and you do have oil migrating from the trans to the primary, it is a relatively easy fix with the primary vent.

I am getting migration on my '19 and will be getting the vent installed.

Kevin

I would not be shocked at all if Rock Star Harley (used to be Six Bends) either did not put in fluid or didn't put in enough. That whole service was a cluster$&@# anyway. They quoted me one price and when I picked it up charged me $40+ additional. Their excuse was that trikes are more. I told them I made the appointment for a 19 trike and they knew that when they quoted me the price. They didn't care until I wrote a bad review and then I got a call back and a gift card to make it right.

Sorry to hear your new ride has this issue Kevin. I assume yours was an earlier build in the model year? I wonder if there is a way by checking a VIN on a 2019 model to see when it was built?

[DK Custom Products]

I would not be shocked at all if Rock Star Harley (used to be Six Bends) either did not put in fluid or didn't put in enough. That whole service was a cluster$&@# anyway. They quoted me one price and when I picked it up charged me $40+ additional. Their excuse was that trikes are more. I told them I made the appointment for a 19 trike and they knew that when they quoted me the price. They didn't care until I wrote a bad review and then I got a call back and a gift card to make it right.

Sorry to hear your new ride has this issue Kevin. I assume yours was an earlier build in the model year? I wonder if there is a way by checking a VIN on a 2019 model to see when it was built?

Glad they sorta made it right with you.

Build date should be on a sticker on one of the downtubes. Mine was built in November 2018.

Kevin

[ISP-FL]

I'll look for that build date but mine was certainly built before yours. I bought it while traveling through Bristol in early October 2018. Crap....

[DK Custom Products]

I'll look for that build date but mine was certainly built before yours. I bought it while traveling through Bristol in early October 2018. Crap....

IF you are getting migration, it should be relatively painless to get the warranty installation of the Primary Vent. It is less than a 2 hour job.

With a good dealership, and an appointment, should be able to be done while you have a leisurely lunch.

Kevin

[ISP-FL]

I guess it won't be the "end of the world" if I have the migration issue. I'll probably rack up 800 to 1,000 by the time I head back to eastern TN for October, so I'll know then. Thinking I'll just adjust and monitor it until I get back to SW Florida and have Black Widow in Port Charlotte handle it. At least it isn't something that is major and will keep me off the bike.

Thanks again Kevin. My other buddy from down in western TN (another good ol boy) and I will be trying to head your way around the first week or so in October before we head west.

[DK Custom Products]

I guess it won't be the "end of the world" if I have the migration issue. I'll probably rack up 800 to 1,000 by the time I head back to eastern TN for October, so I'll know then. Thinking I'll just adjust and monitor it until I get back to SW Florida and have Black Widow in Port Charlotte handle it. At least it isn't something that is major and will keep me off the bike.

Thanks again Kevin. My other buddy from down in western TN (another good ol boy) and I will be trying to head your way around the first week or so in October before we head west.

Yeah, gonna be a while before I get mine in for the warranty vent. In the meantime I'll keep an eye on it and drain primary/add to trans as needed.

Would be great to meet you guys! Sent you a PM.

Kevin

[ISP-FL]

Got the PM. Consulted with the boss so my dates/places are correct.