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95 fatboy oil change

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Shadow125

New Member
hello, We have just acquired a 95 fatboy 1338cc and we are getting ready to do some basic work on it. When I started probing the net for things like the oil capacity things were not as straightforward as it is with cars and other brands of bike i have worked with. They were also very much written with people who work on harleys often in mind. so i am wondering if anyone can help me out here.

Some information i would be grateful for would be, recommended capacity for engine and trans, specific oil specs required by harley ( i will be getting aftermarket everything as budget does not allow for oem in most situations, also i get a discount on valvoline, castrol, lucas and mobil 1 motorcycle oils) recommended filter brands (if recommended against a brand i would like to know why you disliked it) and what tips you may have for accomplishing the oil change understanding that we haven't had a bike in about 10 years so we no longer have any of the specialty equipment someone who has been working on bikes for years may have such as jiffy stands or scavenge kits. so if there are any required specialty tools that wouldn't exist in a normal car workshop ( I am fairly well equipped for working on cars) i would be greatful to know them

Apologies if this post is a bit needy, I just want to make sure i am doing as right by this bike as i can with my limited resources. I know that many enthusiasts will be cringing but we all have to start from somewhere :) Thank you in advance. As a side note I will state we have a total maintenance history on this bike and it has been well handled prior to this.
 
The best thing you can do is get the owner's manual for that bike and the repair manual as well.
I would suggest using the stock Harley oil filter recommended for that specific model.
As gator508 said Mobile 1 20/50 V Twin is a good oil but it comes down to what ever floats your boat.
 
Beware of capacities on Motorcycles.Fill to level on the dipstick for engine and trans.
 
Primary is 1 qt. of primary fluid. Tranny is 22 oz. of tranny fluid, because of being a 5 speed. Oil with filter is 3 qts., of your choice. Run the motor for 3-4 minutes prior to changing fluids. Warm fluid drains easier, and gets the sumping oil out of the bottom of the motor to return to the tank.
tourbox
 
Some folks drain the oil/fluid out of a reservoir, measure how much came out and put that much back in on refill. Then run the engine/bike until it is at operating temp and top off to "Hot" measurement line on the dip sticks. With the engine oil, that will be a bit low since the oil filter will take some of the oil to be prelubed. But warming up the engine/bike and then adding to the "Hot" level on the dip sticks is a good way. For the Primary, I alway just put in what the capacity table says as long as it is not coming out the derby cover.

But I don't use the method above. I just put in the amount specified in the book. If there is a range, I use the mid-point. Then check when hot. As a note, I always change all three fluids at the same time (trying for 4K-5K miles) - engine oil, tranny lube, and Primary fluid. I use the following:

Engine: premium full synthetic 20W50 VTwin engine oil
Transmission: premium full synthetic SAE 75w140 A.P.I. GL-5 transmission lube (6-speed)
Primary: fit-for-purpose chaincase fluid for wet clutch application (like HD Formula +, Spectro HEAVY DUTY PRIMARY CHAINCASE OIL or Redline Heavy Shockproof)

Cheers,

TQ
 
Good luck with your "new" bike. There are a lot of resources out there on the old "interweb" and YouTube has some nice videos for the do it yourself'er. "Jiffy Stand" is the name for Harley's side, or kick stand. Since most of your service will need to be done with the bike straight up you'll need a lift of some sort. You can buy some decent inexpensive motorcycle lifts out there. The scissor lift type are the most common. Just be sure to strap the bike to the lift for safety. Since this will be your first oil change on this bike I'd recommend cutting, or prying the oil filter open after you get it off and drained. You'll be looking for any small metal shavings. This will give you a good indication of what's going on inside the engine. Also, I believe that year model has a tappet screen? Don't forget to clean and inspect that at every oil change too. And as others suggest, get a manual.
 
Look over the maint info for.the tyle of oil that has been used in this bike and stay with it. Filters I like to get from dealer.
 
Wow, thank you all for all the info, it is very helpful. I am looking at getting a scavenge tool as i really dislike that the top end of the motor doesn't seem to drain on its own. We do plan on eventually getting a proper bike lift for working on it but for now we have seen methods to utilize an atv/lawnmower lift safely (this is intended to be as short term as we can manage). As for the commenters saying mobil 1, while i do like their car oil quite a bit, as far as we can tell this bike has only ever had conventional in it, brand unknown but suspected to be harley oem oil. Being someone who works in auto parts, i generally tell my customers to avoid synthetic conversions if the engine has run on conventional for a long time so I am assuming that same logic applies for bikes. last thing i want on this bike is it to puff smoke out its tail as the synthetic blows past its rings.

TQuentin1 said:
Engine: premium full synthetic 20W50 VTwin engine oil
Transmission: premium full synthetic SAE 75w140 A.P.I. GL-5 transmission lube (6-speed)
Primary: fit-for-purpose chaincase fluid for wet clutch application (like HD Formula +, Spectro HEAVY DUTY PRIMARY CHAINCASE OIL or Redline Heavy Shockproof)


TQ
Click to expand...
So the trans and the primary use different fluids? Just want to verify as most of what i have seen said either use 20w50 for everything or 20w50 for engine and use the HD Formula+ for both trans and primary. We do have the manual but all it says is use harley approved fluids (i.e. bring to dealership)
 
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JMHO but engine oil is just that engine oil. Some use the same in all 3 holes but I would not recommend it.
I use Mobile 1 twin v 20/50 in the engine, Formula + in the primary and Red Line shock proof in the tranny and have never had an issue.

There have been polls taken here at HDT on what fluids are used and why, maybe take a look and it could give you some direction.

I think your analysis on synthetic oil is flawed, maybe a little more research is in order. I know a lot of people who have made the switch without any issues.
Different fluids have been debated to death here on the forum and the general consensuses is It's your ride you decide.
 
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