Bike is 1 day old and near disaster averted???

[irpete]

Picked up my new 2008 FLTSC Heritage Softail yesterday. Between yesterday and today I put 170 miles on it and pulled it into the garage this evening to change the oil to the Mobil 1 twin cam and to swap out the transmission oil with Spectro 6 speed.

With the bike on the lift I noticed that there is a little oil on and around the transmission drain plug. When I remove the plug, I discovered that it wasn't tight. I could remove it with my fingers!! Once out, the oil emptied very quickly. I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it only had half as much as it should.

When riding, I did notice the 5th gear whine a little when riding but nothing else out of the ordinary. There were not any metal flakes on the drain plug so I'm hoping there is no damage.

Question is, do they add the fluids at the factory or at the dealership once they un crate the bike??

All I've got to say is I'm very thankful for this forum. If I hadn't read all the post about the Spectro oil I probably would not have changed it out with only 170 miles on it.

 

[Fisher]

Yes checking the fluids is part of the PDI.The bike has fluids in it when shipped with the exception of fuel.5th will whine a bit.Can't say why it just does in the six speeds.I have a theory but no empirical information other than it is common.

 

[glider]

I've hear this a lot about first and fifth being straight cut gears and hence the reason for the noise in fifth gear mainly.
I wonder why then with the transmissions prior to the six speed cruise drive that had all straight cut gears why they weren't noisy back then also like the 5 th gear whine in the six speed.
I think this is another one of those "they all do that" replies that we are handed. I believe it's more of a manufacturing tolerance issue than the fact of them being straight cut gears.
I guess time will tell on this one just like the IDS pulley being retrofitted on the 07 bikes at the owners expense and being played off as an "enhancement" by the MOCO rather than a "fix" so they wouldn't have to pay the price.

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

Unfortunately, from the factory all the way to the dealer set up, we're dealing with human beings and errors are inevitable. Everyone bringing a new bike home should take 10 or 15 minutes to check EVERY bolt, cap, snap, etc. they can get their fingers on. Maybe the "Critical Fasteners" check should be moved from the 1,000 mile service to a new 10 mile service!!

On a side note, it would have been interesting to see what the dealer's warranty response would have been if you hadn't found this and actually damaged your transmission.

Also, I hope you've talked to the dealership where you bought the bike and expressed your extreme displeasure over this.

Enjoy your new ride and keep hanging out here on the forum to learn more than you can believe!

 

[glider]

The least they could do is return your prep charges if you were charged them being they obviously didn't do a very good job when it was prepped.

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

The least they could do is return your prep charges if you were charged them being they obviously didn't do a very good job when it was prepped.

Wow, the key word here is LEAST! Seriously, think about where this could have led if nothing were noticed and another couple hundred miles elapsed with the transmission fluid slowly emptying itself. Most of us check the engine oil level at least weekly but how many check the tranny level since it takes a tool to do it? I guess this builds a strong case for keenly observing the floor/ground under your bike where it's parked to look for telltale signs of this sort of thing.

 

[Fisher]

I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it only had half as much as it should.

Gentlemen there's no confirmation here.One of the reasons I question so much of what's on the 'net.I'm curious as to how long his fingers are.If you're familiar with the softail trans you know what I mean.

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

Gentlemen there's no confirmation here.One of the reasons I question so much of what's on the 'net.I'm curious as to how long his fingers are.If you're familiar with the softail trans you know what I mean.

Curiosity is killing me and no, I'm not familiar with softail trans. What does finger length have to do with tranny fluid level. Something to do with clutch lever actuation? Please educate me!

 

[Fisher]

The drain bolt is up between the shocks on the bottom of the trans.Difficult to reach without a 3 inch extension.

 

[irpete]

Gentlemen there's no confirmation here.One of the reasons I question so much of what's on the 'net.I'm curious as to how long his fingers are.If you're familiar with the softail trans you know what I mean.

Why would I make something like this up?? Yes the drain plug is hard to get to. That's why I had to put the socket with the extension up there by hand before attaching the wrench. When I put the socket on I noticed right away that I could turn the socket (and extension) by hand and did not need the wrench to remove the drain plug.