Way too much oil!
 

Hi, all. I'm new and just bought an '08 Nomad from a "reputable" dealer. The bike has just over 15K miles and seems to be in excellent condition. The dealer says all the fluids were changed before I picked it up, but here's the rub. He overfilled the bike with more than a half a quart of oil so I'm not sure just how reputable he is. As soon as I got home I drained and refilled with Rotella T6. Other fluids do look new and clear. Is there anything else I should look for at this point? :wave:

Hope you have better luck with the T6 than I did. My clutch slipped when I used it. Now I use Mobil 1 4T

I would check the final drive oil, and when you check/fill it, have it sitting on level ground, with the bike on it's sidestand, and have a 2X4 under the sidestand. If you fill it with the bike sitting level, the oil seals will be drowned in oil, and will start to leak.

Thousands of motorcycles have been running T6 in their bikes for years and this is the first time I've ever heard of it causing a clutch to slip. I've read of several lab tests done on it, and even Wikipedia recognizes it's use in motorcycles by saying "Though marketed as an engine oil for diesel trucks, Rotella oil has found popularity with motorcyclists. The lack of "friction modifiers" in Rotella means they do not interfere with wet clutch operations."

Seems odd to me that you'd have problems.

Had the same thoughts.

All I know is my clutch didn't slip when I got the bike and as soon as I changed the oil to T6 it did. Only left it in for a couple hundread miles, then changed it to Mobil 1 4T 10W-40 and no more slip. Can Anyone explain ????

Dave, I think it was just timing. In my opinion our clutches get a bad rap for slipping. My clutch slipped at one time when the bike was nearly new. The slip was in 5th gear when I would roll on the throttle on the interstate. I bought Judges Washers but the slip went away and I never installed the washers. I don't remember if I changed oil before the slip went away or not. I just know that it did slip at one time and now it does not and I've not done anything to the clutch and it now has about 58,000 miles on it. So, you tell me.

I use Amsoil Severe Gear 75w90 synthetic in the gear box, also bought the container pump, now my gear box oil changes are less messy, with that pump I can easily control the gear oil going in. I use Rotella T5 5w40 and have no clutch slip, my bike is due for a rad fluid change and brake/clutch fluid change also. I bought the Honda Type 2 for rad fluid at the car dealership.

It's an odd deal. If you go by the book it says the bike's capacity is 3.7 quarts when changing oil and the filter. I find that's too much even with the larger capacity 3300 Bosch filter. I noticed it on my first oil change. After changing the oil and filter, I fired the bike up and let it run a bit. Shut it down and let it sit for a while to settle the oil down. After setting it up level to check it, found the oil to be clean over the top of the sight glass. I drained a bit out via the filter screen until it looked right. The first time I thought maybe I mis-measured when filling it or something and made a mental note to be more careful with the measurement. Next change it did it again and I was being real careful this time. Let a bit out again. Now I've started using 3.5 quarts and it's still a little high but much closer.

In case anybody wonders............no I wasn't using the metric scale on my measuring cup/pitcher.

I use Mobil 1 15W20 and I also used 3.5 qts.

Guys, thanks for the input. Gear oil is next. I ride a lot (18-20K per year) commuting to work so really need to keep up with the routine stuff.

I always put in 3.3 litres of oil during a change, this is with a new filter. If you had a newly rebuilt engine with absolutely no oil in it, a little more oil is required for that initial fillup.

AMSOIL all the way for me with no adverse effects so far.

What follows is from the Owner's Manual (text in yellow by me):

Engine oil type:
API SE, SF or SG
API SH or SJ with JASO MA (Rotella T6 is JASO MA I've used this oil with no problems until I traded in my 2008 Nomad at 60K and my wife's Suzi uses the same oil)

Viscosity:
SAE 10W-40 (see the chart)

Capacity:
2.9 L (3.1 US qt, when filter is not removed)
3.1 L (3.3 US qt, when filter is removed)
3.5 L (3.7 US qt, when engine is completely disassembled and dry)
Level:
Between upper and lower level lines (Wait 2 ~ 3 minutes after idling or running)
Torque – Engine Oil Drain Plug: 20 N·m (2.0 kgf·m, 14 ft·lb) (See illustration below)


Torque – Oil Screen Plug: 20 N·m (2.0 kgf·m, 14 ft·lb) (This is the preferred oil draining point, it’s on the same side as the kickstand, see illustrations below)


Final Gear Case Oil: Grade API Service Classification: GL-5 hypoid gear oil this is important
Amount: 200 mL (6.76 US oz.) (Note the recommendations by other members on not overfilling).

Did you check the spark plugs? Also consider adding some Sea Foam to the gas tank to establish your own routine.

Good luck!

I think 3.5 qts. is too much, for oil change and new filter I put in 3.3 qts (3.1 liters)