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Old 01-05-2013, 02:17 PM   #1
Shardy   Shardy is offline
 
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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?



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Old 01-05-2013, 02:51 PM   #2
dshelly   dshelly is offline
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Hope you have better luck with the T6 than I did. My clutch slipped when I used it. Now I use Mobil 1 4T
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Old 01-05-2013, 03:50 PM   #3
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Originally Posted by dshelly View Post
Hope you have better luck with the T6 than I did. My clutch slipped when I used it. Now I use Mobil 1 4T
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.
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Old 01-05-2013, 03:52 PM   #4
waterman   waterman is offline
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Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist View Post
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.
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Old 01-05-2013, 03:57 PM   #5
dshelly   dshelly is offline
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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 ????
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Old 01-05-2013, 03:37 PM   #6
VulcanE   VulcanE is offline
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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.
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Old 01-05-2013, 04:38 PM   #7
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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.
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Old 01-05-2013, 05:42 PM   #8
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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.
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Old 01-05-2013, 07:09 PM   #9
danimal2   danimal2 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shardy View Post
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?
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.
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Old 01-06-2013, 09:18 AM   #10
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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.
Well now, the manual I read called for 3.7 quarts with filter, so rather than measure I just put a full gallon (4 quarts) Rotella T-6 and no problems. i dont think that will hurt anything? Knock on wood.
I see that some are running only 3 quarts? I think that is to little oil.
anyway, i now change the oil every 5K miles no matter what.
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Old 01-06-2013, 03:15 PM   #11
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Well now, the manual I read called for 3.7 quarts with filter, so rather than measure I just put a full gallon (4 quarts) Rotella T-6 and no problems. i dont think that will hurt anything? Knock on wood.
I see that some are running only 3 quarts? I think that is to little oil.
anyway, i now change the oil every 5K miles no matter what.
If ignorance is bliss, you must be a happy guy.
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Old 01-06-2013, 06:41 PM   #12
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If ignorance is bliss, you must be a happy guy.
Well, thank you for the compliment !

Hey, aint you the fella that trolls the boards, and rides a Harley? Go figure!
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Old 01-07-2013, 11:09 AM   #13
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Well, thank you for the compliment !

Hey, aint you the fella that trolls the boards, and rides a Harley? Go figure!

No he's a Troll that lives in a Van down by THE RIVER!!!
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Old 01-05-2013, 07:15 PM   #14
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I use Mobil 1 15W20 and I also used 3.5 qts.
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Old 01-05-2013, 07:44 PM   #15
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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.
 
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