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Dyna Wide Glide Oil Change

drfood

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Location
Houston
First Name
Darrell
Last Name
Gerdes
A friend of mine has decided she wants to stop handing the local Harley dealership mega bucks to change the oil in her Dyna Wide Glide. A group of us are going to help her on Sunday (yes today) change the oil and filter over to Amsoil. I believe it is either a 2006 or 2007. She's a school teacher on limited funds so buying a shop manual isn't really an option.

Can anyone walk me through step by step how to change the oil and filter? And if there are any tips to go along with it I would appreciate those as well.

Thanks.
Darrell
 
the placement of the oil filter in my opinion is the biggest **** HD has ever come up with. Mounted horizontally on the front of engine is perfect for getting oil all over the front of the motor. that said, use a folder as a way to keep most of oil off and draining into the pan. Draining the oil from the tank should be straight foward. there should be drain plug under the tank on the low side. i have a heritage softtail so my drain plug is located on the bottom of the frame. oil changes are fairly straight forward just messy (at least I make a mess). If she can afford it, tell her to go get the HD shop manual. I bought one and it has saved me a bunch. Also have the owners manual handy as it will (hopefully) have the drain plug location. $70 or better for labor rates suck so I do as much as I can. Good luck. Beer tastes good too when you are finished. :trust:

One more thing. try to loosen the oil filter when the motor is cold. When it gets hot, it is one more **** unless you have a good filter wrench.
 
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I cut the bottom out of a foil baking pan and made a sluice out of it to keep oil off the engine. I also found a cap wrench with a notch cut out of it made the clearance issue with the cam sensor.

HFWA-3a.jpg
 
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I sort of do what Kurt says about the foil pan to route oil away from the pipes, but I use aluminum foil. I kind of wrap it around everything I don't want oil on, then form it to route the oil to the pan. No smoke show that way. :)

I also make it a point to use the K&N oil filters as they have a nut built onto the filter (assuming they make one for HD's?). My bike has major clearance issues between the filter and header, this makes it a snap with a gear wrench. :)

Just be careful not to over-tighten when using a wrench on the filter, it's easy to do.
 
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Wow. I never knew how difficult/complicated this was. Makes a guy wonder if having one of these bikes is really worth the hassles of doing what should be a simple maintenace task. I've not owned a Harley so I can't comment on this one.

I do wonder what the engineers at Harley were thinking when they designed this engine. My guess is they wanted to make it complicated so most people would bring their bikes into the shop and have it done. That explains why they have such elaborate shops with multiple work bays in their newer stores.
 
Wow. I never knew how difficult/complicated this was. Makes a guy wonder if having one of these bikes is really worth the hassles of doing what should be a simple maintenace task. I've not owned a Harley so I can't comment on this one.

I do wonder what the engineers at Harley were thinking when they designed this engine. My guess is they wanted to make it complicated so most people would bring their bikes into the shop and have it done. That explains why they have such elaborate shops with multiple work bays in their newer stores.

Harley engines are relatively simple, dry-sump designs with non-integrated transmissions. A dry sump allows the engine to sit lower in the frame without sacrificing ground clearance. The choice of a dry sump pretty much mandates a non-integrated transmission. Every cage I've ever worked on had a non-integrated transmission, so it is no big deal. These are valid engineering choices that yield significant benefits in application.

Harley dealers have such elaborate work shops because a large number of Harley riders are the kind of people that call an electrician to change a burned-out light bulb so they don't mess up their manicures. Ride your own ride. Allow others to ride theirs.
 
I change my oil on my 2007 Dyna. Very simple and as mentined use a paper folder to keep the oil from going on the frame when removing the filter. Also make sure you know which is the right drain plug to remove or you will be draing transmission oil.
 
Wow. I never knew how difficult/complicated this was. Makes a guy wonder if having one of these bikes is really worth the hassles of doing what should be a simple maintenace task.

Yeah but lack of valve adjustments ever makes up for the hassle. It really is quite simple, just different from japanese bikes. BMW boxers have separate transmissions and you have to adjust the valves every 6,000 miles. ;-)

You want to see really simple, get a Sportster.
 
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Yeah but lack of valve adjustments ever makes up for the hassle. It really is quite simple, just different from japanese bikes. BMW boxers have separate transmissions and you have to adjust the valves every 6,000 miles. ;-)

You want to see really simple, get a Sportster.

Thanks Kurt, thats the answer I was looking for.

Ken, Relax dude. I'm not bashing Harleys here. I just asked a question because I don't know squat about them or these engines. They have two wheels, thats good enough for me.

Dave
 
I have a Dyna Low as well as a KTM Super Duke. I like them both. I like how stable the ride is on the Harley Dyna. As far as build quality I've been very satisfied with the bike. It's just not high tech but a great bike to ride.
 
:eek2: i just realized I defended Harley. What's wrong with me?
 
lol Ken. :lol2:

I'm kinda of the mindset that anything with two wheels is a good start. ;)

A good buddy of mine at work has an HD something or other (no idea on the model designations), it's got a smaller fairing, bags, etc. and a beautiful custom paint job, he really takes care of it and rides the **** out of it.

We both like and respect each other's bikes, **** we park next to each other every day, but do enjoy some friendly ribbing. :D

Funnily enough, he'll be the first person to tell you that the Japanese cruisers are much better value for the dollar and more reliable, he's just a Harley guy and has been for about 30 years, but still admits the folly in his choice.

So the long and short of it, ride what you like because you like it. That's what I do and that's what my buddy at work does. :)
 
Thanks for everyone's help. It was a ****....especially the filter. But after some choice words and frustration the whole thing was done.

BTW, it was too early on Sunday morning to enjoy the beer.....next time we'll schedule the wrench time for Saturday afternoon or more appropriate beer drinking time. :lol2:

Thanks for everyone input!
 
There you go. Step 1 in your education complete.

I use aluminum foil and mold it to everything the oil from the filter will drip on. It's amazing how many nooks and crannies there are to hold a few drops of oil that will later find it's way to the floor. Plus, when the voltage regulator gets oil on it and anything left over bakes on it, it doesn't dissipate heat like it's intended to do becaus ethere is now a oil varnish coating on it that acts like an insulator.

For the curious, one of the great things about separate chambers for the engine, tranny and primary is that they can use a more appropriate fluid for the job they must perform. It also prevents clutch friction material from cycling through the small passages in the engine, especially the lifters (really small holes). KTM has been modifying some of their engines to separate the engine from the clutch/tranny for this reason. The Honda dirt bikes already do this. Kind of a nice feature IMO...just more fluids to keep on the shelf.
 
Let's not forget the Honda Nighthawk S. Three drainplugs, one in the cases and one on each frame downtube as it carried oil in the frame to the oil cooler. That combined with the filter centered between four hot exhaust downtubes made for exiciting oil changes.

'Course I guess I'll be draining my swingarm soon ;-)
 
I don't think the Dyna has an oil tank.
The Dynas carry the oil under the tranny in it's own pan. Still easy enough to drain. I still hate the filter location, like most people. Stupid. Can't even use the long filters anymore, since '99, because of the crank position sensor.
 
The Dynas carry the oil under the tranny in it's own pan. Still easy enough to drain. I still hate the filter location, like most people. Stupid. Can't even use the long filters anymore, since '99, because of the crank position sensor.

Correct. Tank may be the wrong word, but it is still separate from the engine.
 
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