I own a 1976 flh harley davidson im haveing fluid <span title="problems............please">problems............pleas...</span> help?

Question

i have a 1976 flh harley davidson twelve hundred.... my dad past away and he left me this bike ...........and i was wanting to know what kind of fluid i need to put in the transmission/gear box.... not the primary chain side its where the kick starter is i dont no if this takes the same fluid and how much im supposed to have in there....

Answer 1

thats called the engine oil fluid mate..its usually called the 4-stroke gear oil..first ya gotta drain the old oil from the bike and replace with 2 fresh packs of gear oil fluid...i suggest ya get a fairly costly brand as it runs better on a harley..ride safe and always wear a helmet...sorry bout ya dad ,but keep the harley and never sell it under any circumstance,coz...

harley=dad(ya know whut i mean)

Answer 2

4 Quarts of 10W40

if you don&#039;t know THAT much, you should probably take it to a harley shop to have it serviced...

Answer 3

any gear oil with a GL5 rating is good.

ask for it at any auto parts store. its usually labeled as 90w hypoid lube or 80w-140 gear oil. its usually  in a plastic quart bottle with a pointed cap, you may already have some on a shelf in your garage if you look around.

your transmission only has a capacity of 1-1/2 pints when its completely dry.

the transmission will work fine with just about any kind of oil or even white grease, but gear oil is what the factory recommends.

Answer 4

I can appreciate the loss of your Father.. My extreme condolensces.

Now as to the bike.

All these guys telling you to take it to the Harley Davidson Dealership are blowing smoke. Most any dealer today will not touch any bike older then 5-7 years. Your bike is way out of that time frame. I would bet most Technicians (notice I didn&#039;t say Mechanic) wouldn&#039;t know where to start on your FLH.

Take it to a local independent Cycle shop, You can find them listed in the Yellow pages under Motorcycle Shops. First off, you&#039;ll get friendlier service and then better prices then any H-D Dealer is going to give you.

Besides, that 1976 FLH is a Classic in its own right. It wouldn&#039;t happen to be the Bicentennial Model would it. can you say rare?? Take care of it, it&#039;ll take care of you. I love my shovelheads, I currently have in my bike stable a 1979 FLH, basically the same as your bike but 80ci (1340cc) as opposed to the 74ci (1200cc) that you have.

Enjoy it.  

Answer 5

Here&#039;s something simple you should do....

TAKE THE BIKE TO THE HARLEY DEALER SHIP AND HAVE THEM SERVICE THE BIKE.

It may need more than just the oil or transmission check...They will do a full service check up on the bike and tell you if anything else needs repair. It will be worth the $200.00 you spend, not to have any other problems from the bike, which could cost several thousand to fix.

Answer 6

According to HD the trans uses the same type and weight as engine oil. I however have always ran 80W90 gear oil. Try to run GL4 not GL5. (GL5 is to be used as a replacement to GL4 ONLY where no yellow metals are not present)

The link is what they say about GL5 in BMWs but may affect many other pre-86 motorcycles..

Answer 7

Go to a HD dealer and get the correct oil. People will tell you to use other types, that&#039;s not always good. Like the above post saying it takes 4 quarts, ain&#039;t nothing on that bike that holds any where near 4 quarts of oil.

Answer 8

that&#039;s where the motor oil goes.use a good 60 or 70 weight oil.I believe

it takes 4 quarts.

Answer 9

Go see Mr. H-D.

Answer 10

Nobody here has seemed to answered your question.

1) Your FLH has a 4 Speed transmission.  It holds it&#039;s own gear oil and it is NOT the same as engine oil or primary oil

2) Under the transmission case, toward the kicker side , is your trans. drain plug.  Remove to drain. Replace after draining.

3) Next to the kicker spring is the Trans. oil fill. It&#039;s a larger typically slotted plug.

4) How much oil??  Next to that kicker spring is a small single allen s***w in the middle of the kicker cover all by itself.....see it?  That is a &quot;weep&quot; hole. Remove this as it lets you know when the oil level is correct.

With the bike setting upright &amp; level, fill the trans with 80W-90 trans fluid.

Make sure you get an oil approved for use in Harley tranny&#039;s!

5)  It should hold a little over one quart.  When it&#039;s filled to the correct level, oil will start to run out of the weep hole.

Replace the weep hole plug.

6) JOB DONE!!!

Since your newer to Shovels I would recommend buying a maintenance DVD for Shovels called &quot;Chrome don&#039;t getcha home&quot;.  Great dvd for entry level maintenance.

Just look for it on ebay - usually around $25 but well worth it for your kind of questions as it&#039;s all covered - better than reading a book!