Harley Davidson: Can the engine be damaged by too much oil?

Question

The question is particularly concerned with a
Harley Davidson Dyna Street Bob Special 2016(103 ci).

Before winter season I did all recommended tips to store my bike during the winter, oil change was one of them. It was my first oil change with a Harley and my instruction-book(manual) told me to fill 2.8 Liters in it after running the engine for "some time" and draining all oil.

I ran the engine for approximately 2 mins. After that I let the oil drain for 10 - 15 mins until no more drop came out of the engine anymore. Until now I expected that most of the oil is out and didn't check the oil level again while filling the engine up. After filling (exact) 2.8 Liters in it, I started the engine for 2 mins. After that I checked the oil level again and was shocked that the oil level exceeded by far the hot-max-level. I therefore let some oil drain until the oil level reached the middle-level between cold(low) and hot(full). It occurred a month ago and since that I can not calm myself down.

My question is: What consequence does this oil-overfill have in terms of engine-damage?

Thank you very much for your expertise.

Answer 1

I've already driven my bike for a week, it turned out that this oil-overfill had no effect on anything. At the beginning my bike rocked a little bit more (it's a dyna), but after I drove 2-3 kilometer approximately, the tour was smooth as if you were riding on a cloud. Until today there have been neither strange noises nor oil-leaks at all.

What I learnt is that when changing oil:

1. Drive at least 5 - 10 minutes so that most of the oil is in the tank below the engine and it's likely that you get rid of all old-oil while draining it (during the night for instance).

2. Always check the oil-level while filling little quantities in because according to my manual I had to fill in 2.8 Liters, but this might be too much especially when there are still great quantities somewhere around and not in the tank itself. So do not fill the instructed quantities of oil in all at once, but one step at the time (0.5 Liters) while checking the oil-level.

3. Before you first ride check the oil-level otherwise your bike might spill it out somewhere (air-filter for instance) that can cause crashes as well.