jack d said:
Thanks for the explanation however I am familiar with this type of design and have no problems with my bike. I was curious as to why people refer to this as a dry sump when it is not.
Hmm, then you should be able to understand the description above. It is a dry sump, it's just not a stand alone design with a mechanically separate reservoir. The engine only has a quart or so of oil in it at any one time. The oil pump draws oil from the separate reservoir, pumps it thru the engine and back to the reservoir. There is no wet sump at the bottom of the engine with any significant volume of oil present and rods skimming thru it with wipers, etc.
If you don't feel it's a dry sump design, what type do you believe it to be?
The lack of an external reservoir, (aircraft or older HD, for example), does not preclude it from being a dry sump. The two drain plugs are part of the giveaway to the nature of the design. Another is the sight glass and very specific nature of the oil level check routine in the owner's manual.