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I have a '96 Harley Davidson FLH Police Special. It has 36K miles. I had it out the day before yesterday and it ran well. However, I noticed it was awfully dirty. So I put it away and let it cool down. Yesterday I rolled it out of the garage and washed it down with the S100 motorcycle wash. Spray it on and hose it off. I then towel dried it and started it up. I decided to take it for a quick spin. This is when I noticed a big problem. Half way thorugh the 10min trip I noticed the oil light come on. I looked down at my right foot and noticed a big oil stain on it. I took it right home and found the oil coming out of the air filter housing. I removed the housing and noticed that the filter was pretty saturated in oil. I checked the oil and it was pretty much empty. I cleaned of the leaking oil and pushed the bike back in the garage. I need to bring it in but was wondering if you had any ideas of what might have caused this and if I'm looking at major problems.
Thanks
Answer -
i dont think you have that big of a problem. If you had lost all your oil when you road your bike there would be a big mess all over the rear and side of the bike and the floor.
Inside your valve covers there are two flapper valves which are suppose to let the valve covers breath. They are suppose to vent the air to the air filter. What happens is a small amount of oil goes with it. Over time the valves get weak and let more oil pass. The oil builds up on the air filter and then starts to drip. So the fix is the change the flapper valves.
As to losing all your oil, I would fill it back and go for a ride and see if you are still losing oil. If you are then it has to go somewhere. I have seen where the oil will go into the primary and fill it. Harley had a problem with this around 1989, but I havent seen a bike newer that having that problem.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike
Mike - thanks for the quick response. I'll replace the flapper valve and fill the oil back up. However, i did have a big mess of oil on the side of the bike and the rear saddlebag. I lost a lot of oil - does that change your assesment at all?
Thanks again,
Kyle
Answer -
Yes it does. I didnt relize that you lost that much oil when you road it.
Heres what to do. Clean the bike of all the oil. Make sure it is dry. Now get a can of deoderant which has baby powder in it. Spray it all over the motor. It wont hurt anything. Now go for a short ride. Anyplace the oil is leaking will turn the powder black and you can see where you have a leak. Let me know what you find.
Mike
I put 3 quarts of oil back in and did as you said with the exception of the short ride. Instead I started the bike and let it idle for a few minutes (a little nervous to take it anywhere). I found that the oil was leaking from the timing cover just below the air filter. It was seeping fairly good from around the small plate, labeled V2, that is riveted to the timing cover. Even when I stopped the engine the oil still seemed to come out of this area. I didn't notice oil anywhere else - not even from around the area of the air filter - again I din't put the bike through the gears.
Thanks - Kyle
AnswerThat cover you are talking about it the ignition cover. You can drill the head of the rivets out and remove the cover. Remove the gasket. Under it you wil find the ignition and the rotor cup. Remove the screw that holds the rotor cup and the cup will come out. Now mark where the ignition is set and remove the two bolts the hold it. Under it you will find the end of the cam with a seal around it. Remove it and replace the seal. The is where your oil is probably coming from. Put it all back together and go riding.
Good luck and happy riding
Mike
One thing I forgot to tell you. If you are going to do the work yourself, the rivets that hold the cover on are special rivets. Make sure your replace them with rivets from the dealer.
Mike
