Got home from work tonight and after about an hour went to bring the bike back in and saw a wet spot on the ground.  Got down and had a look and there was oil spread across the under side of the engine, down the right hand tube and across both of the shockies,  There was none on the left hand side rail or primary and it was worse to the rear of the bike.  None on the wheel rims or brake parts has any oil on at all.  Also there was no oil leaks that I could Identify around the Trans Case, Cam Timing cover or anywhere else.  I also checked the Hex screw in the bottom of the case and that was tight..  Now there was enough to concern me agreat deal.  I checked the engine oil level, it was up a bit over the full mark,  I also thought the oil smelt a lot like Trans oil as it was a lot clearer than I think engine oil woild be. I checked the Trans as well and it was down a small amount.  I have cleaned it and will keep an eye on it when I get to work tomorrow and again after I get home. 

 

I hadn't ridden the bike in about 2 weeks and when I checked the oil on Monday morning it was very low ie; at the very bottom of the dip stick. Maybe the heat during the last week has thinned the oil and allowed it to drain down.   Now I know that HD run a Dry Sump and though well the oil has drained down into the sump.  Started the bike and watched the oil level rise and it has not gone down again.  My question is can Wet sumping cause a problem like this due to the added pressure that the pump has to work to get the oil back into the tank. Could the egine have done a seal or something to allow this to happen.  I am hoping it is not engine oil but Trans oil, why I don't know as they both present a problem in fixing.

If anyone has any Ideas I would appreciate the feedback, ideas etc or just plain bagging the shit out of me. 

 

If it continues then I won't be making the run to Edenhope this weekend which will be a bummer to say the least. 

 

Regards

 

AJ

 

 

Yes RHS frame rail. I will have a look at all those things.

Mate I had a think about it as well and come to the same conclusion. I did change the bars and cables. I put the bike on a lift and checked around a couple of places near the cable/housing. I got some fluid where the cable is crimped into the fitting. I double checked my levels and they are pretty low. It could be, A. the O'ring has given up the ghost, or B. The crimped fitting was not done correctly and is allowing fluid to seep out. Hence more fluid to the rear of the bike and not much up the front as it would run down the cable and drop onto the rail when sitting idling but be blown back when moving. I ran the bike for a while last night to see if I could detect where it is coming from ( on the side stand) but couldn't see anything because it was on the side stand. I will confirm my suspicions today and if need be replace the cable with the OEM one until I can get a new SS cable. Pro Street should have one in stock failing that HD in town.

Ok I rode the bike to work this morning and it looks like it is Trans Fluid. Leaking from the fitting on the Trans Cover plate. It looks like it is the fitting that is crimped onto the cable itself and not from the housing ( if you know what I mean) I checked as I was riding to work and it is seeping slightly down the cable. I checked around where the cable which screws into the housing and it doesn't seem to be coming from there. So I will change out the cable this afternoon and see how things pan out. Oh and I got some decent circlip pliers to take that mongrel clip out this time. What a bastard that was last time.

At least it is a small issue and not major, so Pub run here I come.  I am getting another cable from HD in town.  Although it is not for my model ( Softail Standard) It will fit so the rep says but he is not sure about the adjuster as they might be in a different position.  I will take the OEM one in to make sure.

All done. Replaced the cable and checked the cover plate but could not detect any cracks etc. And I am pretty sure that it is the shit cable that I had fitted. (Motion Pro) bought of Ebay. I got a HD one and the quality in the fitting can be seen. One thing that concerns me and I hope Scotty can advise me is how much slack should you expect as the cable is tight as when fitted with no adjustment in the cable what so ever. It is standard length, I took the cover off twice as I was concerned at how tight it was, just to check the fitting inside and it all looked as it should. I expect it to stretch a bit but I would have expected a bit of free play when fitting it. I haven't adjusted the clutch as yet so will do that tomorrow then take it for a run to make sure everything is ok.


All goes well Edenhope here I come rain or shine. And a shit load of Panadol!

hi, when you take of the clutch release cover  for any reason you should readjust the clutch proper . back the cable then readjust the pushrod adj screw  behind the derby cover  just screw in untill it just touches then back off 1/2 turn & tighten lock nut ,   then adjust cable to suit free play .     once you take off the r/h  cover you must readjust the clutch  fully not just at the cable , cheers