Hey guys - I need a little more advise please....

Anyway.....

I am basically 70's home trained and Google qualified and I like to do 'very' general duties at home - so here is what I do so far to my much loved 1996 EVO...............................

- Change engine oil and filter at about 3000klms - easy to do!

-  Ditto the crankcase, ditto the Gearbox. I have zero problems with oil cost coz I think it's cheap insurance.

- Clean and respray my oil filter perhaps every 12 months??

- Change (via a great easy Ebay $23 vacume tool) the two brake oils.....every 2 years, (but have been a little slack on this one)

- Very rarely but maybe lube the clutch cable....VERY RARELY!! 

NOW - before two weeks ago I did not even know I had a Tappet Cleaner Mesh Filter to clean (and it was filled with mega crap - see pics) .............................................................I have done it so now to my non dealer question........................

SO - MY ONGOING EVO Engine question to you good people is????  What else should I do or learn to do to keep this bike running for decades????????

I really want to learn and just service what I can in my little garage  =  and if there is an old EVOLUTION issue I cant learn and needs Dealers help well so be it.- Help Please. 

I owned and loved my last old bike (not a Harley) for 25 years and learned all about it. I want the same relationship with my EVO.

Sorry for the long post.

Oilleak.

Just wondering if there are any at home or must do dealer jobs I need to do apart from what was on my list to keep it running for the next & many years?.

Cheers - Oilleak

- Check the front and rear wheel bearings as often as not dickheads use a power washer on the bike and force water into the bearings which buggers them over time.

- Obviously do the normal chain maintenance if its not a belt model

- Keep an eye out for oil leaks as the old Evos have several well know leak spots, but they tend to be more annoying than fatal

- I would also remove the oil tank next service and give it a good flush out and clean as they do build up chit over the years

- Steering head bearings may need replacing at some point.  Do a fall away test to check.  My bearings now have notches in them so it self centering!

- Oil and inspect the throttle cables as well.

- check for an external fuel filter and add a good quality one if none are there

- remove the petcock and clean/inspect the fuel filter there as well (its a bit like the tappet one you just did - unloved and often forgotten)

- check the oil levels (or better still replace) in the front forks as that varies over time, inspect the fork seals as well.

- One day if you are ever curious then pop the cam cover and see what sort of cam is installed (very rare to have a stock cam in an Evo)

- just a start!

From the list I have been doing everything except for the tapped filter which I am now all over and the following: 

- Obviously do the normal chain maintenance if its not a belt model - Mines a belt and it's tentioned ok.

- Keep an eye out for oil leaks as the old Evos have several well know leak spots, but they tend to be more annoying than fatal  So far so good, it has zero oil leaks

- I would also remove the oil tank next service and give it a good flush out and clean as they do build up chit over the years - I change the 3 oils and oilfilter every 3000 klms and with 23000 on the clock now will this be a urgent job or should I make a note to do it further down the track?????

Theyre known to weaken and snap due to the design and resonation of vibrations, and munch your gearbox.

Baker makes a stronger, braced version to fix it.

As for the gbox dipstick, mines is dremeled off too. Ive got a baker dipstick but it just sits in the garage  because i dont think it's compatible with my fxr gearbox.

The stock spring on the pawl in the tranny wasn't very beefy, and was known to fatigue and snap, again, munching your gears.

Baker sells a pawl with an oversized, square sectioned spring.

Its not an umcommon for them to break either, I was reminded about it because I just saw an FXR for sale (in the US) with the tranny munched due the bloody spring.

If you're ever diggin around in there, its a good time to update.

https://bakerdrivetrain.com/collections/racing-performance/products/anti-overshift-ratchet-pawl?variant=23522346307

Hey Oilleak 2008, don't have my 94 Fatty anymore but did all the work on it like most guys. One thing I did do when doing engine oil changes was, after draining the oil tank and refilling with fresh oil was then to remove the old oil filter and before fitting a new one, to run the engine at idle speeds for a minute or so, turn it off, check the oil tank and repeat until the oil coming out of the filter housing was cleaner looking then fit the new oil filter and check the oil tank levels - you can remove some more of the older oil this way in an evo engine. I used a modified 2lt fruit juice container that fitted under the filter housing to direct the oil to my oil tray to avoid making a mess.

The rest of the advice is wisdom form guys that have been playing with these things for much longer than me.

cheers

DocGreen