New engine and oil usage

Another couple of 400 mile runs and oil usage checked and documented by dealer, about 800 miles and a little over a quart of use. The bike is in the shop for a series of tests, compression, leakdown and a scope, hope to know more first part of next week. Lol, can't really ride right now anyway, it just turned to our semi-annual love bug season. It's just not worth a 3 hour ride and take another 3 hours to clean the bike.

Love bugs suck big time, Gary, I hope they find your problem and get it fixed right quick
 
Let us know

Yes, keep us posted on what’s going on. It will be very interesting to know what they find out. Sorry you have to go through all this frustration.
 
Here is my oil usage story.

2020 Freewheeler with 114 motor, it was pushing oil out the breather tubes into the air filter from day one. Early on I did an external breather mod so the oil was going on the ground instead of into my throttle body. Oil level was always set no higher than half way up the normal range. ( 4 dots up from add)

I began carefully tracking it and it was pushing out a quart every 1500 to 2500 miles, constantly "marking its spot"

I Bought the Mad Monkey ventilator and plumbed that thru an S&S check valve and 3/8 hose to ground, still with the external breather mod. Now I was getting 2 spots of oil wherever I parked the bike.
frown.gif
. Consumption stayed about the same.

Along the way I did a compression test which showed great compression. Also, the bike runs great and pulls hard.

Took it to the dealer to see if they would do anything. They noted the oil level and said come back in 1500 miles. When I went back I was down almost a quart and of course they told me it was perfectly normal and within limits. Thanks for nothing HD service.

End of February comes around and my warranty is up so I ordered a 1/8 mpt by 3/8 hose barb stainless fitting, took off the transmission cover plate, drilled and tapped it, punched a couple holes in the gasket and installed a piece of hose and check valve. This completely cured the problem. 700 miles and the oil level has not moved a bit. I still have the external breather and it pukes a little oily snot from time to time but it is not pushing out oil every time I ride.

So... for me 20 bucks of materials and a little time spent has fixed a problem that was nagging at me for 17,000 miles.

too bad you don’t have some pictures of how you drilled all that stuff and tapped it. Looks like that cured your problem
 
I installed the Trask cover and cant really tell any difference performance wise but thats probably a good thing. My OEM cover is metal- well at least a magnet sticks to it. HD has a long history of forcing owners to finish the R&D on its motors. Heck the Shovelhead is still a work in progress and people are making a nice living upgrading those motors.
 
Bill, they called me this evening just before 6 PM, we were eating out in a noisy restaurant and didn't hear the phone ringing. They left a message and said to call in the morning and they'll talk to me about what the mother ship said.
 
I'll pick the trike up on Monday, it's thunder storming right now so will have to wait till then to see the work sheets.
 
Dealer has been great Jack, no run around at all, it's the Mothership that has to be dealt with in steps. Ok, here' s the rundown on the tests that were run:

Compression test:

Front - 150 psi

Rear - 145 psi

Leak Down test:

Front - 5%

Rear - 3%

Crankshaft Position Sensor removal - 2 oz of oil came out ----- Maximum of 6 oz allowed

Air cleaner is good to go, no goop in it

No leaks can be found anywhere

Exhaust pipes are not oily or overly dirty

Conclusion, no one seems to know, lol. Per HD, they refilled oil to correct level and I have to go back in 500 miles, I don't have a problem with that so we'll see what happens the next time
 
Those numbers look good, I sure wonder where that much oil is going?

I hope it can be figured out for you, that sure is a pretty Trike you have
 
Did they check the primary fluid level?

It is rare, but it does happen that the main seal can fail and let oil from the engine into the primary.

Kevin

Its funny you would mention the crankshaft oil seal, when HD had to fix my oil migration issue they installed a new crank seal. I wasnt sure what this had to do with the trans migration issue:confused:
 
Kevin, I didn't mention it but the primary was checked, all good.
 
Its funny you would mention the crankshaft oil seal, when HD had to fix my oil migration issue they installed a new crank seal. I wasnt sure what this had to do with the trans migration issue:confused:

When crank seal is compromised the vacuum from the engine cooling down can increase the vacuum in the primary, which can pull fluid from the transmission.

Kevin
 
After another 500 miles and it was down another quart, Corporate finally authorized the dealership to tear the top end down. Just got a phone call after hours today that they found some problems, I remember our guy said something about the rings and another part I hadn't heard of. We're going to stop in the dealer on Monday and get the full report, they took photos and forwarded them to the Mothership, we shall see.

Our dealer at New Port Richey Harley have been great, the main problem has been headquarters getting back to them in a timely manner. They are not happy with the way this has been handled, will keep everyone up to date when we find out more on Monday.
 
Some rings were installed wrong, they're going to check the cylinders real well and order new if needed, now to wait and see if there is any part shortages. Sad looking bike with the engine tore down, lol.
 
Some rings were installed wrong, they're going to check the cylinders real well and order new if needed, now to wait and see if there is any part shortages. Sad looking bike with the engine tore down, lol.

Wow! Crazy to have to go through all that Gary for how much they want for a CVO TriGlide!
 
Some rings were installed wrong, they're going to check the cylinders real well and order new if needed, now to wait and see if there is any part shortages. Sad looking bike with the engine tore down, lol.

I hope you get new cylinders and pistons, I hope they check the piston oiling jets also
 
Sad that it wasn’t set perfectly… you think you buy something nice and some crap like this happens, unfortunately it happens to all manufacturers.
 
Yeah, parts are on the way, no need for new pistons or jugs, they have been thoroughly examined with no wear or scoring, I saw the reports and pictures.

On another note I just wondered if the rings are hand fitted or maybe by robotics from a stack, my dealer didn't know either.
 
Yeah, parts are on the way, no need for new pistons or jugs, they have been thoroughly examined with no wear or scoring, I saw the reports and pictures.

On another note I just wondered if the rings are hand fitted or maybe by robotics from a stack, my dealer didn't know either.

Usually done by hand with a ring compressor. Anyway that’s how I did it on my VW Beetle..1970’s. My son just did a piston and head on his ATV and used a ring compressor..
 
Some rings were installed wrong, they're going to check the cylinders real well and order new if needed, now to wait and see if there is any part shortages. Sad looking bike with the engine tore down, lol.

They say the rings are installed wrong ? so shouldn't all this oil be in the exhaust system ? if not were is it ? No new Jugs or Piston's ? They check the cylinders real good, Hay Billy these Cylinders look good to you They sure Do Bobby change that ring that was upside down We will fill this thing with STP till Hes out of warranty. Thats Harley repair as cheapest as possible, if that dont work then your down for another couple of months . GOOD LUCK Sorry been there before :xzqxz:
 
If that much oil went through the exhaust, they probable should replace the cat and O2 sensors. Or at less make a note of it as oil deteriorates both parts.
 

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