Mystery Solved: Why Harleys Leak Oil

A local dealer recently consolidated their import showroom (Yamaha, Kawasaki, Honda) into their Harley Davidson showroom . . . probably because of economic conditions and certainly a smart business decision to reduce cost and overhead expenses. However, the two showrooms always had 2 separate parts counters, sales staff, etc . . . The unfortunate, or maybe now fortunate, consequence of the consolidation is that these extensive product lines now share one parts counter and it's the original Harley counter and staff . . . .

So, I go in today to grab a few quick items and I say "Could I get a few Yamaha crush washers . . . here's the part number, 214-11198-01" . . .( I brought the part # figuring I'd be nice to the "pirate" sympathizer) . . . . to which the parts clerks replies "What's a crush washer?" . . . . holy crap . . . no wonder Harleys leak oil . . . they don't know wtf a "crush washer" is for and they're running around with loose oil drain bolts . . . Doh!

Oh, and they no longer stock full synthetic Yamalube . . . but recommended the Harley branded synthetic oil . . . it probably wouldn't matter mechanically speaking . . . but I couldn't poison my Feej with that crap out of pure principal . . .

I am not sure I could handle the pirates messin with metric bikes. I wonder what the service dept. is like? :blink:

Dave

Actually, Harleys use o rings on their drain plugs, it's very effective.

08FJR4ME said:

I am not sure I could handle the pirates messin with metric bikes. I wonder what the service dept. is like? :blink:
Dave

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10 weeks to put my bike back together . . . but to their credit they did do a great job and beat the snot out of the insurance company that was responsible for paying for all the damage. I've got a lot of good parts to sell (mirror, front fender, side bag, rear brake caliper, right exhaust can) . . . but basically anything that had the slightest scratch or nick in it they had replaced . . . 1 tech was responsible for it from start to finish including the initial parts/damage estimate totaling $5100.00. I was a little hesitant to take it there at first but it turned out well.

Also on the bright side they decided to not carry Olympia gear anymore and I picked up an Olympia Airglide jacket for $164 and an Olympia Transition GT Jacker for $200 . . . guess they had to make more room for Harley T-shirts and those wallets with the long chains on them

We always joke around the shop about why H-D's leak oil. It's so obvious! It's so they can find their way home, or at least to the nearest dealership!

I've owned 3 Harley's in the last decade , never had one leak a drop of oil .

The old Panhead's certainly did, but the Twin Cams don't .

I have two good friends with modern HD's. Neither leaks oil. One has about 9k miles, the other about 40k.

The one with 9k miles is an '09 Road Glide. It does leak oil, but through the Roland Sands air cleaner he installed on the bike. The crank case breather tube pukes oil onto the air filter until it's saturated enough to just barf it out onto the side of the bike when he rides, including the rear cylinder pipe, side cover, and front of the hard bag. He can't figure it out, so rather than go back to OEM or call Roland Sands, he just cleans the filter which buys him a few weeks before it happens again :wacko:

The carb era bikes can puke oil through the air cleaner ,typically if the rider is over revving it, simple fix . S&S makes a reed valve for it. I've never seen it on an FI bike.

greywolf said:

I've owned 3 Harley's in the last decade , never had one leak a drop of oil .
The old Panhead's certainly did, but the Twin Cams don't .

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My 05 Wide Glide never leaked either. It just blew the oil right out the exhaust. It would go through a qt every 1200 miles. Pull the airfilter off and you better have some rags handy as it would run right down the side of the intake. Took it to the dealer and complained and they said that it's normal they all do that. :yahoo:

No problem though they gave me my brand new FJR in an even trade for the Harley. TYVM!!!!!!!!! :clapping:

My 2003 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 used to blow through a little oil too . . . and it didn't have nearly the miles I've racked up on the FJR . . . I just came to figure it maybe normal for some of the torque heavy bigger twin v's to have a little blow by or burn off . . .

Had a '99 Wide Glide for 10 years. Never dropped one bit of oil.

Got an '09 Ultra Classic in the garage now to keep the FJR company. It doesn't leak anything, either.

Next?

ultimateanswer said:

We always joke around the shop about why H-D's leak oil. It's so obvious! It's so they can find their way home, or at least to the nearest dealership!

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Here's an interesting fact.... 98% of Harleys are still on the road............................................

The other 2% made it home!!

My 06 Ultra Classic had four leaks in the 3 years I owned it, 3-26000 miles. The rear rocker cover leaked once, the base of the rear cylinder seeped (this was called a non leak and normal), and the shift shaft leaked twice. Harley fixed all of the leaks with no issue, except the seeping cylinder because drops never formed. The owner of the store said they call the shift shaft leak "The standard leak." He said most of the baggers develop this leak. Don't miss the HD one bit. Well maybe I miss my cruise control, stereo system, and the bags that open on the top.

Happy Rider - I was just "admiring" a new Kawasaki Voyager 1700 that has top opening bags that are HUGE . . . really like that feature on some of the dressers and baggers . . .

VanHarlan said:

My 2003 Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 used to blow through a little oil too . . . and it didn't have nearly the miles I've racked up on the FJR . . . I just came to figure it maybe normal for some of the torque heavy bigger twin v's to have a little blow by or burn off . . .

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I don't know, I had a 2007 V Star 1300 and it never did that in the 8,000 miles that I rode it. I had an aftermarket air cleaner and pipes as well.

91 Ultra 148k original engine/drive train. No leaks. No breakdowns. Wonderful bike.

dcarver said:

91 Ultra 148k original engine/drive train. No leaks. No breakdowns. Wonderful bike.

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Same here with a 1984 FLH Shovelhead, 212K original miles. No leaks, no breakdowns and also was a wonderful bike. Sold it to my Pipefitter Union Brother Mel Schmal and he's still riding it here in AZ.

Similar story here. Harleys are like any other bike. They do what they are designed to do, and sometimes they break. I've had more trouble with the BMWs that I've owned than the Harleys I've owned. I have also had hundreds of thousands of miles of good riding on many bikes of many brands.

I never owned a wallet with a chain connected to it though......

SVTNate said:

The one with 9k miles is an '09 Road Glide. It does leak oil, but through the Roland Sands air cleaner he installed on the bike. The crank case breather tube pukes oil onto the air filter <snip>

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I have a '99 Ultraclassic I bought new and have since stripped it down to make my version of a street glide. No leaks ever although I did develop a saturation of the air filter as is mentioned here. Dunno if the design has changed from '99 to '09, but I pulled the valve covers and in each head/top is a replaceable umbrella valve and little filter that should be changed from time to time, or probably anytime you go up there for any reason.

I had to go up there anyway when I pulled it all and had it powdercoated black. My old HD is no FJR, and it's a farm implement compared to it, but it's a good bike for what it is. Personally, I like 'em all and wish I had the room and budget for way more variety in my bikes than I do.

Not sure what to get next; either a nice ZRX or maybe a Monster - see my split personality??...