Buy it use it and sell it to the next needy rider.

 

Here's the deal about oil loss. Worn guides have a tendency to leak down the valve when it sits from a ride overnight. So upon startup, the gas washes the valve if it sits long enough and then smokes and then clears. But if you think about it, the intake stroke is so strong trying to return to atmosphere or 14.7, it will pull from that guide and burn smoke you won't see.

Buyer beware caught me off guard when I bought a used truck and the guy had it running when I came to look it over. All was cool until I got it home and next day it puffed smoke upon startup. The caveat is to buy used with a cold engine. Then have the seller start it and you are at the exhaust waiting to see it puff. Another trick is to follow the vehicle on a downhill run. Meaning, upon lift, the oil will build up and hang in the pipe. Then when throttle is applied, you'll see the tell tail sign of a puff of smoke blowing out. and that too will clear up.

My junk science showed me buying 4 of the same model bike and broke in 2 without following break in rpm levels and 2 broken it by the book. The 2 beaters lost oil past the sight window before it's routine oil changes at every 3000 miles. The 2 broken in by book never burned oil at all. Had 2 that I totaled, 1 traded in, and 1 I use as my daily driver.

That gave me enough research to never beat a new engine ever again.

Signed,
NOLTT (no one listens to turtle)

 

Hopefully more of the seals than the guides. I’ve just got so much paperwork on how well the bike was serviced religiously. Only 33k miles on it.

I’d lean more of it had a lot more miles. Rocker boxes are spotless. And up till the mystery oil issue I could look in the bores with my scope and read the Harley part numbers off the top of the pistons.

No real trace of much soot on the tail pipe cones. And never seen a puff of oil smoke. I did have some fuel black smoke early in tuning from being over jetted due to the carb being mucked up. But that was resolved rebuilding the carb with a quality kit and getting my jetting dialed in.

It fouls plugs every 100 miles. New Taylor 10mm wires. Cylinders now are a bit oily piston tops have more carbon build up but it’s clear to the edges with no wash that you’d typically see if I had ring blow by but still checking leak down.

But its definitely lesson learned about buying a bike no matter how clean it was when the owner said it’s pretty much sat for 5+ years with only a few trips around the island and never ridden that hard. But no real base gasket leaks so it was always warmed up.

bike only has one tiny oil leak where the stator wiring pops out the primary. And one other one I just found that was easily fixed. (Primary inspection cover gasket was reused to just get me to the show)

clean as a whistle under the bike.

I am just hoping to get it sorted out as I’ve got a trip planned now set for next year to ride the length of the Crows Nest Highway from Hope BC to Medicine Hat Alberta then take the TC1 to Edmonton stay with friends for a week then come back via the Fraser River Valley. Don’t particularly want to pack one sadly bag with oil and top off every 100 miles. lol.

 

Evolution engines are easy on valve guides and with the low mileage on the bike, fresh stem seals are going to be the solution to the problem if the piston rings are in good shape.

 

Nephew has an evo and his plugs come out dry. No oil up the plug threads. If oil up the threads, then for sure rings. I'm sure it's past 40k miles on the OEM's.

Leak number go like this:
1-2% = new engine or rebuilt.
8-9% = race teardown.
10-15% = production teardown.
16% = POOR.

 

Plugs have less than 100 miles on them. Not gas fouled. From a few weeks ago. I haven’t pulled the ones with only the show mileage 30 miles yet.

 

left something out in my workshop. Grabbed this pic to just show how clean the top end is. Sadly the more I think I’m just gonna do the valve stems regardless.

 

Compression test cold.

Front 120
Rear 130

leak down

Front was pressurized to 75 psi and held 70. Could hear it leaking into the intake and out the valve stem

Rear at TDC Compression had a heck of a time holding the brake but put a mat under the tire on the lift and some added weight. Pressurized to 50 cylinder was holding 23-25 then tire spun and equalized.

Front Cylinder



Rear Cylinder



debris found on rear cylinder look left metal




vertical stripe on cylinder wall of rear jug.




Exhaust valve showing signs of burnt oil.





so I guess it’s tear down time and make the decision if I want to up the bore.

 

Cylinder don't look good. Excessice oil will leave the top of the pistons clean because it can't burn all the oil to leave carbbon build up. Not sure what is happening but agree it's likely bore time as you aren't gonig to home those marks out. EVO valve guides at 33k miles should be good, but they need to be cheked and valves and seats ground to have a good seal.

I wonder if it is so clean inside the rocker boxes and out because it was taken apart and not put back together correctly. It it venting correctly?

Paul

 

Everything will be scrutinized. I may rebuild the heads. Up the compression a bit, 10-20 over pistons. Upgrade the oil pump. Anything I can do to make the motor rock solid. I had noticed the valve train a bit more noisy the last 500 miles so maybe a bad lifter or the breather gear let go. Cam chest is being opened up as with the trash on the piston I want to verify the lifters are good and the fact it has a timken bearing and not the bad one running the cam and check run out etc. not a happy camper right now with the stack of receipts but I have no idea who did all the chrome part swap over from the polished aluminum. So for my sake it’s getting a thorough tear down. Hopefully I don’t have to split the case.