Some of you guys... I mean, I've had a Harley puking oil out the breather after it sits a few months (I used to be a sailor) for like 30+ years. Since before Evos. ZOMG, BRING IT TO THE MECHANIC!!11!!!! THERE'S OIL ON THE GARAGE FLOOR!!!11!!11 That's why I always put an oil drain pan under the bike if I haven't started it in a few months. That's how they are. We really need a sticky: ZOMG -- My bike is puking oil!

 

Here's the thing.... A Harley motor doesn't keep oil in the crankcase like your car. It keeps it in the oil tank and flows it into the crankcase and the rest of the motor when it's running. When you let one sit for a while, oil seeps out of the oil bag into the crankcase. It's that gravity thing. There's a check ball in the oil pump that is supposed to prevent that, but they mostly don't work that well. When you start it up with a bunch of oil in the crankcase, it overpressures and blows out the breather. It's working 100% as designed. It'll do a quart to a quart and a half max. By the time you got it shut down, it was probably close to stopping.

Having said that, I'd ride it. BUT, I have some pretty good experience with motors and what they sound like just before they grenade. If you feel more comfortable taking it in, by all means do so.

 

Some of us know our limitations, don't care to get grungy, or simply would rather spend the money to have it fixed w/o the hassle. I personally never did enjoy wrenching on things all that much. I've got better or more enjoyable things I'd rather be doing. To each his own.

 

.......he's got oil on the floor ya, but dang, the bike skidded down the road, that's part of the story isn't it?. I wouldn't be confident in my own abilities of what all might be wrong with it. Crack somewhere or whatever..

 

There is nothing to fix...spend a couple thousand at the mechanic...let it sit for 2 months, and it will do it again...nature of the beast.

 

Nothing to fix?? I sure hope so for cp. I may be wrong, but I don't recall his guy giving it a good look-over after it was down?? Just saying I would want someone with expertise telling me it was roadworthy after something like that. But, are you guys saying "all" evos do that if they sit for awhile? Only time my bikes sit for a period is winter....I'm going to have this issue? ( bought my first EVO last spring).

 

Pretty much, if the oil bag is above the crankcase. The head breathers may have cured this. Never let my 94 sit long enough to find out.

 

My '95 doesn't do it and sometimes she sits for quite a while.

 

My 87 EVO did it, tried cleaning the ball and seat, and even lapping the seat. what finally stopped it was "whacking the ball" Cleaned the area real good, put the ball in place, put a small brass drift on the ball and gave it a good whack with a hammer. I think this burnished a seal because after that, no more puking.

 

I start every thing I have every week during winter storage. Weed whackers, lawn mowers, garden tractors, trash pumps, tractor, backhoe, motorcycle, etc., etc. I do it religiously. In fact, I do it every Sunday after church before I even go in the house. So I couldn't tell you if my bike does it or not.