I noticed this weekend after riding for almost 2 hrs on the highway got home parked the bike went inside for a few and when I came back out there was oil that had dripped from the air cleaner onto the motor. The bike ran fine and has no mods other than slip ons and a k&n. Anyone have any ideas? 2009 SG

 

is oil at full on dip stick? On my sportster it used to do that when the oil was full, run it at 3/4 and didnt have the issue any more.

 

Yes it is and I just changed it not to long ago. Maybe I will try to run it a little lower to see what happens. Just funny how it showed up after a trip on the highway and did or haven't had a issues with short rides around town.

 

The way it was explained to me by my tuner is the emissions system sends oil from the top of the cylinders back into the throttle body. The oil that is not pulled into the cylinders settles into the air filter. If you pull your filter off, you will find a lot of oil on the throat of the tb and needs cleaned off. If you have a filter like a K&N, you can clean it out. The stock filters get saturated on the bottom side and need replaced. If you will look on the top of the filter back plate there is a tube that goes to the top of the head. This is where the oil comes from. There is a way to modify and reroute the oil to exit via a drain like the evos.

 

....also, my tuner told me not to fill the oil all the way to the top of the hash mark on the dipstick. I now fill mine with 3.5 qts of oil and about 1/2 way up on the hash marks. The filter still will show evidence of oil on the bottom but does not drip any more.

 

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/touri...l#post13307537

 

My 08 Ultra had the same problem when I first bought it used. I'd go for a ride and come back with oil spots flickered on the side cover, and front of the right saddle bag. I took the air cleaner (stock) off and the inside of the cover was covered in oil and so was the surrounding area. To make a long story short, I bought a Screamin' Eagle air cleaner, installed it and that was the last of the oil problems dripping and spraying on the right side of the bike. Now, the oil that was spraying out is being sucked into the cylinders. It works the same way any PVC, (positive ventilation crankcase) valve works in any car on the road.


That stopped the oil problem, but I went a little further and replaced the breather elements, (they were a little brittle and they had started to deteriorate) and one-way valves in the upper cover housing. The elements and valves didn't change anything or do anything to the bike performance -wise, but it gave me piece of mind after I found out Harley had two upgrades for the valves since my bike was manufactured only 6 years earlier.


After I installed the SE air cleaner I did notice the engine ran smoother and a little quicker responding when I gave it some throttle. The down side is that the bike ran a tad hotter with the SE air cleaner. To compensate for the increased heat I'm looking into an XiED which will also give me even more throttle response. One thing leads to another, but with any luck it will end there. Hope this helps.

 

the explanation I can give for this in my feeble little mind is simply the fact that the stock air-cleaner is so restrictive and not a lot of air was getting in there to begin with. That allowed oil to pool and drip. Changing air-cleaners to a more free flowing air-cleaner allowed more air in therefore more "suction" therefore the oil being sucked in instead of pooling. Still doesn't fix the problem because the oil is going where it shouldn't be going.

 

While I appreciate all the fancy plumbing jobs and aftermarket devices to reduce/eliminate this problem, there is an easy and inexpensive option that may work for others.

I've done the following on my 2012 103 UC stock air cleaner...
(1) pull the little black rubber tubes from the rear of the AC but leave them attached to the back plate
(2) plug/cover the two holes in the AC from the black tubes
(3) wrap/secure oil absorbent material to the bottom of the black rubber tubes and let them hang behind the AC. If you feel the need to get fancy and spend money, use an open element fuel filter and just jam some material into it for added absorbency.
(4) replace AC

Now remember, I'm using a stock AC and football cover so none of this is visible.

This has worked for several thousand miles with no issues. I no longer have oil in the AC or the intake. I change out the absorbent material about every 2 or 3 thousand miles but have never found it soaked enough to even come close to dripping. And it takes all of about a minute to change out the material.

Total cost...maybe 25 cents as I had all the materials on hand.