i just bought a 1976 ironhead sportster. i had it straped down in the back of my truck and i was driving on the freeway. i swerved to avoid a 2X4 in the road and shook the hell out of the motorcycle. when i went to unload it there was a huge puddle of oil in the bed of my truck. was going to try to start the bike, but sure enough i was pretty much completely out of oil and it still has a nice little drip goin. this is my first motorcycle! my knowledge is of them is pretty much just riding them. im no mechanic and dont even know where the leak is coming from, where to start looking, or how to fix it. PLEASE HELP ME OUT!!!

 

Start with a good motor and chassis wash and wipe it down dry...you'll never find the source of the leak if the bike has oil all over it. Check the oil level to make sure that it's not been overfilled to the point where it leaked out the cap during the bucking bronco ride home. Start with that.

Did you run the bike before you bought it? Did you run it long enough to warm it up, maybe take it for a ride? If you did, I assume that you didn't see any oil then, right? IMO losing oil from a bike that isn't running is a whole lot better than having it blow out your motor when it is running, so don't sheeit your pants just yet. Good luck, and let us know what you find. Welcome to the family. And oh, now that you have an ironhead you're gonna become a mechanic like it or not, so get used to the idea.

 

If it was a huge puddle, the first place I would look would be for a hole in one of the rubber oil lines.

 

Welkum to the "Zoo" and the world of Ironheads.
First off, IT'S an ironhead. Get used to wrenchin' and wipin'. They CAN be built to not leak, but can you say time consuming and $$.
As you gain proficiency on the wrencin' part, and you will, you'll git it fingered out.

Do as posted, spray it down good with Gunk Foamy engine cleaner. Hose it off. Repeat til oil is gone. If at this point, you are unable to determine the source, put oil in it, start it, and just keep looking around. You should easily see the source, if it is as bad as you posted. For 'tiny' leaks, I use black light dye. (I am **** about leaks. TMK, I have one of the only non-leaking pans I've seen )
Not sure, but by your post, it sounds like you had it 'laid down' for transport. Oil may have just run out of tank, but unclear to me.
Get yourself an HD shop manual and if possible, the parts manual (Usually has really decent pics for assembly)
Get yourself some Gasgacinch, Permatex Non-hardening, blue and red Loctite. Personally, I avoid silicone, have found it in oil pumps, screens, oil passages, etc when tearing down a blown motor. It does have it's place, like sticking on emblems.
Give the scoot a good cleaning, check it out, and post, again. Good luck, and again, Welkum.

 

thanks for all your help! after checkin all the connections i finally just took off all the lines and sure enough the one connecting the oil cooler and the oil tank itself had a nice little hole in it. it was resting against a nut and i guess when it shook it just got punctured. THANKS AGAIN TO ALL!