Gettin it right
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02-08-2009, 08:31 PM
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
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Gettin it right
So, I bought this bike and started to fix a minor oil leak (from the oil lines at the pump) and found out something very interesting. S&S ships their cases with a trap door that seals off the tranny from the primary. This causes you to have to fill/drain the tranny oil separately. You can use the original Harley trap door or you can have theirs modified if you want to keep it like the Harley set-up. I asked the original owner of the bike if he used the original trap door and he said he used whatever S&S sent, but he didn't have to fill the tranny separately. He also said he filled the primary until the oil was up to the bottom of the upper loop of the primary chain.
Something wasn't adding up here! I HAD to know. I pulled the primary cover and looked under the clutch and sure enough, there was no channel for the oil to flow through. I almost had a heart attack. I could picture the original oil still in there being the consistency of oatmeal or worse; there was no oil in there, and the gears in little pieces in the bottom of the tranny.
I know the tranny was working fine, no bad noises, excessive clunking, etc. and there is 18,000 miles on the odometer. I had to go in.
I pulled it apart and when I pulled the trap door, beautiful, clear, oil spilled onto the ground. (There is a drain plug for the tranny, but the owner used Locktite RED on it and I couldn't get it off!) I pulled the gears out and they were the sexiest things I've seen in a long time. (OK, so I'm old and an engine is sexy to me) Perfect condition! Not even filings in the bottom. I was so happy, I did a jig. I'm not rich and I couldn't afford to buy a new transmission. Somehow, enough oil got in there to keep the gears lubed or the guy's mechanic filled the tranny separately.
I'm taking it to a machinist tomorrow to have the bottom of the trap door shaved to make an oil passage.
I know this has been a long story, but the bottom line is "I now KNOW the bike is right." and not hoping it is. When you buy a used bike and the previous owner has worked on it, you never know how experienced he is, or how good a job he did. This includes buying from a mechanic or a shop. I've met some pretty bad mechanics getting paid to work on cars, trucks, and motorcycles, especially if they are flipping a vehicle. I love working on bikes, been doing it since the mid seventies, and I need to know it's built right. If you aren't mechanically inclined, find a good mechanic that you can trust, and treat him right. No one wants to be cruising down the highway and have an engine fly apart because someone left out a washer or couldn't read a caliper.
Putt
Something wasn't adding up here! I HAD to know. I pulled the primary cover and looked under the clutch and sure enough, there was no channel for the oil to flow through. I almost had a heart attack. I could picture the original oil still in there being the consistency of oatmeal or worse; there was no oil in there, and the gears in little pieces in the bottom of the tranny.
I know the tranny was working fine, no bad noises, excessive clunking, etc. and there is 18,000 miles on the odometer. I had to go in.
I pulled it apart and when I pulled the trap door, beautiful, clear, oil spilled onto the ground. (There is a drain plug for the tranny, but the owner used Locktite RED on it and I couldn't get it off!) I pulled the gears out and they were the sexiest things I've seen in a long time. (OK, so I'm old and an engine is sexy to me) Perfect condition! Not even filings in the bottom. I was so happy, I did a jig. I'm not rich and I couldn't afford to buy a new transmission. Somehow, enough oil got in there to keep the gears lubed or the guy's mechanic filled the tranny separately.
I'm taking it to a machinist tomorrow to have the bottom of the trap door shaved to make an oil passage.
I know this has been a long story, but the bottom line is "I now KNOW the bike is right." and not hoping it is. When you buy a used bike and the previous owner has worked on it, you never know how experienced he is, or how good a job he did. This includes buying from a mechanic or a shop. I've met some pretty bad mechanics getting paid to work on cars, trucks, and motorcycles, especially if they are flipping a vehicle. I love working on bikes, been doing it since the mid seventies, and I need to know it's built right. If you aren't mechanically inclined, find a good mechanic that you can trust, and treat him right. No one wants to be cruising down the highway and have an engine fly apart because someone left out a washer or couldn't read a caliper.
Putt
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