Originally Posted by vhmike73

So I decided that to avoid oily mess in my 'football' that ends up dripping all over my cam cover, and to keep that stuff out of the combustion chamber (Note: I'm only assuming that hot, oily air being introduced to my intake charge may have something to do with the ping I'm getting at 2700-3000 RPM under load at elevated motor temps). I decided to go with DK Customs' Twin Cam Discrete Head Breather system so I could move the filter element away from the motor. I was tired of oily residue dripping on the cam cover from the factory breather system and I didn't think a kit that mounted a catch-filter under the throttle body would be 'drip free'.

The DK Customs kit comes with 6' of tubing, the filter element and a stepper connector/tube to fit the smaller diameter of the tubing coming out of the heads to fit on the end of the filter (don't have measurements, but I'm THINKING they're 1/4" ID for the main tubing and a step up to the 3/16" fitting on the filter itself). The kit comes with a plastic Tee to join the two breather bolt hoses to the remainder of the tubing that you can then run anywhere the length and safe clearances will allow.

I ordered this kit on May 19th, 2014. It arrived and was installed on the bike on May 22nd, 2014 (super fast shipping guys, thanks!!). I installed this kit on my 2011 Street Glide that has the 103 Power Pak. My AC is a Fuel Moto Pro Billet Stage 1 kit. I run Mobil 1 20W-50 oil (and it's been synthetic since the 1K service), and I change it at 5K intervals, and I am getting close to a change being due. This is usually at this point that I see oil dripping coming from the AC. The bike had about 23,350 miles on it upon first install of the DK kit; I only added about 100 miles since the install (including two parades) due to work or weather.

On Monday May 26th, I rode in a Memorial Day parade with my CVMA Chapter (NY 19-1), and the bike ended up getting SMOKING HOT (the oil temp gauge was nearly pegged, and the heat was getting unbearable even with the mid-frame deflectors by the time I finally parked her), since the parade was barely moving faster than a walk. Eventually, I had smoke pouring out of the breather filter any time the engine was idling (it would stop when I revved the motor), and guys were asking if I was okay! I had originally mounted the filter up front by the oil cooler, but decided after this experience to route it to the back of the bike so if the heat-generated smoking situation were to happen again, it would at least be behind me.

Fast forward about a week: yesterday, I rode in a benefit (with about 400 other bikes!) for Soldier-On as they're going to be bringing their services to us here in the NY Capital Region. My bike was pouring blue smoke out the exhaust as my temps started to increase, and my oil pressure was way above 40 psi. Additionally, the bike ran MUCH rougher than it ever had! Needless to say, once I got home, I decided to inspect my install, as I wondered if the tubes coming off the breather bolts where kinked and cutting off the "breathing". I removed the tubes from the breather bolts (which were NOT kinked), and when I pulled the Tee fitting out of the single line running to the kit's filter, I found that at the bottom leg of the tee had melted nearly closed! One "arm" of the Tee had to be twisted off (the tube woudn't release, and it broke off at the middle), and the whole Tee was generally deformed.

My suggestion for DK Customs is to include a METAL TEE in the kit. Perhaps I had an anomalous situation; it's possible I didn't do something right with the kit and the length of my tubing from the breathers wasn't proper, but that plastic Tee melted down to the point where the system ceased to function and was causing overly high pressure in the heads and blowing oil into the intake charge (and thereby blasting out the pipes). In fact, as I opened the oil cap to check my level, the pressure escaping was somewhat alarming (and I'd never previously had it hiss at me like a soda bottle that was shaken as I removed the oil cap/dipstick!). Again, this could have been an odd situation that was set in motion by the parade and the heat THAT generated, but for a couple extra cents for metal Tees, it might mitigate the situation I ended up with. I'm going to grab a metal Tee and see if that cures what ailed me, but for those who might want this kit, it could be something to keep in mind. I'm not sure how the Tee in my install ended up sitting against the motor (if it did- the tubing didn't appear to be burned/melted), but somehow the plastic got overheated to the point where it simply closed down and cut off any venting ability.

For those that HAVE this kit; have you had any such issue? Did you have problems with the plastic Tee included? Does the kit work? Since I clearly did something wrong, I can't tell!

Originally Posted by DK Custom

Thank you for this report!

It may have been the hose up against the engine (the hose is more heat resistant than the T), or it may have been the extremely hot condition of the bike.

We have never seen or heard of one melting before. Been running this type of set-up on and off for decades. BUT....bikes are running hotter and hotter each year.

I have run these set-ups on my recent year model bikes for thousands of miles in 100*+ temps, but I generally don't see oil temps in excess of 240*.

When you say oil temp gauge was nearly pegged, I'm thinking you were around 300* or more? Quite apart from the breather system...this is a dangerous temp to run in (imho).

But, we do know that a lot of guys are running those type of temps. We will definitely be looking at different options for T's and connectors.

In the meantime, if anyone has one of our kits, make sure the hose and connectors are Not touching the engine or exhaust, and if you are running oil temps of 280* or more, please replace the plastic connectors with metal ones.

Originally Posted by vhmike73

Thanks for the reply Kevin, and yes- I would guess the oil had to be at least 300* by the end of the parade - it was a long 15 minutes creeping along the last few blocks of the route. Since the parade is only a once-a-year thing, I'll consider it an anomaly this time since we were at a MUCH slower pace this year compared to last. Still not sure what was up with the pace...

I'm thinking the tubing at the Tee (at least the bottom tube) must have been laying against the motor; that's the only explanation I can think of for it getting that hot. I'll reinstall it all Tuesday night with the brass Tee I got. I would think that should cure the problems I had.

FX4: As for tweaking things in the PV: I have the unit OFF the bike right now as I believe it was driving my aftermarket handlebar controller nuts. I'm too poorly versed in the PV to know how to make such changes in the first place, so I have much research to do to identify actual ping events and try to adjust for them. I am interested in the Wards fans though...I can't imagine adding them would hurt things even under "normal" operation.

Originally Posted by EasTexUltra12

I'm wondering why with only 15 minutes of "creeping along" you pegged your oil gauge. That's not a very long time considering some of the traffic jams I've been stuck in.

David

Originally Posted by vhmike73

It wasn't ONLY 15 minutes; that was just how long it took to get the last five blocks (past the 'reviewing stand')...by that point, I'd already gone along for about 30 minutes of idle/rev to move/idle/rev to move...you get the point. Those last 15 minutes were the time the oil temps went from just before the mark near the printed "350" to past the actual digits "350" (or, pegged!). As you may know, that gauge doesn't exactly make it clear and simple to glance and know what temp is being shown; the dots don't line up with the numbers, and it's kind of a guessing game. All this time, smoke would pump out of the DK Customs filter while I sat there idling. Needless to say, the parade pushed my temps higher than I'd ever gotten on that particular day. Oddly, my oil level is showing right between the marks on the dipstick even after all this; and I fill it with 3.5 quarts and a new filter when I do the oil changes.

Originally Posted by Hausguy

The last thing I want to do is sit in traffic on a motorcycle but sometimes you get stuck like I did last week. I also have the DK 587 A/C but I have the breather bolts. I was sitting on the freeway when my bike started smoking out of the breather vents. Traffic opened up and I was on my way till the next stop...all good but in a few minutes it smoked again. When I got home, there was a mist of oil all over the right side.

I keep the oil level between the marks and have never had oil mist breathing out of those vent in 7,000 miles until that day. I went on a nice 300 mile tour this weekend and had oil all over the side - no traffic, no racing, just cruising.

Looks like I'll need to change something up.

Originally Posted by 0ldhippie

I just drilled and tapped my SE housing for hose fittings and ran hose to ground.