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!

 

I can't help with the breathers........

But if you ride that much parade duty, do yourself a favor and add a set of jason's fans.... you won't have to pull over and stop next time....

http://www.wardspartswerks.com/




good luck with the breather fix...

 

Probably what melted the tee was the very hot oily vapor coming through the hoses, just too much heat when it jams up at that tee.

How do you seal up the grooves left over from removing the stock rubber breather tubes that you replace with the hoses? Looks like a "trench" would be left on each side that the air filter will not seal against.

 

That's not good news. I've got the exact same kit coming. A plastic tee on an air cooled bike doesn't seem very smart. I wonder where I can find a metal tee? Is that something an auto parts store would have?

David

 

On the FM back plate, the filter sits flush all the way around; the trenches are on the back side of the plate, so the filter seals without that being an issue. The only opening would be the holes the original lines ran to; not sure of a safe and secure way to plug them.

I can't speak about other kits (Arlen Ness, Screamin' Eagle variants, etc).

 

I got this kit from Advance auto; it has three different tees, but perhaps you can go to Napa or something and get JUST teh 1/4" tee- that fits the tubing in the DK kit.

 

Let me share my experience, I purchased the DK Custom hose and filter kit that is similar to the kit you are talking about. I might mention the kit I have is being used with the DK Custom 587 high flow AC. After many trial and error combinations I think I finally have the right set up. I ended up using the stock breather bolts with just a few inches of the hose that came with the kit.I have just a few inches coming off each nipple going into a 3/8 fuel line. I ran that down to a T fitting but I purchased a brass T fitting from Ace Hardware. I ended up not using the filter that came with the kit but instead decided to dump it to the ground. I was still having seapage coming from the breather bolts at highway speeds. I contacted Kevin at DK Customs and he recommended using thread sealant on the breather bolts along with nylon washers. So far this has worked well but the real test will be on my road trip that begins June 7th. I have learned that long road trips answer many questions about how well products work.

 

Thanks, I'll pick one up.

David

 

You have a power vision.
1. Retard the timing where you ping when hot.
2. Add fuel at parade speed to slow the motor heating up
3. Run Wards parts fans
4. Run the bike about a 1/4 to 1/2 quart low to help stop the air filter puking oil.

 

I used a tee from Ace Hardware. In the plumbing section. Can see it in the pic