I'm in need of a little advice on my TC; if I leave it for a week or so the oil drains out of the tank into the motor, I tried to drain the oil yesterday (tank cap off, drain plug removed) but there was little or no flow. It seems to me that there must be a non-return or 'check valve' that's gone bad but I'm struggling to find info online. Do you have any thoughts on this please?

 

The bike is a softail and if left sitting for a few days, the oil wil gravit drain from the tank into the crankcase. Those that don't know better, assume the oil level is low and will add oil only to have it blow out all over them and the bike down the road.

Put the plug back in, start the bike and let it idle for a few minutes. The oil from the crank case will be pumped back into circulation and refill the tank; then you can drain the oil tank. That's all you have to do if the bike sits for a week; start her up, let her idle until the oil is back in the tank before taking off. You can watch the oil flow with the cap off and it will be obvioua when the oil is robustly circulating back into the tank.

However, if you want to prevent the oil from draining into the crank case while sitting, a pair of hose pinch pliers can be used to stop the gravity flow out of the tank. There is short piece of rubber hose (#25 in the drawing) connecting the elbow from the bottom of the tank to the return line; lightly pinch the hose to stop the flow to the crank case.

 

Thanks for the info, are you aware of a non return or check valve on the Screaming Eagle cam plate? It's a new issue so I assume something is broken.

 

Nothing is broken. There is a "wavy" washer between the scavenge and supply gerotors in the oil pump that is supposed to keep enough pressure on the entry point into the pump to stop the gravity drain from tank to pump. Due to the variance in factory specs, some tanks will drain faster than others but they will wll drain left sitttng for an extneded period. Aftemarket pumps do not have the wavy washer and those will drain over night.

So, just follow the above instructions. Start the bike, let it idle (no blipping the throttle please) for a minute or two before taking off on a ride. If you want to be sure oil is circulating, remove the oil tank cap and take a look.

 

Once again many thanks