| Author | Message | ||
     Nocompromise |
Ok, so I finally took my new (to me) S1 out for a ride in the twisties. It's not quite as beastly as I initially thought. The engine mods actually make it pretty close to the ideal streetbike imo. Fast enough to really get up and go when you want to, but not scary fast (as I imagine the 1000cc sportbikes must be). I don't want a bike that feels like it's laughing at me any time I'm going slower than 100 mph. The bike feels sooooo much better with handlebars instead of clip-ons! In regards to the topic title, I'm riding down my (former) favorite road and pass two Harley riders - a man and a woman. As I pass I wave and the man gesticulates wildly pointing behind him. The woman behind him taps her helmet in the universal "Beware of Cops" sign. If she hadn't done that I would've figured the guy in the lead had a bee trapped in his goggles!  I immediately slow to down the speed limit and relax. About 30 seconds later I pass a Buell rider (Ulysses I think - had a yellow flyscreen) and he just gives a wave. So, about a minute after passing him I cruise by a police car perfectly hidden from my direction by a grove of trees but completely exposed from the opposite direction. THANK YOU Harley couple!!! They DEFINITELY saved me from getting a fat speeding ticket.  Thanks Ulysses rider for giving me such a friendly wave as I was about to go by a blatant speed trap *sarcasm*... The ride was great as I got acclimated to the new bike. The bad part is that she is leaking like crazy. I can't tell where the leak is coming from, but the right side of the engine (and my right boot) has lots of oil on the cam cover and underneath. There's also quite a bit of spray on both the front AND rear pushrod covers (all 4). The left side has just a little spray on top of the primary cover. I know it's hard to tell from photos, but I can't tell if it's coming from the a. Cam cover and/or primary cover gaskets - unlikely since there is oil on the pushrod covers. b. The rocker box (or cover?) - also unlikely since I can't see any leakage from the rocker box area. Also, since the fins on the head protrude so much, I'm not sure how the oil would spatter underneath. c. Head gasket? - I don't see any evidence of leakage right around the gasket, but it's possible. d. Base gasket? - I don't know if these ever leak, and I don't see any other evidence of leakage here. There is also a fair amount of oil underneath near the oil pump. This could support the cam cover leak theory since it could be leaking from around the seal down there. Here are some pictures (I know it's probably impossible to diagnose from these). Any suggestions are very welcome!! Nothing seems very plausible based on the oil, but I'm hoping someone has seen something similar and may be able to help me identify the problem or suggest a solution. Thanks in advance!!       | ||
| Cyclonemick |
Have you looked at or around your breathers? | ||
| Nocompromise |
The breathers route from the top of the heads to the rear. I talked to Jim and he thinks it's one of the pushrod tube O-rings. That sound very possible since the majority of the oil is around the front right pushrod tube, and there is oil evidence even near the top of the tube. Jim said to clean it off and we'll run it tomorrow for a little while and watch to see where/if the leak develops. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Looking at that front base gasket...did you torque your head bolts in sequence? Looks like there may be a base leak there...but I second the pushrod tube O-ring guess. | ||
| Nocompromise |
Yes, I did torque the head bolts in sequence - under Jim's supervision no less!  I'm hoping this won't bee too painful to fix... I had a premonition that this would happen if I started to take things apart. I should have Dr. Jim's diagnosis later today.... "Dr. Jim to surgery. Dr. Jim to surgery please." | ||
| Nocompromise |
Ok, I loosened the front rocker box enough to pull out the pushrods and pushrod covers. So, the left pushrod cover's lower seal is torn, which may be part of the problem.... Edited as Jim corrected me by informing me that there are no upper seals, just o-rings. I misread the manual since the lower seals are depicted above the pushrod (since it slides through from below). It's too bad the local Harley shop is closed today, as I would guess they have the seals I need. *Crossing fingers that this fixes it* (Message edited by nocompromise on September 02, 2007) | ||
| Buellboiler |
"Thanks Ulysses rider for giving me such a friendly wave as I was about to go by a blatant speed trap *sarcasm*..." Seems as though you are assuming that the Ulysses rider *Knew* there was a speed trap ahead. You didn't know about it so why would you assume he knew it was there??? Last night I was warned by people in a minivan (headlight flash). People in a pickup didn't indicate a speed trap. Doesn't mean I instantly love minivans or hate pick up trucks. | ||
| Nocompromise |
If I wasn't clear in my narrative, the speed trap was blatantly obvious coming from the direction the Uly driver/Harley couple was coming from (opposite direction of me). There is no way that he could've missed it since the cop car was parked about 20 feet from the road and completely exposed from his direction (hidden behind a grove of trees from my direction). Maybe he didn't know what signal to give, maybe he was thinking about something else, but he was cognizant enough to wave at me. I'm not hating on Uly riders, and the post was mainly tongue-in-cheek since there was quite a bit of Harley bashing in another recent thread. If you think about it, what are the chances for that particular chain of events to occur? No big deal, as I have many brain farts every day, but I found it quite ironic. | ||
| Warlizard |
I got plenty of new material for Harley bashing after visiting Hal's this past Sat. They had some kind of rally. Vests everywhere. All the fringe, skulls and chrome a guy could want. I think they must have had some kind of competition going for who could wear the most clothing w/ Harley written on it. Personal hygiene was almost non-existant and teeth were scarce. I could only take about 20 minutes. I did feel bad for the bikes as some of them were hauling around 600 pounds evenly distributed between the lovely couple on board. Why do big women like to wear tight revealing clothes? | ||
| Elmono |
Sorry to hear of your leaking. Somebody on here will definitely be able to help you with that. What I want to know is what is the universal sign for "Beware of Cops"? There should be a manual for Motorcycle etiquette and hand-signals. I learned the car stuff, i.e. flashing headlights for the PoPo, from my grandmother. But I don't know any motorcycle stuff. | ||
| Ceejay |
It looks like you have the NHRS bases-cool stuff, but I don't think the seals are very good. I had them on my tuber and I could never get them to seal properly, I used stock harley seals with the NHRS bases and they sealed up right nice. I'd bet that is where your oil is coming from since you found the torn one. I usually toggle through high beam low beam to get someone to slow down for cops, dear, hobbits. It seems to get some people attention, others not so much. | ||
| Nocompromise |
Elmono - I don't know all the signs, but here's a decent list that I googled: http://www.winchesterhog.com/portal/HomePage/Safet y/HandSignalsTextVersion/tabid/84/Default.aspx The two that I mentioned earlier that I have personally seen are 1. low, downward hand motion with the hand parallel to the ground = slow down, probably due to police nearby 2. tap the top of your helmet = police nearby Both times that riders going the opposite direction have given me these signals there were speed traps up ahead (THANKS!!!). I have read about these hand signals on other forums as well. Other than those, I don't know of any common ones to give to oncoming motorcyclists (besides waving, or nodding if you can't wave). Ceejay - you are correct. I read in the KV about using the stock Harley seals with the NRHS bases, and they stopped the leak!! One of the blue NRHS seals had a tear in it that was causing the leaking. Steve had a great tip in the KV about using Superglue to secure them in the base - that worked like a charm (tried it without the glue first and they popped out before I could get them seated). It appears that the oil leak on the primary side may have just been some pooled oil somewhere because it subsided and then quit altogether. I have a NEW leak on the shifter seal, but I imagine that will be relatively simple to fix. THANKS for the input!! |
