.....motor. Well, maybe. I had aftermarket pipes, air filter kit and fuel monitoring system installed on my Hardley when I was in Panama City this spring for the pirate rally. All of this equipment was installed by the exhaust manufacturer. Yesterday, I noticed a pretty large film of oil coating the outside of the air cleaner cover, which caused me to start taking stuff apart. Dangerous, I know. The short of it is that the new filter was installed incorrectly leaving a gap around the filter backing plate and the filter; the gap was around three-eighths of an inch. I have ridden at least twelve hundred miles or so since this equipment was installed. I contacted the exhaust manufacturer by email and they say that since I put the air filter parts and pieces on correctly, the oil leaking out of the filter should stop. When I asked about the debris and detritus that has surely gotten in to the motor, they just blew it off and said shouldn't be any problem. How much should I be worried about this? I don't know how much sand and dirt could have gotten in to the engine and that concerns me.
Run a compression check and compare it to nominal readings, if its good you most likely dodged a bullet. Is it smoking, at idle, accelerating, decelerating, etc. If not your okay in my opinion. Its the way I'd check mine.
Suhaph- Not sure how much gravel you take your harley on, but my guess is it's fine. Once in my stupid youth I ran a GM 350 for about the same amount of time with no air filter. I was waiting for a drop filter housing that would allow the hood to clear my sweet 4 barrel carb to come in. That engine is still going strong after 80k miles. I was at least bright enough at the time to stay out of the dirt though. As dry as it's been this summer, one good ride down a gravel road would have me doing a compression test. And change your oil now!
Thanks zecatfish and anti. I guess you guys are right. It's not like I ride it off road; longevity was a concern too. At least I've made the mfg aware of the problem in case there is a bigger problem.
Funny how your '09 never used oil like others on here did. By the looks of your filters, you might better tighten up on the maintenance program if you want to keep it that way Flydaddy. Sounds like good advice on the compression test and oil changing suggestions. I'd be interested in how the filter was installed. Next time you're over here I want to look at that filter housing again. There wasn't any alcohol being consumed at this thunder beach rally thing you were at, was it? This pair appears to be on right....
Yep, I agree. Of course, this filter isn't terrible dirty since it's pretty much not had any air being sucked through it. Can I get Harley to do a compression test? I might have had a sasparilla or two, but I wasn't the one getting paid to put air filters and pipes on motorcycles! As to the quality and quantity of hot babes, well, all I can say is sometimes it's fun to play pirate and . Aargh!
Dddosh dddern son, I can play Pirate anytime with that running around I was talking about he KLR filter needing some attention, not the HD filter. We can do a compression test, but I doubt you hurt anything in your engine, although it's never good that the filter had a gap letting un filtered air through. That would PIZZ me off to no end. Prolly want to look at the throttle body too. Looks like hers is put on the right way..... http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTOHrZlJt7Lo_fdcWSrWizJ8tiEWpWzyfSfayZmRGQnQVWLRVk&t=1&usg=__3yUOBWxNpNl_e3mnfoI1mjZUMHU=
If it was a dirt bike and you rode 1,200 miles with a leaky filter you would be screwed. Riding on a streetbike with a leaky filter I'd say you're fine. I'm pretty sure Harleys vent around the air filter housing and get oily from time to time. Forget about it and ride.
Yup. Harleys vent different with the aftermarket and "Stage 1" air cleaners. You're gonna get some oil seepage from them. Flydaddy's wasn't installed right and probably had more than normal getting in to the housing, from what he saw all over the outside of it. I'd say all was good too. Just make sure your throttle body is clean and air filter is seated properly. Holler if you want to do a compression test just for shits and grins.
Thanks for the replies guys. I think I'll not pursue the exhaust mfg any further about it. tcourdin: yes, I am sure you are right about Harley air filters; MS, I finally cleaned my KLR filter. Did you know that filter is white?
My eyes were attracted to this picture so I didn't finish the posts above it. My mind read "thunder beaver" on the sash of the redhead. Then I read a bit more of the previous posts and I now understand it reads "thunder beach" which makes just as much sense
