Harley Experts - I Need Your Help!!

[saltwheels262]

Nathan - first get your own ride looked at!... I will explain in a minute!.... Get the maximum slack up on the top "chord" of the chain.... and then check it.... you will have to roll the rear wheel backwards to do so....

all chains need to be adjusted when on that tight spot
- when it has the least amount of slack.

you can talk to eric at bennets' performance.
not sure how close long beach is to orange county.
hope that helps.

[John Noonan]

Nathan,


I can't help you with the bike problem however I have three trucks and we only use two of them daily, you can use our truck if you need it.  I am in Huntington Beach and the truck is at our Wossner Pistons warehouse.  15638 Graham Street.

714-369-8879


Come on by and get it.


J

[Dean Los Angeles]

I agree with Kent. Drain the oil and see what you get besides oil.

Wait . . . What! . . . Kent old buddy, you disappear in November and just show up? Where ya been?

[NathanStewart]

John, thank you for the very gracious offer.  I'm able to hitch a ride to work for now but if something comes up you'll be hearing from me.

Dean & Kent, I'll drain the oil and see what else comes out with it.  Regarding removing the pump, does it simply just drop out the bottom of the crank case?  I briefly looked through the service manual and I thought I saw something about lining something up with something else ().  Do I need to pull the side cover off to get the oil pump out?

[55chevr]

Last time I had a similar noise the alternator shed a magnet ... ran fine but didnt make electricity ... draining the oil will tell a lot.

[fastman614]

Last time I had a similar noise the alternator shed a magnet ... ran fine but didnt make electricity ... draining the oil will tell a lot.

Just remember - you have TWO oils to drain... the engine is a dry sump, of course .... and you may find stuff in the tank... the transmission and primary drive are separate from the engine  -  make sure you have the Sportster (or equivalent) clutch/trans lube to put back in ....

About removing the oil pump.... I cannot vouch for a Buell, but on a Sportster, the oilpump does come out from down below... it is a bit of a pain as the hoses may not have enough extra length to pull them down below the cam cover for easy(ier?) removal.... there are four socket head capscrews when you look up under the cam cover but only two actually hold the pump in.... the other two hold the pump's stages together. The pump is a two stage gerotor design with one stage being the pressure (or actually, the positive flow to the engine) side and the other is the scavenge side. The pump, once removed, comes apart easily and can be carefully inspected... It will not be hard to see damage if it is damaged.

Now, if you have to replace it, I believe a new one is pricey! Like a $30 part with a $300 marketing plan. I do not have any lines on aftermarket stuff..... although.... I understand that the 86-90 pump will bolt in without modification and it is a much better pump with a better scavenge and will create more flow and possibly pressure to the engine side....low oil pressure can be a problem and the use of the earlier can be a solution on really hi-perf engines - which are often built with a little more clearance and will make more heat etc....

Re-aligning for and re-instillation is not that bad.... the pumps generally go in fairly easily. If it does not sit against the gasket with an easy push, you may have to turn the drive shaft a tiny bit and try again until you get it.... You can also, with the bike in top gear, turn the rear wheel a tiny bit until the pump slips in.

I do hope that it is not anything more than a loose primary chain though.... happy wrenching, Nathan

[NathanStewart]

Just adjusted the primary chain... noise is still there. 

[NathanStewart]

Well I think I'm fuct.  Magnetic drain plug came out with a big metallic mohawk. 

[fastman614]

Well I think I'm fuct.  Magnetic drain plug came out with a big metallic mohawk. 

It's coffee time in Canada (and raining too - but the shop roof does not leak!) ...

That would be your trannie oil.... BTW, when is the last time it was changed? .... The "mohawk" may be a long while worth of accumulation. Did about one quart more or less come out?.... The engine should be 3 quarts (perhaps more on a Buell)

The moving parts that will make the noise as you describe are in the bottom end, the trannie and, of course, the wheels. But, if the noise is present when the bike is not in motion, you can rule out the wheels, brakes, drive belt rubbing somewhere and the trannie output shaft & bearing. What is kind of odd is that these motor/trannie combos are virtually indestructible as long as they have oil .....

Start with looking in the primary case for any issues.... From this point on, it is going to be visual inspection and checking procedures.... The trannie itself comes out as a unit after the primary drive has been removed as it is all mounted to the trap door (this got changed on the '04 and up models, making them, in my opinion, less desirable due to more expensive maintenance costs)...

I'll help you out however I can over the internet or by phone if need be, Nathan....

[Glen]

Well at least your both inspectors and talk almost the same English, . The neat thing is the wealth of of information  or being able to direct a person to someone to ask. 

[panic]

Try asking here:
http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/3842/143909.html?

[NathanStewart]

Nope, the mohawk of metal was on my engine oil drain plug, not the tranny.  I change the oil and trans fluid religiously every 5k on the dot with HD synthetic fluids.  Nothing has EVER been on the engine oil drain plug the 11 times I've changed it over the last four years but there's always a little something on the tranny plug.  Well this time there was a whole bunch of metal on the engine oil plug and the usually little bit of stuff on the trans plug.  FWIW I went and bought a wire mesh strainer to drain my oil through and it didn't catch anything - it looks like the magnet got it all (or all that's in the tank at least).

I stethoscoped the oil pump again and it sounds really bad which makes sense considering how much metal I found in the oil.  Either way the motor's junk and now I have to decide on what to do. 

Option A - Rebuild motor
Pros - could be cheapest option
Cons - I have no time to do it myself and I hate paying people to do things that I'm capable of doing; I'd still have a used bike with nearly 60k miles on it

Option B - Buy another bike
Pros - no BS, quickest path to getting back on the road with a bike
Cons - most expensive, do I buy another Buell if it's only going to die a horrible death at 60k miles?  I really like my bike and I really don't like crotch rockets.

Option C - Buy a used motor
Pros - less time that rebuilding the original engine
Cons - you never really know what you're getting unless you really know who you're getting it from; could be semi-expensive and time consuming

What do you guys think?  What's the ballpark cost to rebuild a stock motor?

[4-barrel Mike]

There's one on local Craigs with 13k miles for $4795.  <shrug> I dunno 

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/mcd/3053690930.html

But then, they have an '04 xb12s Lightning for $5495 - 7,600 miles.

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/mcd/3058184893.html

Fly up Friday evening and spend the weekend "flying" back home.

Mike

[fastman614]

Do you have the ability to cut your oil filter apart and see what you have in there?
You can do an awful lot of the rebuild "in frame".... as long as the crank bearings are okay anyway....

And you have the racecar to get ready for Bonneville in the rest of your spare time too huh....
 
you'd be looking at a minimum of $2000 for a shop to do it....

[fastman614]

So, does your engine look like the Buell motor in the pic or like the Sportster motor in the pic....

I have a line or two on some Sportster motors  but no Buell motors...