[dgtlxtrem1]

2001 Ultra w/ FI and 40K miles.
S/E Air Filter Assembly and slip-on mufflers

Purchased this bike on December 2nd and have put 39 miles on it, all in mid 30 degree weather here in PA.

When returning from a ride tonight, I noticed the smell of burning oil and started checking for a source. Since the dealer had just installed a new EZ Pull clutch kit, I figured maybe there was a leak close to the exhaust.

What I found was what appeared to be liquid dripping from the S/E air filter assembly. At first I thought it was fuel, so I pulled the cover off and the filter element. The throttle body was dry, but the crankcase vent outlet was wet.

Inside the air filter, you could see where it appears to be an excessive amount of blowby coming from the vent tube. In fact, it reminds me of what happens when you get water in your oil.

I started the engine while I had the filter element off so that I could confirm the source and my suspicions were correct. It appears that I have an excessive amount of blow-by.

So....I just bought this used ride from my dealer. In fact, I traded my '04 Sporty in on it. The bike had been on the floor for quite awhile before I purchased it. Now I am worried that I just got into something that is going to turn in to a nightmare.

Before I call the dealer tomorrow, I wanted to know if anyone else has experienced anything like this before, and whether or not my suspicions of bad rings and/or cylinders is the most likely cause.

 

[AndrewM01]

couple of ideas....

There's a known problem with oil blowby on the late-model stuff, but it usually shows up when you're riding hard for awhile. My RK throws a little goinghome from Phoenix, which is mostly uphill, at about 80mph.

If the bike has sat for awhile, the check valve may not have sealed completely, and some oil has leaked down from the tank and partially filled the crankcase...looks terrible, oil out the vent, smoke, fouled plugs, you'd think you'd holed a piston. A good hard run cleans it out and then its a question of is the valve seal good enough to live with (ie it only fills with oil if you let it sit for months) or do you need to fix it.

The old panheads used to do this a lot. You'd take off the cover on the valve, looked like a big screw, pull out the spring and valve which looked like a ballbearing, drop in a new ball, drop in a punch and give it a whack, pull the punch, put it back together and be good for another 10k miles, but I suspect its gotten more complex these days.

Might be worth doing a leakdown and a compression check just in case the rings stuck from sitting, but that's really rare.

 

[8-Ball]

I get a little blow by on my RK... when it is hot and I've been pushing it. It seems to be normal.

 

[nvsteve]

First thing to do is "properly" check your oil level. If it's too high you can
get oil carry over/blow by.
Improper oil pump alignment is another potential problem.

 

[LAF]

@gree: Hope oil level is all it is. Where you buy the bike? Which dealer in our area?

First thing to do is "properly" check your oil level. If it's too high you can
get oil carry over/blow by.
Improper oil pump alignment is another potential problem.

 

[dgtlxtrem1]

Ok...thanks for all of the replies.

I took the bike over to Appalachian H-D where it was purchased and had them check over everything. According to two different techs over there, it is simply condensation and nothing more.

They told me that due to the extremely low temps (lower 30's lately), the bike is not getting up to temperature enough to burn off condensation within the crankcase. As a result, the condensation is coming out of the breather vent and into the air filter. They also mentioned that storing in my non-heated garage will also assist in the formation of condensation at these temps.

Everything else checks out ok and I took it out for a good ride today. It didn't seem as bad as yesterday, so hopefully I am getting it all burnt off. I'll post more if it doesn't.