I will state this now very clearly: Harley Davidson motorcycles built since the late 1980’s (i.e.: those with the Evolution motors) do *not* habitually leak. Â These engines are generally as tight and well-designed as any, albeit with a different aesthetic than the finely balanced Hondas and BMWs of the world.
That said: my beloved Road Glide began to leak about a week ago.  The leak was a very small amount of quite clean lubricant, dripping from some generalized location on the bottom of the engine.  I say “generalized” as it wasn’t a single spot: generally, wherever the engine was lowest e.g. towards the kickstand side.  In other words, there was no obvious source of the leak.  And when I say “small amount”, I mean about one drop every three or four hours.  Placing a clean paper towel under the engine for 24 hours would result in a spot no larger than you might get from resting your Egg McMuffin on the same paper towel for a few minutes. Â
Regardless of the size of the leak, *any* leak is frustrating, even if it isn’t critical. Â My bike is scheduled for its 32,000 km service next week, and the measurable fluid levels were all “in the zone”, so the leak wasn’t critical. Â But I wanted to be able to clearly point the service guy in the right direction to solve the problem. Â So I began digging. Â I washed the bottom of the engine, towelled it off , and got out a flashlight. Â From here on, I started to get a bit of an education regarding the engine of the bike I love. Â And I also have a tip regarding avoiding the leak I experienced, so read on…
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