Tag Archives: drip

HARLEY DAVIDSONS LEAK!!! Kinda…

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.  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.  

Regardless of the size of the leak, *any* leak is frustrating, even if it isn’t critical.  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.  But I wanted to be able to clearly point the service guy in the right direction to solve the problem.  So I began digging.  I washed the bottom of the engine, towelled it off , and got out a flashlight.  From here on, I started to get a bit of an education regarding the engine of the bike I love.  And I also have a tip regarding avoiding the leak I experienced, so read on…

 

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