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In this episode, I'm joined by Lurch and Patreon member Bob Dawson.  Bob has a 2021 Harley-Davidson Road Glide Special.  Unfortunately, Bob's bike experienced oil sumping.  We talk about what Bob experienced as the issue presented itself, what he went through with the diagnosis of the problem, and what steps Harley went through to resolve the issue.  This is an educational but fun episode.  Grab your refreshment of choice and strap in! 

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Symptoms:

You may get excessive oil blowback from the crank breathers inside your air intake. You may see excessive oil splattered along the right side of your bike while riding hard or long distances. Your air filter may become saturated with engine oil.

You may feel your bike has slightly less powerful as it would on a normal hot day. But eventually, the oil in the crankcase builds to the point that the crank is sloshing through the oil as it gets deeper in the crankcase. Eventually, the crankcase fills leaving massive rotational resistance. Efforts to accelerate are met with no response. The engine simply can’t rapidly change rotational speed because of the resistance.

Engine failure comes from there being so much oil build up in the crankcase, that the pan is starved leaving no oil to be pumped to the top end. The engine also overheats just from all the resistance of too much oil in the crankcase. The engine begins to overheat and components such as bearings, lifters, and worse, begin to fail.

The rider will never see an oil light which is quite disturbing and a significant design flaw.

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Consequences:

Oil sumping will result in excessive friction and power loss to your Harley M8 engine. 

Excess crankcase oil is whipped into a froth of air and oil by the flywheel. This condition is called oil aeration. Aerated oil makes scavenging much more difficult and can hinder the return of oil from the rocker box area. The combination of these conditions often results in oil being forced out the head breathers, air cleaner contamination, oil leaks, loss of oil supply, lifter clatter, premature component wear, and potential engine failure.

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Thanks to the following bikers for supporting us via a flat donation:

• • • Russell Teale of Spokane, Washington
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