Just did the first 1000 mile service on the 16 trike. Appears to be a lot of brass (tiny) flakes in the oil. Thoughts?

 

Not a good sign; more like bronze not brass. Only a couple of places that metal could come from; cam plate pinion bushing, either end of the connecting rods or the crank thrust spacers.

 

TCs don't have brass in the cam plate anymore since about 2012.. Don't know if the stock cranks use thrust shim on the flywheels, SnS does not tho.. Only place that might would be the bearing cage plating on the lower end of the crank..

 

I failed to mention that the drain pan also had trany oil in it. Weird thing happened when I refilled the trany. Had my head up my *** and put way too much back in. Had to siphon it out because it would only just trickle out the drain hole. When I say trickle I mean almost an hour for a pint.

 

1000 mile maitenance on a 16 trike, is the warranty still valid? Bronze is a bad sign.

 

Think you may have the holes mixed up That trickle is probably coming from the crank sump area plug that is not suppose to be removed. If your bike only has 1000 miles, you are going to see metal from all thee holes. Only an expert can determine what is acceptable. If it runs OK I would not worry about it. Just make sure you have the holes correct and all the levels correct. If you did remove the wrong plug, be sure to seal it correctly with the proper sealer and only tighten it carefully. It's a tapered plug that will split the engine base...($5000 repair and it sure won't be under warranty)

Welcome from Hampton Roads Virginia. Add a signature line similar to mine on your bike so people will know what you are talking about....

 

Did not know no more cam plate pinion bushing since about '12; don't know about thrust shims either as I have not been inside a later model. In any event, could be a problem. Maybe send a sample to Blackstone.

 

I used the correct drain plug and the bike is still under warranty. Going to cut open the filter and see what's in there.

 

Ok. Opened up the filter and separated all the pleats and spread them out. Nothing. big relief. So the flakes are from the trany. Thoughts on that?

 

While I really didn't think there was any bronze in the motor anymore, I don't think HD has used bronze in the tranny since the old 4 speeds.. Maybe it's some kind of assembly lube?? A little copper anti seize from assy?