After surfing through various topics/threads & places to post this, I figured here was best. This is also posted in the 'Engine' section about 407 sections/threads below this and I'm doubting whether replies will happen there... probably Twin Cam stuff going on.....
ANYWAY.....

I have a 1996 Evo FXSTC. 24,000 miles. Can anyone advise regards whether or not to fit a crankcase breather filter to it?

The standard set up (i.e. back into the air filter) is what it has at the minute. The bike often has small drops of oil on top of the gear case (timing housing) and after a hard(er) ride, oil mist has blown back over the frame & oil tank (a little bit) but other than that, the bike runs very well, it's not a hassle. I know Evo's do this and I've had a few that 'spurt' from the air filter... Just getting fed up wiping it (LOL). If there's a mechanical benefit..... so.....

Why should I fit one?
What are the benefits/drawbacks?
Does anyone have tips on fitting?
The best filter to buy? Reed valve (at a bit silly prices) or the basic £15.00 ($20ish) jobs?
Location of filter and bracket? (was thinking height here being a gravity fed oil system?). Does it matter??

Any info/opinion is MUCH appreciated. Thanks folks.

 

I have a 93' Evo motor on my Bobber, No cc breather. No issues. You shouldn't need a cc breather. I've known oil filters,lines,inline one way s&s check valves to back up and clog.

 

I had the same problem with my 87. I plugged the hole in the air filter. Turned the elbow on the crankcase down and ran a hose back by the oil filter and put a small breather on the end. Problem solved. I found a small breather at Advance Auto it is cone shaped with wire mesh probably 1 1/2 on the narrow end.

 

I have a '96 and my evo had the same oil issues yours does. Had everything checked and all is good. Read many articles and looked at all kinds of things to take care of it. I ended up getting a Screamin Eagle Breather kit from HD and I have not had another problem since.

 

This wasn't really a problem on the EVO until '92/93 model years. In that year, the EPA requirements forced Harley to vent the pressure through the heads into the aircleaner in hopes the intake would suck the contaminates and burn them. Very much like the Automobile World with PCV valves. Problem is, it sounds much better on paper than it works in the real world.

It sounds good enough just to route it to the ground. Well, you can do that and you can do it without a filter on it. I use to do that on previous machines and I've come to the conclusion, that I don't really want a puddle of oil under the bike and I don't really want to pollute more that I really have to.

What I did.....mine are equipped with the Screaming Eagle system with their chrome carry-over tube. There is one black rubber hose from the carry-over being routed into the back of the aircleaner backplate. In that same hose, I installed a T-fitting. On the bottom of the T-fitting, I have another hose coming off that with a removeable plug there. When the Gases and excess oil reach the T-fitting, the gas will keep going into the aircleaner and the oil will flow into the bottom hose where the removeable plug is.

I no longer get any oil into the aircleaner and no longer the mess it use to make. It is better for the environment since it is not routed to the ground. When I service the bike, I drain that excess oil. Cheap and easy....why HD never did this is beyond me.

 

That's a great idea! I have my breather tubes routed into my Kury Hypercharger Pro like they say to do, but it does make a mess. The oil mist doesn't seem to get sucked into the carb like it's supposed to... at least not all of it. It ends up in the air cleaner and making a mess around the carb. I'm going to do your retrofit and hopefully that will eliminate the mess. Thanks!

 

I will try that Evorider. I did not want to hang one of those cans on there to catch it. I have steel braided fuel/oil line on there and have a piece left in my shop I can use. All I need is the tee to finish the job.

Something I have been doin'. Don't laugh everyone!!!!!!! I take a Kotex panty liner and stick it inside my air cleaner cover to catch the oil that drips from my filter. Change it out once a month and very little oil drips out or blows on the side of the bike.

 

Well, there you have it, proof that harleys are on the rag once a month.

 

Maybe that is why men love them as much as their women.

 

On my 99 Softail Custom I have the air cleaner nub blocked, and the vent hose going to the bottom of the bike. I do not have any oil comming from the hose as long as I do not fill the oil tank to the full mark. If I fill it to the full mark it will always drip oil on the garage floor when I shut it down and park it. Just me, but I think any restriction in the vent can contribute to engine gaskets leaking.