okay...followed you guys' advice

i filled the tank, took out the plugs, moved her to 5th gear, removed cap and spring... and started manually turning it over with the rear wheel

like 'mkguitar' says, it took a while ....but the cavity filled, so i capped it and i kept churning the rear wheel.... then pressure began to build

i have a gauge connected to where the switch was, and it was reading about 15psi

...so i'd say it's primed, no?

 

Fire it up...

 

indeed, Dan.... just got to wait until i get some items back from powder on tuesday so i can put the right side half of tank on, fill her with some fuel....and fire her up

bike will be done except for the Lepera Bare Bones i ordered right from the factory... wanted all leather, so...you know

 

Old thread, but I thought I'd reply anyway for future users...
I recently rebuilt an oil pump on an evo engine after the drive key was sheared at the pinion gear (topic of another discussion).
I forgot to put STP or assembly lube into the pump when I put it back together- first mistake. The pump was a big enough PITA to put together that there was no way I was taking it back apart.
I removed the two 'screws' on top of the pump and the check ball and filled the cavities with oil. Ditto with the cam screen hole. I screwed around with this for at least an hour and could never get oil pressure- I thought the pump was FUBAR or another key sheared somehow.
In desperation, as I was planning on disassembling the pump next anyway, I removed the hex plug located near the center of the rear facing flat of the pump and squirted a few shots of oil in it, and replaced the plug. Turned the engine over and it pressurized right up.
This seems to be the easiest way to prime the oil pump as the plug hole feeds directly into the cavity where the rear set of oiler gears are located.