Gentlemen
Just a little background before I get to my question.
Purchased a '69 FLH on Ebay a couple of years ago. I was told that the bike sat for many years and that the odometer was correct 22k miles.
It started leaking oil at the base gasket between the crankcase and the barrel on the front cylinder.
An older HD indy told me that the rings were probably weak from sitting and that it was blowing by the rings and building pressure in the crankcase.
We decided to do the upper end and replace the rings.
Good news, this motor has never been apart.
Bad news it has at least 50+k miles on it given the observed wear.
We decided to do a complete rebuild so we took the motor out and tore it completely down.
Here is the question. There is a distinct line running about half way up the primary and corresponding line in the motor. The indy asked me if this bike had been near a flood and I couldn't answer the question as I now doubt everything that I was told about the history of the bike.
He also said that back in the day, guys that were going into the service (either voluntarily or not) would some times fill their primaries with kerosene because they knew they wouldn't be riding for a few years.
I wanted to ask some of the seasoned members if that was indeed the case back then.
It doesn't matter as we're rebuilding the bike anyway and I'm still happy with it but was just curious.
Sorry for long post.

 

Can't see why anyone would wash the primary in Kerosene, when the oil in there will preserve them nearly indefinitely...I saw one that was abondoned with No Primary cover for at least 4 years...inside, dirt floor, unconditioned..Didn't hurt it one bit...

 

Not sure what was in there kerosene, diesel or what but you can see it etched the inner primary.

 

that rusty adjuster bracket looks like water got in there

where did the bike come from?

 

Bike had a CA pink title when I got it and the sticker on the oil tank is from a defunct dealer on the peninsula south of S.F.

 

Kerosene or Diesel wouldn't "etch" it ... Wouldn't rust it either ... I'm with the "water did it" crowd.

 

If you had water in there that high for very long everything inside would more than likely be a solid chunk of rust. Your tranny mainshaft looks clean. Besides the rust on the chain adjuster screw was there any rust on the primary chain or clutch components? As for your oil leak at the crankcase and cylinder base, that is not too uncommon. Usually due to old gaskets. Did the bike smoke or use oil? Did your indy do simple a compression test? The crankcases are vented, pressure does not build up due to blow by. Were the crank and rod bearings still serviceable? What does "observable wear" mean? I am just being a skeptic here with limited info, but it seems like your indy got you to go from a base gasket replacement to a complete rebuild.

 

I did two compression tests, one regular and then after removing spark plugs and pouring a small amount of 30 wt. oil in. Compression went up over 10 lbs. in each cylinder so rings were suspect.
I use the term indy because he is not an employee of a dealership. He's just an old Harley guy that loves working on the old iron. He just charges me his cost on parts and asks that I make a donation to a charity for his labor. You could meet a thousand guys and not find another like him. I think he'd pay me to work on this bike he was so excited to work on a 45 year old "virgin."

 

Defunct...name the dealer please and I can at least tell you about dealer location. Lived in the Santa Clara Valley since 1962. For a time there was a dealer in Sunnyvale, Redwood City, and twice over in San Jose (once the kids of Sam Arena phucked things up) before the current owners there (originally on Monterey Rd and now on Parknmoor Wy).

We had some serious rain in the ealry 80s which flooded a good portion of North San Jose. To my recollection none of the dealerships were affected. If you can give me the location of the prior owner then you could possibly relate the lines to flood damage.

 

I thought you might chime in Panz as I know you are in CA. The dealer was called Bernie and Son on El Camino in Belmont.
I got the bike from a dealer in Reno but they only had it for a few months and the title was never transferred to them.
The bike could have been anywhere before that.
I know there were some serious floods as I've duck hunted in the Butte Sink and I've seen blinds built 15 ft. above current water levels for high water years.