Hey everyone so I've got an 81 fxef fat bob shovelhead. I took it on a test drive today and it didn't leak oil for the first 1/2 hour but a little bit after (turned into a bit of a joy ride haha) I got home and I realized there was a track of oil. It was doing fine until i was 100ft away from home. It's quite a bit of oil too.which has me somewhat worried. So my question is,what is the check valve for? I'm not sure if it could be that that's failing

 

Don't think it is the oil pump check, that pukes the oil out at start up. clean off the bottom of yer ride and look again. right side, left side, front , middle ,back? that will clue you in. is there oil on the belt? if chain , is it over lubed?

 

Looks like it's coming from some sort of breather hose in the bottom? Its too late now,I'll have to do it maybe if I get the chance on wednesday to wash it all off... Plus I shouldn't be riding dirty (no plates,insurance,or mc endorsment). But I'll definitely try to have an answer by the first half of this week

 

The check ball allows oil to flow freely in one direction and "prevents" oil flow in the opposite direction. They get dirty an or old and allow oil to seep when left alone for a few days or sometime hours. In any event it is not the cause of oil puking from your motor.

 

To prevent sumping so that oil doesn't puke all over your floor

 

Ok thanks guys. I bought the Clymer manual but unfortunately It really only shows how to take things apart,not exactly what piece does what. So I guess I'll have to look into it

 

A factory service manual is by far the better manual. Get one and a parts catalog for your bike. I wish that I had been given this guidance 30 years ago when I was a neophyte. It would have been exceedingly valuable to me.

 

while driving the bike and having oil coming out of the breather hose is not a good thing

cold the oil is thick and will stay in an engine that has a worn breather valve engine block hole, once the oil gets hot and thins out then the trouble starts, what happens is the spinning valve looses its seal along the line of a cylinder bore and cant keep up with the amount of oil returning, into the cam cover from the block, once it becomes submerged the oil blows out the vent hole hose

you need to remove the cam cover and remove the breather valve and picture up the valves hole and i can tell you from that spot what to do - one option is an S&S reed breather valve replacement - the other option is not for a home owner with limited tooling

 

^^ While I have been seeing pros and cons on the S&S reed..especially on shovels, I'm gonna try one vs Rebuilding the Breather Cavity.
Only check ball problems I ever had were with a New S&S oil pump...**** poor Quality control.

 

Thanks,it sounds like a bit of work so it might be something that will have to wait till saturday... but,I'll check it out!