'75 FXE that has been sitting for four or five months.

Fired it up and one pipe spat about 1/2 a teaspoon of oil on the floor.

Probably a valve guide or seal that will need attention some day?

 

Ok after re reading I see the pipe part valve guides are a safe bet on he older ones, no seals.

 

Where did the oil come from, exhaust pipe or crank vent hose?

 

One of the exhaust pipes shot it out. Wasn't much. But I've had the bike temporarily housed in a brand new storage facility while I get my '74 TX750 twin ready for sale. Was extremely careful all the time I worked on it. Had a big steel pan under the engine, lots of newspaper all over the floor to avoid any greasy road grit, brake fluid from bleeding the new masters and calipers etc getting on the fresh concrete. So finally ready to fire it up - I have everything cleared out of storage except the steel pan under the engine - and I get a nice 6 inch long splat of oil on the fresh concrete. I guess Shovels are like male hound dogs - they're going to mark their territory no matter what.

 

Yeah it's either a bad guide or the guide itself is loose in the head, older shovels are prone to that unfortunately.

 

Thanks TB.

I've yet to work on a shovel, still learning but based on what I know of other motors the prospect of a loose guide doesn't sound good.

If I'm going to be 100% sure that isn't the case, I'll need to pull the head, right?

I don't want to grenade the head or otherwise damage the engine if the guide pulls completely out.

 

Head comes off and it isn't a major major fix, any reputable shop will ream the hole and install an oversize guide if that's the issue. Keep an eye on the plug and excessive smoking . Plug fouling is the usual sign there's a lot of oil going by.