Okay, I checked the pushrods and one of them does move up and down more than the others. Does this mean the lifter has failed? Is that all it'd take to make the bike quit?

 

Does it have adjustable pushrods in it? If not, and you have one thats loose, it could be a lifter or the cam. Or it could be a stuck valve. My old Sportster use to quit because the valves were to tight. But when it cooled off, it would start right back up and run just fine for a while. I richened up the carb a bit, and that helped a lot. The backfiring could be an ignition problem. If you did not have it warmed up with the throttle wide open when you checked compression, I would expect it to be down about where yours was. If it will not start, the first thing I would check would be to make sure it has spark. Just thinking out loud here.

 

Yeah, I've got fuel and fire. Im just not sure how to check the timing. But wit5h the pushrod business Im gonna tear into it as soon as I can find a manual. Just as well while I'm there get me one a them cams and some adj. pushrods and all new lifters and bearings.

 

I could be mistaken, but I think the 91 EVO had the good Torrington cam bearing. If so it should be good. Lifters on the other hand, were not so good that year. I think the later "B" lifters are pretty good. I have them in my 99, and so far so good at 28,000 miles.

 

Pushrods should not have any movement up or down if there is and there not adjustable (as asked) you have a bent push rod or problem in the cam cavity. Could also be bent valve.

 

hey beemervet, i thought the same thing, that i was required to have harley remove and replace the motor, but i can remove it from my bike, haul it to the harley shop and they ship it off to harley for their reman program. they told me that i can bring the whole bike in and quoted me 8+ hours for the remove and replace. that's when i asked them if i can just take the motor to them and they said, sure, no problem.

 

Finally got a chance to mess with this stupid thing. Got a new clue. The carb is blowing out instead of drawing in. Any ideas?

 

Im thinking the cam is way out of time or something along that line.

 

Take off your covers, and look for a broken valve spring. My guess intake valve. probably going to half to pull the head.
Might just need a top end rebuild.

 

checked it out cam looks good, timing is spot on, Gonna take the heads off tomorrow. If the bottom end is good I'll be allright but with the price of parts I cant go all the way through it. Wish me luck!