I have been googling like mad trying to discover any known problems for the M8 engine. Most of the problems that I found I am not to concerned about , but there is one problem that I think might be real and I am wondering if they have address it?

Apparently, there is a problem with the breather oil accumulating in the air cleaner on long rides and eventually, leaking out and dripping onto the bike and blown back on to the bags (for a bagger).

Here is a picture of the stock air box on a M8 Touring bike. Look at it? It looks to me like it is designed to capture a significant amount of oil. This makes me think that the oil blow by problem might be real. When you put on a high flow air cleaner, that "air box" is removed from the bike.

Is this a problem for 2018 M8 engines? Also, recall, that the M8 engines are oil cooled. The have a 5.5 quart capacity if I remember. All of this is making me think that this could be a real problem.

 

I think the new air cleaners use longer vent hoses to reach further into the throttle body, putting more oil into the engine and less on the saddle bags.

 

Thanks for your reply.
Have you looked inside your air cleaner on your 2019? What does it look like? Does it have an air box around it? Does it look like it has a area on the bottom where oil could sump?

 

The open area around the bottom of the air cleaner is NOT there to collect oil. Excessive oil is not supposed to be collecting on the oil filter and leaking out. BUT, it does on some bikes for some riders. Some of these people have found the solution to be changing the hose system to vent to the ground.
Some info HERE.

 

I would agree with that assessment except for the fact that the STOCK air cleaners on the Touring bikes have a particularly large air box around them. Look at the picture in the first post. That air box is screaming (no pun intended) to me that it is there to collect oil. If that is the case, what happens if you put on a high flow air cleaner which does not have that air box?

 

I have one of those for my bike, the bottom is not (supposed to be) a oil collection area.

 

Did your bike come stock with one of those air box's? Does it have holes in the bottom? If not, why not?

 

No holes.
Probably no need for holes.

 

Well, don't you find it odd that an air filter would not be exposed on all sides? A major factor in my suspicion is that I do not think that any stock filters for the Twin Cam were designed that way. I only see this kind of stock filter on the Touring bikes.

Also, I only see it on the 107 M8. I do not see it on the stock 114 bikes.

 

Not all of the Harley air cleaner designs are enclosed on the bottom and the ones that are have plenty of room around the element to breath. I haven't had a problem ever with this oiling, I keep the oil level at less than full and it's so far worked for me.
Twin cam had venting problems too but outside of these few forum pages, to the vast majority of Harley riders, this "problem" does not exist.