how often should a shovelhead be started to avoid sumping

 

Daily, through riding…duh!

 

If the check valve in your oil pump is in good condition you should be able to go at least a few weeks. My brother had an '82 and this was his experience. When the bike was going off the road for an extended period like a Canadian winter he would drain the oil.
My '91 EVO had what looked like the same oil pump as his. When the bike was new I could go for several weeks, wish I could remember more exactly but let's say a month. Eventually the ball check deteriorated to where I couldn't go two weeks without puking some oil out. I bought two new ***** and welded one to the tip of a welding rod. I put a very small amount of valve grinding paste on the ball and spun it with the rod to improve the seating somewhat. Then I did my best to wipe out any residual grinding paste and used the other new ball. I could improve it but could never get it as good as new.

 

well???
only you can answer that one. i marked the stick and if you do not have one, get one. i started with an empty tank and added one quart and marked the stick and so forth till it was at factory level.
by far, the check ball is probably the last on the list, it is more common through the pump shafts as the machine ages and miles stack on. most hd pumps do not use seals through out the pump, so one side is open to the engine case. there are many so called fixes but one MUST be careful as one may be shooting oneself in the foot. some will take a drift and peen the ball into the seat, bad bad bad, that metal has to go somewhere and the are diff ways the seat is cut, aka, conical and tangent. i have not done this to a BT pump but have done so on the XL.

 

The bike will tell you...

 

Oops, wrong thread. Sorry.