Exactly, but thats not untill their on the bike though..lol

Ill get some pics of it with the LED's on. You'll like it i bet.. haha.

 

Well..as for my oil consumption issue..i think its safe to say its the valve guides. ive noticed smoke at start up but only afte letting it sit for a day or two. not just overnight, it has to sit for a good day or so.

Now as for oil rings, i'm not sure..but..i'd hate to tear top end apart this winter and not fix my issue completely...

anyhow, ive read the book, doesnt seem to un godly terrible to tackle this procedure. i should be able to either put new guides in at work, or have it done at machine shop. Now i also heard about a valve seal kit that can be purchased. i'm yet to look it up anywhere, but i was TOLD it does exist. That would be a good upgrade to consider, IF it does exist.

As for the oil rings, hell...top end will be off..so it cant be much harder, although..the saying "If it aint broke, dont fix it" comes into mind...

What do yinz have to say or think?

 

These engines did not come with valve stem seals from the factory and none is necessary. They are optional on the intake side, and an absolute no-no on the exhausts. The exception might be the floating umbrella seals which might be acceptable on the exhaust side.

Taking off the top end is a basic task. Not difficult. To put it back together you need a piston ring install plier [if you remove them] and the correct piston ring compressor. The right side cylinder head bolts are in a difficult spot to access, but lots of guys here know how.

It is really helpful to have a machine shop with experience with IronHeads. The guys at an auto machine shop think they know what they are doing; it is impossible to convince them otherwise. You might want to go with the factory service manual in ahnd especially the specs pages.

Ask when you are starting and we will assist.

 

Thanks mick! Will deff post on here when doing so. LUCKILY, the local harley shop is a very reputable place with very reputable sources! If the outlaws will let em work on their bikes, i dunno why i shouldnt. lol

Riding season is growing colder, so i must start considering my options of what to do. THe top things will be Fixing the valve guides and maybe seals on the intake side, along with the most deffinate CV carb upgrade. My adjustale main bendix is a good carb, but very fussy when it comes to Hot days, and cold nights. lol Idles here, idles there, sometimes barely idles. I've done the intake leak test with tons of propane, no findings so i cannot point towards an intake leak in that manner. i do have a little exhaust leak at front cylinder drag pipe, but thats on list of things to do to, seeing as i need new clamps as well.. Lollipops will be in order as well, i've already gotten my hands on a few diff combo's of stainless bolts, washers, and nuts! OOOoooOO, one last thing that i wanna do is change my final drive ratio. prolly at the sprocket though, ill leave trans alone, cuz i dunno if thats something i really wanna tackle myself..(nor do i really like paying someone to work on my stuff..)

I'm really excited about owning the ole Ironhead. I saw a group of bikers today after work, i saw 3 ironheads and like 12 evo's.. Besides the Black Jugs, i could HEAR the difference of the bikes. The irons just have that bad ***, Loud, Ear pounding, "Imma break your neck" kinda sound. THe evo's Are loud as well, but theres just something about them that doesnt sound the same to me.. Maybe its the mechanic in me, and my ability to point out diff cars, trucks, or engines without seeing them, but if you ask me..iron's just got that more distinct sound..

I've owned 2 crotch rockets, and a dualsport and some scooters. The crotch bikes were cool, but i was bound to end up in the grave at an early age.. SOmething about speed and going around turns is a blast to me..so i had to unload them before i wound up in the local grocery stores meat dept. The dual sport was Cool too. seen some awesome stuff along the way of going from point A to point B, and in between. "Hey..check out that cool look out point WAY up there...lets go see it!!.." and tadah.. there we we're. but off road is starting to kick my *** now a days. lol (Weak lower back from a quad accident around the age of 12) Now that i'm a harley owner (FINALLY!! YES!!!) i find myself cruising at 45 mph through the local country side, Cracking open the pipes at the most in appropriate times, catchin dirty looks from the church goers, and eating a ton of bugs just cuz i cant wipe the **** eating grin off my face... (haha..)

I'd like to thank everyone who's been puttin up with my ranting, worrying and constant questioning! Yinz have helped me out a freakin ton!! Ill keep yinz posted as to what goes on with my bike and all my doings! THanks again guys!!!

 

The most popular sprocket combination is 51 rear 23 front. This results in good acceleration with reduced RPM on the hiway. Changing the trans is not an option with these bikes.

I use a little Permatex Ultra Copper to seal the exhausts at the heads. Apply a little to the inside of the pipe before slipping it onto the flange.

There are some really cool looking exhaust clamps - chrome, wider than the stock ones. I could not get them to seal so i went back to stock. Some guys swear by the T-bolt clamps for both the intake and the exhaust. I use then to seal the intake.

I have lollipops in my Cycle Shack slip ons. They do make a noticeable improvement.

 

Looks like you're determined to fix some things that ain't broke. The oil consumption you describe is pretty normal for an Ironhead that has some miles on it and has "loosened up" a bit. I sure wouldn't tear the top end apart for guides and rings at this point.

BTW, you don't want the auto chain oiler, believe me.

I have an extra crankcase breather hose at the 6 o'clock position. It cured the "oil in the air cleaner" problem at high speeds (which you don't seem to have), and lets the motor spin a little more freely. Yes, a drop or two of oil will drip out when parked, but it was a good idea if I say so myself. If you just want to cruise thru the country at 45 mph and rev your motor at church folks, though, you probably don't need the mod...

 

i added some picutres to my album today. gotta pic of the bike at night with the blue LED's on as well. Try not to bash me to hard. bike looks way better now then it did when i first bought it..but thats stricly my own opinion.



also, another question for yinz guys...i tried checking the damn timing the other night, cuz i get spark knock at low RPM on Super hot days, or when i really really load it down. I couldnt find the timing mark for the life of me when it was running, idling at 2 grand, with the plug in the timing hole, and the timing mark painted white for easier visibility. its got mechanicl advance, no VOES on it.

So i did it by test runs. i ended up spinning the points N stuff, Counter clockwise about a 1/16th of an inch and it got rid of my detonation. but still couldnt fine the damn timing mark with the gun pointed on it.. WTF is up with that! lol from what the locals said, the timing mark is a real pain in the butt to see when its runnin. i guess they were right! lol

 

Does it have the original electronic ignition, a replacement, or points?

I presume you had the induction clip on the front spark plug?

Is it a dial-back t-light or a regular t-light?

What mark are you looking for?

 

non tunable T-L. The straid up and down line that denotes front cyl TDC. Plug on front cyl wire. With points..

 

I think you are looking for the incorrect timing mark. The line is front cylinder TDC; the dot is the front cylinder advance timing mark. It is the dot that you should be looking for. When you see the dot with a regular timing light it is at 40` before TDC which is stock timing.

With a dial back timing light you set the number of degrees you want [say 35` or 38`] into the timing light, then look for the TDC mark. Then the timing is set to that number of degrees before TDC.