I call BS, you would have massive oil leaks if the venting was that bad.

 

hey SC, OT on the crankcase ventilation but what are your thoughts on using the new SE 85W-140 instead of Formula+ in trans and Primary, could that possibly help mitigate transfer issues or wishful thinking?

 

Using heavy gear oil in the trans will slow the transfer, to a degree but will not stop it. It also only happens to my bike when I ride it hard so speed does make a difference in my case.
As a side note, my bike was at the dealers for the clutch recall and fluid transfer in January and part of February this year. The transfer was documented at the 1000mile service and supposedly fixed this year under warranty even though the warranty expired in October of last year. Haven't ridden it hard enough yet to see if it is really fixed. They put a fatter and longer clutch rod in the trans and had to ease the cover to accommodate it.
Will let you know what I find when I get to ride it a good distance.

 

Once the oil gets hot the difference in viscosity wouldn't be enough to keep it from going through the mainshaft if it is a bad case of transfer. Contrary to what HD says, I think it is pumped by the transmission. Why some do and some don't isn't a question I can answer. In your situation where you have a very slight amount of transfer the thicker oil might alleviate your transfer altogether. It's worth a shot!

You might not be able to answer these questions, but I'm going to ask you anyway.

What cover did they have to ease to accommodate the pushrod? The length of the pushrod is pretty well set except for the movement of the actuator piston.

Was the pushrod they used a Harley Davidson product or was it the pushrod that McComb County Choppers is offering? If it was Harley's it is the first I have heard of them offering that.

 

yeah, never thought it would be a silver bullet, which is why I phrased it "could possibly help mitigate"....but like SC said, since my transfer has always been periodic and slight it's worth a shot trying the 85W140 I suppose...might take quiet awhile for sufficient validation because it isn't consistently an issue

 

It was a HD push rod and they eased the 6 speed cover according to the service writer at my local dealer.

 

Is Positive Crankcase Ventilation no longer a thing?

I recall many of my first cars having a cap for the oil filler tube that was vented AND filtered, much like the contraption that the OP pictured, though it was all combined in the cap because there was room there and in the engine bay for a slightly larger cap. And these progressed into PCV valves.

Under what conditions and/or reasons would any motor be built such that pressure would build in the crankcase and cause the filler cap to tighten to the point where it could not be removed by hand?

 

The Breathers found in the heads are the same as the PCV in operation. If they were blocked you'd get a ton of pressure (and I've done it) but it wouldn't be to the point you couldn't open the filler cap. Vaccum could, pressure not usually.

This new part would work (assist) if a couple things were present, 1) massive amounts of blowby due to engine issues or 2) if the breathers were blocked or just slow to perform.

 

Thanks lp, so assuming it is vacumn that has caused some owners to experience a tightness of their filler cap shouldn't the breathers prevent that from happening? Whether it be pressure or vacumn that is building to that point it would seen to indicate an unintended blockage (partial or otherwise), at one or both ends of the system. Right?

 

Yes, with properly working factory breathers that shouldn't be a problem., I mean the one report (that I can count) talks about over pressure which you would think would not be a problem if the breathers are doing their job, but who knows, maybe on a bike or two there is so much pressure that the breathers can't keep up OR maybe the goal of the designers of this new venting system are striving for no pressure at all so that the oil lined up to be removed out of the sump isn't disturbed in some weird way or harmonic.

That said, I've only heard of one report of over pressure. Not sure thats really a thing on a stock bike with properly working factory breathers, but you never know.... I guess.