I have a stock (other than exhaust pipes) 2001 Fatboy with 7000 miles.

I bought it brand new and I have not ridden this bike very much over the last couple of years.

It had been several months since I had started it up.

I put some oil in the oil tank last week and went for a ride, and when I got back, oil was pouring from the air cleaner.

I thought I had just filled the oil tank to full, shut it down and left it.

This morning I wanted to see if there was something wrong and started it up.

Before starting, I checked the oil level. It looked a little low but I left it as is and started it and left it to idle for about 10 minutes.

I did not see oil leaking out any where (maybe a drop or two from the bottom of the air cleaner).

I noticed a little smoke coming from the engine (like it was getting really hot) and saw the cap on the oil tank unseating from the tank, like there was pressure pushing it up.

I shut it down and checked the oil level.

The level was much higher that before starting.

Could it be that I did not fill the tank too much and oil is not circulating properly?

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

Your engine is wet sumping. On the softail bikes, your oil tank is higher than the engine and when setting for a while the oil will drain back down into the engine and will appear to be low on oil. You have to run the engine for a bit then check the oil level, if not and you add oil then you have over filled it and that will cause the problems you have.Drain the oil out of the tank after it has been run till you get the proper level.

 

Thanks for the reply.

I will take a look.

But, what about the smoking?

how do I know for sure that oil is circulating?

 

Give the bike a good wash. It is probably the oil that blew out of the air cleaner burning off the engine, pipes or wherever it is. I had this happen before. Get another oil dipstick or put some o rings around the one you have to keep it in tight.

 

You will hear the valvetrain clacking away if it's not getting oil and your oil light will come on. Most Harley's will wet sump when let sitting for months. What happens is the oil leaks past the check valve into the engine while the bike sits.

Start the bike and let it idle a few minutes. Then take it for a ride for 20 minutes and shut it down and allow 4 minutes for the oil to return to the tank. Then check the oil with the bike on the jiffy. If there is oil above the full mark suck some out with a turkey baster or fluid extractor until at the full mark.