My buddy is having an issue with the bike he purchased used a few months back a 2001 Harley 1200 sporty has only 19,000 miles, the bike runs well but he has noticed an excessive amount of oil on his intake filter, to the point where he can wipe the bottom of the inside of the Ham Cam and have a good amount of oil on his finger?

He cleaned the filter and Ham Cam, reinstalled it and rode it for 20-30 miles took off the Ham Cam and oil again was present,

Anyone have any clues or is this pretty normal for that year??

 

I have this on my 2001 883 - firstly check his oil level is only about half way, it doesnt need to be all the way at the top.

My thinking is that having a Stage 1 filter without the air cover backing plate lets the oil drip out loads more than the standard one...?

 

Yep, that's called "Oil Blow-By" or "Oil Puking". It's because he has too much oil in there. It does it on all model years.

 

Mine still does it and I am below half way mark...

Normally happens more when I've been giving it large with the loud lever....

 

Well we did check the oil and it was on the high side - today he is going to drain some out - down to about half way, thanks for the responses.

 

On this subject, I've just seen a Sporty that's got a breather on it plumbed into the engine case (a nipple taped into the right side case) - is that a ok thing to do??

Thinking it will solve my issue once and for all - the mess gets on my nerves on longer rides!

 

Dollar store turkey baster to remove oil from the bag will save you time and energy. Just run the bike for 5 minutes and then suck out till you're in the low side of the cross hatching on your dip stick.

My friends wonder why I have a turkey baster in the garage... They don't own sportsters.

 

Or you could just route the breather hose to the ground like everyone else.

 

Worried about that spitting oil over the tyre though...?

 

don't route it where it will blow on the tire. very easy to have hose positioned to blow off to the side of the bike. pretty much gonna drip out of a down facing hose rather than blow all over the place. when mine sits and idles i get nothing but moisture not oil but the spot is directly under the hose and only about a 2" x 2" spot if even that big.