I have an 09 Ultra......stock except for Vance & Hines slash. First, at speed my oil pressure gauge reads right at 32, at idle it drops to 0. Is this normal? Second, recently when the engine is hot, the idle sometimes goes from a smooth idle at just about 1000 rpm to rough idle dropping down to around 750 rpm, but not all the time.

Ideas?

Thanks,
Jet

 

the oil pressure reading will vary with the oil temperature...hot oil is thinner...less pressure.
Assume you are using a full synthetic 20w50 multigrade- that what is spec'd for that bike.
The oil system has a bleeder set at about 32 psi- so your 32 is about the max you;d ever see.

2.) your idle drop could be the EITMS activating- you can read up on that.
Mine comes on fairly often this time of year when I stop at a light and the motor is fully warmed

Mike

 

Zero oil pressure at idle is not normal. Does the engine idle at about 1000 rpm? Do you also have a red oil light and does it come on also? Standard trouble shooting for your problem is a temporary "live" gauge, one that is not electric, available at Oreilly, Autozone and the like. Chances are excellent that the pressure sender for the gauge is plugged or has partially failed and you have satisfactory oil pressure at idle. Actual loss of oil pressure at idle will become very expensive very quickly. Are there any noises that begin at idle that are not present above idle such as valve clatter from inadequate oil in the lifters? If not, that is a pretty good indicator of a gauge malfunction rather than a real oil problem.

 

Hard shifting can also be related to a failing compensator, which is quite common on the 96" and larger twin cams.

I had sometimes a bit difficulties shifting from 1 to 2, and also some trouble finding neutral on my 2002 Dyna. This year I'm running a solid motor sprocket and it shifts much smoother, and it finds neutral like a Yamaha.

 

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Generally speaking, IMHO, if the "oil" light doesn't come on when the gauge says zero oil pressure, I would suspect it's an inaccurate HD oil gauge and drive on. Due to the type of bearings used in an HD engine, flow is more important than pressure. At idle, a low pressure reading isn't always a bad thing...

However, if there is increased valve clatter, or otherwise unusual engine noises when the oil gauge goes to zero, then I would investigate further. I'd get an oil gauge asbtsom suggests and put some accurate, real world numbers to the oil pressure question.