Melting oil line "Tees"? defective product or am I missing something?

[gdixon61]

See my above post, the T is 1/2 x 1/2 x 3/8 and there could or should be a 1/2x 1/2 elbow near the tank possibly that's plastic also.

[micwag2]

It's not the oil temperature. If the oil was that hot the engine would have failed by now. From the pictures it looks like the way its tied to the frame, vibration could cause that fitting to fracture. Also any rubbing could make it appear to have melted.

[awol70]

Originally Posted by gdixon61

See my above post, the T is 1/2 x 1/2 x 3/8 and there could or should be a 1/2x 1/2 elbow near the tank possibly that's plastic also.

awesome. thanks gdixon61.

[awol70]

Originally Posted by micwag2

It's not the oil temperature. If the oil was that hot the engine would have failed by now. From the pictures it looks like the way its tied to the frame, vibration could cause that fitting to fracture. Also any rubbing could make it appear to have melted.

I also thought that the break/leak could have been caused by rubbing,vibration,chemicals,or hot exhaust, etc....but no...nothing to indicate that...
when i changed out the part the first time, i made sure that there was no contact with the frame or any other surface that could cause wear .
Also if it were rubbing/friction,wouldn't there be evidence of this on the hoses as well as the connector?
I'm going to get myself a thermometer cap,but until then,I was thinking a meat thermometer might work?

Because of how well the bike starts, runs and sounds, I am left frustrated and wondering...

[JohnK]

Yes, start out with a thermometer cap so you can get an idea of the oil temp... we're all speculating at this point. A meat thermometer should give you an indication also, good thinking. As for running lean there would be other indicators, does the exhaust pop and crackle? Do you get any carb farts? do you notice any detonation on acceleration? Check the plugs and read the threads on what they should look like, and how to check them. Making the carb richer is relatively easy, but let's find the real problem first. Could also be your ignition timing for that matter. No need to be frustrated, just methodical. Once everything checks out and any issues corrected, you will have a sweet running bike and have some confidence in its reliability

[awol70]

Originally Posted by JohnK

Yes, start out with a thermometer cap so you can get an idea of the oil temp... we're all speculating at this point. A meat thermometer should give you an indication also, good thinking. As for running lean there would be other indicators, does the exhaust pop and crackle? Do you get any carb farts? do you notice any detonation on acceleration? Check the plugs and read the threads on what they should look like, and how to check them. Making the carb richer is relatively easy, but let's find the real problem first. Could also be your ignition timing for that matter. No need to be frustrated, just methodical. Once everything checks out and any issues corrected, you will have a sweet running bike and have some confidence in its reliability

Ok,John.. thank you for your time and attention.
I'll check out the temp with a meat thermometer just to get an idea...What is normal operating range?
The idle/acceleration is a little rough,but to an inexperienced ear it sounds kinda normal....
i get an occasional ka-FFFFFT blowing out the carb usually when rolling on the throttle from a stop/idle..(I assume this is a carb fart..)
Can you define detonation in this context please?
I will read up on reading plugs by doing some reading of threads,and pull the plugs tomorrow.
On that note, a bud of mine told me that HD (20W50)oil is crap,and runs thin as water in the kind of temperatures we have been having in southern British Columbia the last while,(lower to mid 20's c)
and to use Dura-lube and to switch to a heavier oil weight.
does this make any sense,or is this just treating the symptoms of the real problem again as I suspect?

[milmat1]

I think HD 20-50 is as good as any other oil, and 20*C Is nothing. We are up near 100*F here in the summer. Oil has been debated on here forever But nobody has ever shown HD oil to be a poor choice....

[ReddTigger]

Originally Posted by awol70

Ok,John.. thank you for your time and attention.
I'll check out the temp with a meat thermometer just to get an idea...What is normal operating range?
The idle/acceleration is a little rough,but to an inexperienced ear it sounds kinda normal....
i get an occasional ka-FFFFFT blowing out the carb usually when rolling on the throttle from a stop/idle..(I assume this is a carb fart..)
Can you define detonation in this context please?
I will read up on reading plugs by doing some reading of threads,and pull the plugs tomorrow.
On that note, a bud of mine told me that HD (20W50)oil is crap,and runs thin as water in the kind of temperatures we have been having in southern British Columbia the last while,(lower to mid 20's c)
and to use Dura-lube and to switch to a heavier oil weight.
does this make any sense,or is this just treating the symptoms of the real problem again as I suspect?

ok.. so here we go..

first of all your buddy is spewing a load of BS. I'll not get into another oil debate, but I'll tell you that I ran hd 5w20 for 60,000 miles and never had a problem no matter the temperature. The bike is most likely very lean.. That Kuryakyn Hypercharger (aka Crap) is not helping the issue..

So for the plugs, try a set of NGK DCPR7E, they're good plugs and I've never had any issues and you can find them for a couple of bucks..

The meat thermometer can help if you're range is below 230°.
Carb farts while part of the HD Community are more common when the bike is lean (yet another indicator)..


Check out the JETTING 101 thread in the carb/fuel section and you'll have a pretty good idea of how to adjust the jetting without spending a whole bunch.

There are hundreds if not thousands of conversion bikes that are using the 883 heads and 883 sprocket and the 883 module. I Know that my bike ran better after going with the 1200 module. but it still wouldn't have the types of problems your bike appears to have..

not really sure why that part is having issues. unless there is something that you're not seeing when the bike is running..

Good luck and check those plugs.

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by awol70

Ok,John.. thank you for your time and attention.
I'll check out the temp with a meat thermometer just to get an idea...What is normal operating range?

I dunno, but I'm betting it's less than molten plastic!

The idle/acceleration is a little rough,but to an inexperienced ear it sounds kinda normal....
i get an occasional ka-FFFFFT blowing out the carb usually when rolling on the throttle from a stop/idle..(I assume this is a carb fart..)

Yup that's a carb fart, and you are likely a little lean from the sounds of it. Mine was notorious for that, as well as an off-idle stumble. This can be corrected.

Can you define detonation in this context please?

sounds like a bunch of little Gremlins trying to beat their way out of your cylinders with hammers! ...like a diesel engine. Most noticeable during heavy engine load. It will occur more often with low octane gas, too much ignition advance, hi compression ratio, engine too hot, lean A/F charge.

I will read up on reading plugs by doing some reading of threads,and pull the plugs tomorrow.
On that note, a bud of mine told me that HD (20W50)oil is crap,and runs thin as water in the kind of temperatures we have been having in southern British Columbia the last while,(lower to mid 20's c)
and to use Dura-lube and to switch to a heavier oil weight.
does this make any sense,or is this just treating the symptoms of the real problem again as I suspect?

As others mentioned, that oil is fine, that's not your problem. I suspect most oil runs water thin at the temperatures our Sportys (and other HDs) run at. The oil system also acts as a secondary coolant for the top end, the drain runs a half inch away from the exhaust valve and port on each head. That is the hottest part of the engine.

[awol70]

Originally Posted by milmat1

I think HD 20-50 is as good as any other oil, and 20*C Is nothing. We are up near 100*F here in the summer. Oil has been debated on here forever But nobody has ever shown HD oil to be a poor choice....

thanks....thought as much.