I wish there was a tool that you could adjust all the spacing for the transmission before installing into the case. That would make it super easy. Love the education. Less and less people can do these anymore. Thank you.
That is a great idea, something that would slip between the gears to check there is enough clearance, and transfer the case dimensions so that you could set end-play outside of the bike when the tranny is on the bench. Problem is, every case is different, and most people would want to re-check the end-plays once the tranny is installed. After some experience, you can set the gear clearance by eye, but a tool would be more precise. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the videos on the ironhead xl. I used your video as a guide for my transmission repair. One thing I had to do I didn't see in your video was replace the main race and shaft for the trans. Mine were wore out. I wound up having to hone the race to get the 23 standard rollers back in. I put them in from the outside seal area like you talked about. For the $ for the correct tool to line hone/bore the race it would be cheaper to buy the race and shaft several times over. So if it runs 4 or 5 years this time I'm good with that. Your info on the gear spacing was very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to explain the ironhead repair procedures. The retaining ring on that main race is a bugger.
Yeah, I have a print article about doing that honing of the main race. www.open-sport.org/Repair/Honing-transmission-mainshaft-bearing/ I have been told you can blow up the bike in second gear if you don't line-hone the mainshaft race, but I wonder if that is BS. Glad you got things sorted out, and yeah, that snap ring is a bear, I make sure I have my safety glasses on when I mess with it.
We have a 1976 that we are having carborator flooding issues we think it may be the seat for the needle we have installed a carb kit and still getting flooding what would you suggest
Hey Paul, I am tearing apart my 87 sportster xlh 1100 to get to the oil hoses so I can replace them. When removing the cam cover do I need to first remove all the risers to relieve the pressure or can I get the cover off without removing the risers? Thanks in Advance, Vinny
Hi, just found your videos, great stuff. It’s like being back at MMI. Are you still active it looks like there hasn’t been any uploads for a year. I have a 82 XL the video that contained rubber band intake manifold gaskets and S&S clamps was extremely helpful. Good job
Me too, the builder of my 1980 XLS has put points/ contact breakers in instead of the electronic ignition so I am looking at aftermarket systems as I don’t know what parts to keep and what to reuse.
Yes, I plan on doing a video about ignitions, but it will be a while before I get to it, sorry. The '79 ignition is the worst of all worlds. It still has the flyweights, that get worn out, and hit the back side of the timing plate and then shear off the 1/4-28 ignition cam bolt off flush with the camshaft. Then it also has electronics inside the cone, where the heat can screw things up. It also requires resistor spark plug wire, and maybe even resistor spark plugs, or it blows up the ignition. I took that setup out of my '79 and at first replaced it with the original all-mechanical points one. Then I tried a couple different aftermarket ignitions. I am not sure, but I think a Dyna ended up burning a piston when I set it up wrong. The problem is that an Iron Sportster needs something like 45 degrees of advance and most aftermarket electronic units don't do that much. You have to set the timing at over 2000 RPM, and if the ignition does not dial back the full 45 degrees, then the bike will kick back when you start it, or idle too fast or other problems. There are aftermarket units that have a VOES switch wire, and that changes the total advance into the range to keep an Iron Sportster happy, but I can't remember what ignitions do that. I set my 1977 up with a toggle switch on that wire, so I can change it to see what it does, but I have not installed the electronics yet. Most cone-motor aftermarket ignitions have the same problem as the '79 setup, they put all the electronics in the cone. When I run an electronic ignition, I leave the cone cover off so the air can cool the ignition. The most important thing is to really time the bike with a timing light, so the advance mark is in the little window of the timing port when the engine is at least 2000 RPM. That will mean you have enough advance to not burn up the engine. Then hopefully, the aftermarket electronic unit will still let the bike idle OK. I know it can be done since I have run one, but since then, I just went back to the mechanical points ignition. In fact, my 1977 has the electronic aftermarket ignition hanging from the side while the old mechanical points run the bike. I will try to set the electronic one up soon, but the mechanical one runs OK, so I figure why mess with it? With the 79 or mechanical points, do make sure those flyweights are not all egged out and flapping around. When I did run an electronic ignition, I made sure I had a mechanical points setup in my tool bag, with the tools to change over to it when on the side of the road. At night. In a hailstorm.
Yup, see below--- I would be tempted to leave in teh points, or at least try it to see how the bike runs. The stock ignition is perfectly adequate as long as you check the flyweights for wear every year.
@@Open-Sport the bike is running perfectly fine on points, but I don’t know what machine they are off so I can’t try and get spares for the future. Are all the Ironheads the same when it comes to points and flyweights?
@@HarleyRog Yes, to my knowledge they use the same points and condenser from 1971 to 1978. Depending on how you ride and the bearings in the cam cover, the flyweights will egg out at the pivots and clank into the back of the plate. This is easy to inspect, just mark the plate location and put it back in the same place and the timing should stay the same. They make a needle-bearing weight set, that I have not tried, and I think there are some hardened or better-grade weight sets. I have heard the point set is the same as used in old straight-6 Chevy motors, but not sure of that. Same for the condenser. The points last ages, but I have had these modern condensers go bad, or even be bad on installation. After I run one for a few months, I swap it with a new one and put the old one in the saddlebags. Usually they fail by letting you start the bike and it will idle, but as soon as you try to get some RPM, the engine will sputter and maybe die.
Hey Paul, your videos are great! Can I use an 83 cam cover on my 82, Other than missing a bushing for the generator gear, it has one minor casting difference. I don't think I can add a picture here
Sorry, no, if there is no boss for the generator idler gear, you can't run that gear just supported on one side at the engine case. There were a whole bunch of cover part numbers in the 1982-1985 period, most being different finishes like black and polished and gloss black. I don't think you are comparing a 1983 cover, but are looking at the -83 casting number on the part, which is not the year it was used on, but the year that the casting drawing was made. The cover without the generator gear boss is the 25219-86 which is for late 1984 to 1985 where there is no generator and there is an alternator behind the clutch. These covers come up often on eBay, so you should be able to find the right cover that has the generator drive gear boss installed. The 25208-81 polished cover fits bikes from 1982 to early 1984. Once again, these part numbers are different from any number molded into the part, those are casting numbers. There is a black cover on eBay right now for 150 bucks, search: "1982 Harley-Davidson Ironhead Sportster Cam Gear Cover" I am not sure how hard it would be to strip off the black paint and polish it, but at least it will work.
Thanks for pointing out several issues ,but the foot peg issue on right side seems to me to be a bit unreal like how many accidents have ocourd wen the foot peg bracket snap off
The frame-mounted pegs never seem to just snap off, but they can get beat up if the bike is dropped. Often, the mufflers protect the peg, and you can straighten the bent peg with a torch. The real mess was in 1974-77, when the law said motorcycles had to shift on the left and brake on the right. Harley wanted to release the new cases in 1974, but they had so many problems, they did a real kludge-fest to swap the brake and shifter levers, while the case still had the shifter on the right side. In 1977 the new cases were designed for left-side shifting.
Hi there so I have a 75 sportster I picked up (barnfind ) sans motor the mounts are still with the bike now I do have an 85 sporster motor sitting that I can use from my reading it should fit mount wise but I do have a concern over the oil pump fitment can any one elaborate
Any thoughts on my 76 Ironhead purging oil out the breather vent line . Drove it around few miles fine than went back out and it’s oil up and down the street and when I rev it in the garage it just blows out that line ( up front right side of motor ) ughh
Oh sure, a common problem, your engine is "sumping". This is when oil from the tank weeps down into the engine while the motor is not running. It forms a big pool in the crankcase, and when you start the bike, so much oil gets blown up into the gearcase past the timed breather, the gearcase fills up with that oil before the oil pump can pump it back into the tank. If my 62 sits for a month it will do this. Look up "sumping ironhead" on the forums (www.harleykmodel.com and xlforum.net), and you should find plenty of info. There is a steel ball bearing and spring inside the oil pump that is supposed to prevent this from happening. The factory manual shows you can lap the seat to make sure it is sealing. A more basic problem is even if this ball bearing is sealing the oil from the tank, the oil can still weep past the oil pump gears and still get into the bottom of the engine. I have considered putting a valve in my oil feed line, but I am sure I will forget it one day and burn up the motor, so I just try to run the bike often. Not a problem here in Florida. If you get a little gush right away from that breather pipe, you can catch that in a drain pan, and then let the bike idle for a few minutes so the oil pump can get the excess oil back into the tank. There is also a chance you have checked the oil when there was a lot weeped into the engine, and then added oil, so now the tank is over-full. That will also let oil pour into the gearcase cover. Check oil before you go out, sure, but then check it again when you get home. That is when the bottom of the engine is dry, and all the oil is in the tank. Be sure that there is not too much oil in the tank or it will flow down the vent line into the gearcase. Final thing is a long shot. I had a gasket fail on my 1979 and all kinds of extra oil was leaking into the gearcase. Since that was oil that was supposed to be getting pumped to the heads, I eventually burned a front piston in the bike. This is more a problem with the 1977 gasket, it is really doubtful you have this issue. The sumping problem is really common, as is over-filling the oil tank.
@@Open-Sport Thanks for talking it through with me Paul ! I appreciate your experience very much . I will run it a while and see what happens. You think maybe excessive blow by could be the problem? I’m going to work on a leak down test soon to see what may or may not be there ?
@@brandonjones152 When my bikes started to blow by a lot, they would start leaking oil at the pushrod cover corks. This is because the blow-by does not put that much oil into the bottom of the motor, but it does increase the pressure inside the cases, and that pressure will force oil out the corks. It is best to measure blow by with a leak-down but I used a shade-tree method. I would hold a prophylactic or balloon over the breather pipe coming out of the gearcase cover. I got a sense of when there was too much blowby by how fast the rubber blew up. A latex glove might also work. This is not as scientific as your method, but I learned to gauge how much air was leaking past the rings. If you are married you might not want to use a rubber, a lot of explaining to do if your wife looks in your tool box.
Hey Paul, I have a kinda off the wall question. Is it possible to retrofit a "distributor" (breaker tower) cam chest cover, cams, etc to a "nose cone" post 70 iron head case? As you pointed out in your ignition vid the tower iggy lasted almost forever in comparison to cone type assemblies. Granted you can buy an aftermarket advance assembly/point plate set for about 35 bucks brand new, but can the "old school" set up be retrofitted without dramatic mods?
Hello again, it is possible but a major tear-up. The great thing about Iron Sportsters is the factory was too poor to make a lot of changes, so you can interchange a lot. You have to find the early gearcase cover, in good shape no less, a tall order. The cams are different, so a new set of earlier model cams, I think they already had "P" cams then and it is a great stock camshaft. Then you need the timer aka distributor, which you could buy a fancy aftermarket electronic one. None of this works if your cone motor is 1977 or later, that is a different case. I used to put electronic ignitions in the cone that eliminated the weights (not like some that still use the problematic weights). Lately I have been putting in the new weight units. One outfit has weights with needle bearings, not sure how they work, and I think there is a stainless steel unit out there. I just use the cheap ones, make sure they are lubed up, and inspect them now and again. I do ride a lot less now that I am in Florida, so I guess I can get away with it.
There is a hole in the oil pump gear. It is supposed to be timed with the cams? The hole should be at 12 o’clock ( facing straight out towards you )? If that is so , what is the purpose? And what are the consequences for not doing so? Thanks Paul.
You absolutely have to time the oil pump on engines made from 1952 to 1976,. In 1977 they redesigned the case and there is no longer a timed breather. If you don't time the breather on '52-'76 bikes, oil will not get blown from the crankcase to the gearcase cam cover when the pistons are both coming downwards. The bike might start smoking out the exhaust from the oil buildup in the crankcase and oil often starts weeping out the pushrods since there is pressure building up inside the engine at the piston downstroke. To time the pump, you rotate the motor until you see the ignition timing mark in the the left side hole in the case. It's a vertical line on the crank you position in the middle of the threaded hole. Then go to the oil pump side and there is a little notch just under the oil pump gear. Rotate that gear until a dot lines up in the notch. Then roll it clockwise 1/4 turn. Then install the pump. Since the pump is driven by a spiral gear on the crankshaft, you usually have to try a few times to that the dot ends up in the groove after the pump is in. Bad news, you have to remove the engine from the frame to get the pump out. It might drop down enough to rotate the gear though, never tried that. Or you can pull the gears from the crank and leave the pump installed. Good new, an un-timed oil pump rarely damages the engine, just smoke and oil everywhere. The wrong way: ua-cam.com/video/9szs7vJ8gOQ/v-deo.html This guy does it wrong-- he does not line the engine up to the timing mark like in the manual. He may be lucking out, with the engine just happening to be at the timing mark, but I doubt it. This guy does show you can have the pump in and use the gears to get the pump in the right place. And his trick about rolling the pump back 1/4 turn is the way to have it end up right after the spiral gear is installed or the pump is pushed into the spiral. Buy and read the manual, even a Haynes will show the right way.
I've got a 75 and I rebuilt it twice had good luck the first time the second time there was a problem, my engine is pushin engine oil into the primary filling that up, I'm guessing I didn't get the breather timing right, I had a buddy come by and he was helping me I maybe got distracted and it got overlooked, I sure hope that's the problem when I pull that cam cover off ill know right away, baffled me for a long time why it was doing that but then it dawned on me it's got to be that oil breather timing
@@Open-Sport Thanks for responding. I missed this post years ago , just saw it. I have a ‘77 so I never came across this issue. Thanks for clearing it up.
I wish there was a tool that you could adjust all the spacing for the transmission before installing into the case. That would make it super easy. Love the education. Less and less people can do these anymore. Thank you.
That is a great idea, something that would slip between the gears to check there is enough clearance, and transfer the case dimensions so that you could set end-play outside of the bike when the tranny is on the bench. Problem is, every case is different, and most people would want to re-check the end-plays once the tranny is installed. After some experience, you can set the gear clearance by eye, but a tool would be more precise. Thanks for the comment!
Ironhead cycle probably has one
Thanks for the videos on the ironhead xl. I used your video as a guide for my transmission repair. One thing I had to do I didn't see in your video was replace the main race and shaft for the trans. Mine were wore out. I wound up having to hone the race to get the 23 standard rollers back in. I put them in from the outside seal area like you talked about. For the $ for the correct tool to line hone/bore the race it would be cheaper to buy the race and shaft several times over. So if it runs 4 or 5 years this time I'm good with that. Your info on the gear spacing was very helpful. Thanks for taking the time to explain the ironhead repair procedures. The retaining ring on that main race is a bugger.
Yeah, I have a print article about doing that honing of the main race.
www.open-sport.org/Repair/Honing-transmission-mainshaft-bearing/
I have been told you can blow up the bike in second gear if you don't line-hone the mainshaft race, but I wonder if that is BS. Glad you got things sorted out, and yeah, that snap ring is a bear, I make sure I have my safety glasses on when I mess with it.
We have a 1976 that we are having carborator flooding issues we think it may be the seat for the needle we have installed a carb kit and still getting flooding what would you suggest
Hey Paul,
I am tearing apart my 87 sportster xlh 1100 to get to the oil hoses so I can replace them. When removing the cam cover do I need to first remove all the risers to relieve the pressure or can I get the cover off without removing the risers?
Thanks in Advance,
Vinny
Hi, just found your videos, great stuff. It’s like being back at MMI. Are you still active it looks like there hasn’t been any uploads for a year. I have a 82 XL the video that contained rubber band intake manifold gaskets and S&S clamps was extremely helpful. Good job
Are you going to do a video on the 79 breakerless ignition? I'm building my first bike, its a 79xlh, and no one has a video on the ignition.
Me too, the builder of my 1980 XLS has put points/ contact breakers in instead of the electronic ignition so I am looking at aftermarket systems as I don’t know what parts to keep and what to reuse.
Yes, I plan on doing a video about ignitions, but it will be a while before I get to it, sorry. The '79 ignition is the worst of all worlds. It still has the flyweights, that get worn out, and hit the back side of the timing plate and then shear off the 1/4-28 ignition cam bolt off flush with the camshaft. Then it also has electronics inside the cone, where the heat can screw things up. It also requires resistor spark plug wire, and maybe even resistor spark plugs, or it blows up the ignition. I took that setup out of my '79 and at first replaced it with the original all-mechanical points one. Then I tried a couple different aftermarket ignitions. I am not sure, but I think a Dyna ended up burning a piston when I set it up wrong. The problem is that an Iron Sportster needs something like 45 degrees of advance and most aftermarket electronic units don't do that much. You have to set the timing at over 2000 RPM, and if the ignition does not dial back the full 45 degrees, then the bike will kick back when you start it, or idle too fast or other problems. There are aftermarket units that have a VOES switch wire, and that changes the total advance into the range to keep an Iron Sportster happy, but I can't remember what ignitions do that. I set my 1977 up with a toggle switch on that wire, so I can change it to see what it does, but I have not installed the electronics yet. Most cone-motor aftermarket ignitions have the same problem as the '79 setup, they put all the electronics in the cone. When I run an electronic ignition, I leave the cone cover off so the air can cool the ignition. The most important thing is to really time the bike with a timing light, so the advance mark is in the little window of the timing port when the engine is at least 2000 RPM. That will mean you have enough advance to not burn up the engine. Then hopefully, the aftermarket electronic unit will still let the bike idle OK. I know it can be done since I have run one, but since then, I just went back to the mechanical points ignition. In fact, my 1977 has the electronic aftermarket ignition hanging from the side while the old mechanical points run the bike. I will try to set the electronic one up soon, but the mechanical one runs OK, so I figure why mess with it? With the 79 or mechanical points, do make sure those flyweights are not all egged out and flapping around. When I did run an electronic ignition, I made sure I had a mechanical points setup in my tool bag, with the tools to change over to it when on the side of the road. At night. In a hailstorm.
Yup, see below--- I would be tempted to leave in teh points, or at least try it to see how the bike runs. The stock ignition is perfectly adequate as long as you check the flyweights for wear every year.
@@Open-Sport the bike is running perfectly fine on points, but I don’t know what machine they are off so I can’t try and get spares for the future. Are all the Ironheads the same when it comes to points and flyweights?
@@HarleyRog Yes, to my knowledge they use the same points and condenser from 1971 to 1978. Depending on how you ride and the bearings in the cam cover, the flyweights will egg out at the pivots and clank into the back of the plate. This is easy to inspect, just mark the plate location and put it back in the same place and the timing should stay the same. They make a needle-bearing weight set, that I have not tried, and I think there are some hardened or better-grade weight sets. I have heard the point set is the same as used in old straight-6 Chevy motors, but not sure of that. Same for the condenser. The points last ages, but I have had these modern condensers go bad, or even be bad on installation. After I run one for a few months, I swap it with a new one and put the old one in the saddlebags. Usually they fail by letting you start the bike and it will idle, but as soon as you try to get some RPM, the engine will sputter and maybe die.
Hey Paul, your videos are great! Can I use an 83 cam cover on my 82, Other than missing a bushing for the generator gear, it has one minor casting difference. I don't think I can add a picture here
Sorry, no, if there is no boss for the generator idler gear, you can't run that gear just supported on one side at the engine case. There were a whole bunch of cover part numbers in the 1982-1985 period, most being different finishes like black and polished and gloss black. I don't think you are comparing a 1983 cover, but are looking at the -83 casting number on the part, which is not the year it was used on, but the year that the casting drawing was made. The cover without the generator gear boss is the 25219-86 which is for late 1984 to 1985 where there is no generator and there is an alternator behind the clutch.
These covers come up often on eBay, so you should be able to find the right cover that has the generator drive gear boss installed. The 25208-81 polished cover fits bikes from 1982 to early 1984. Once again, these part numbers are different from any number molded into the part, those are casting numbers. There is a black cover on eBay right now for 150 bucks, search: "1982 Harley-Davidson Ironhead Sportster Cam Gear Cover" I am not sure how hard it would be to strip off the black paint and polish it, but at least it will work.
Thanks for pointing out several issues ,but the foot peg issue on right side seems to me to be a bit unreal like how many accidents have ocourd wen the foot peg bracket snap off
The frame-mounted pegs never seem to just snap off, but they can get beat up if the bike is dropped. Often, the mufflers protect the peg, and you can straighten the bent peg with a torch. The real mess was in 1974-77, when the law said motorcycles had to shift on the left and brake on the right. Harley wanted to release the new cases in 1974, but they had so many problems, they did a real kludge-fest to swap the brake and shifter levers, while the case still had the shifter on the right side. In 1977 the new cases were designed for left-side shifting.
Hi there so I have a 75 sportster I picked up (barnfind ) sans motor the mounts are still with the bike now I do have an 85 sporster motor sitting that I can use from my reading it should fit mount wise but I do have a concern over the oil pump fitment can any one elaborate
Any thoughts on my 76 Ironhead purging oil out the breather vent line .
Drove it around few miles fine than went back out and it’s oil up and down the street and when I rev it in the garage it just blows out that line ( up front right side of motor ) ughh
Oh sure, a common problem, your engine is "sumping". This is when oil from the tank weeps down into the engine while the motor is not running. It forms a big pool in the crankcase, and when you start the bike, so much oil gets blown up into the gearcase past the timed breather, the gearcase fills up with that oil before the oil pump can pump it back into the tank. If my 62 sits for a month it will do this. Look up "sumping ironhead" on the forums (www.harleykmodel.com and xlforum.net), and you should find plenty of info. There is a steel ball bearing and spring inside the oil pump that is supposed to prevent this from happening. The factory manual shows you can lap the seat to make sure it is sealing. A more basic problem is even if this ball bearing is sealing the oil from the tank, the oil can still weep past the oil pump gears and still get into the bottom of the engine. I have considered putting a valve in my oil feed line, but I am sure I will forget it one day and burn up the motor, so I just try to run the bike often. Not a problem here in Florida. If you get a little gush right away from that breather pipe, you can catch that in a drain pan, and then let the bike idle for a few minutes so the oil pump can get the excess oil back into the tank.
There is also a chance you have checked the oil when there was a lot weeped into the engine, and then added oil, so now the tank is over-full. That will also let oil pour into the gearcase cover. Check oil before you go out, sure, but then check it again when you get home. That is when the bottom of the engine is dry, and all the oil is in the tank. Be sure that there is not too much oil in the tank or it will flow down the vent line into the gearcase.
Final thing is a long shot. I had a gasket fail on my 1979 and all kinds of extra oil was leaking into the gearcase. Since that was oil that was supposed to be getting pumped to the heads, I eventually burned a front piston in the bike. This is more a problem with the 1977 gasket, it is really doubtful you have this issue. The sumping problem is really common, as is over-filling the oil tank.
@@Open-Sport Thanks for talking it through with me Paul ! I appreciate your experience very much . I will run it a while and see what happens. You think maybe excessive blow by could be the problem? I’m going to work on a leak down test soon to see what may or may not be there ?
@@brandonjones152 When my bikes started to blow by a lot, they would start leaking oil at the pushrod cover corks. This is because the blow-by does not put that much oil into the bottom of the motor, but it does increase the pressure inside the cases, and that pressure will force oil out the corks.
It is best to measure blow by with a leak-down but I used a shade-tree method. I would hold a prophylactic or balloon over the breather pipe coming out of the gearcase cover. I got a sense of when there was too much blowby by how fast the rubber blew up. A latex glove might also work. This is not as scientific as your method, but I learned to gauge how much air was leaking past the rings. If you are married you might not want to use a rubber, a lot of explaining to do if your wife looks in your tool box.
Hey Paul, I have a kinda off the wall question. Is it possible to retrofit a "distributor" (breaker tower) cam chest cover, cams, etc to a "nose cone" post 70 iron head case? As you pointed out in your ignition vid the tower iggy lasted almost forever in comparison to cone type assemblies. Granted you can buy an aftermarket advance assembly/point plate set for about 35 bucks brand new, but can the "old school" set up be retrofitted without dramatic mods?
Hello again, it is possible but a major tear-up. The great thing about Iron Sportsters is the factory was too poor to make a lot of changes, so you can interchange a lot. You have to find the early gearcase cover, in good shape no less, a tall order. The cams are different, so a new set of earlier model cams, I think they already had "P" cams then and it is a great stock camshaft. Then you need the timer aka distributor, which you could buy a fancy aftermarket electronic one. None of this works if your cone motor is 1977 or later, that is a different case.
I used to put electronic ignitions in the cone that eliminated the weights (not like some that still use the problematic weights). Lately I have been putting in the new weight units. One outfit has weights with needle bearings, not sure how they work, and I think there is a stainless steel unit out there. I just use the cheap ones, make sure they are lubed up, and inspect them now and again. I do ride a lot less now that I am in Florida, so I guess I can get away with it.
There is a hole in the oil pump gear. It is supposed to be timed with the cams? The hole should be at 12 o’clock ( facing straight out towards you )? If that is so , what is the purpose? And what are the consequences for not doing so? Thanks Paul.
You absolutely have to time the oil pump on engines made from 1952 to 1976,. In 1977 they redesigned the case and there is no longer a timed breather. If you don't time the breather on '52-'76 bikes, oil will not get blown from the crankcase to the gearcase cam cover when the pistons are both coming downwards. The bike might start smoking out the exhaust from the oil buildup in the crankcase and oil often starts weeping out the pushrods since there is pressure building up inside the engine at the piston downstroke. To time the pump, you rotate the motor until you see the ignition timing mark in the the left side hole in the case. It's a vertical line on the crank you position in the middle of the threaded hole. Then go to the oil pump side and there is a little notch just under the oil pump gear. Rotate that gear until a dot lines up in the notch. Then roll it clockwise 1/4 turn. Then install the pump. Since the pump is driven by a spiral gear on the crankshaft, you usually have to try a few times to that the dot ends up in the groove after the pump is in. Bad news, you have to remove the engine from the frame to get the pump out. It might drop down enough to rotate the gear though, never tried that. Or you can pull the gears from the crank and leave the pump installed. Good new, an un-timed oil pump rarely damages the engine, just smoke and oil everywhere.
The wrong way:
ua-cam.com/video/9szs7vJ8gOQ/v-deo.html
This guy does it wrong-- he does not line the engine up to the timing mark like in the manual. He may be lucking out, with the engine just happening to be at the timing mark, but I doubt it. This guy does show you can have the pump in and use the gears to get the pump in the right place. And his trick about rolling the pump back 1/4 turn is the way to have it end up right after the spiral gear is installed or the pump is pushed into the spiral. Buy and read the manual, even a Haynes will show the right way.
I've got a 75 and I rebuilt it twice had good luck the first time the second time there was a problem, my engine is pushin engine oil into the primary filling that up, I'm guessing I didn't get the breather timing right, I had a buddy come by and he was helping me I maybe got distracted and it got overlooked, I sure hope that's the problem when I pull that cam cover off ill know right away, baffled me for a long time why it was doing that but then it dawned on me it's got to be that oil breather timing
@@Open-Sport Thanks for responding. I missed this post years ago , just saw it. I have a ‘77 so I never came across this issue. Thanks for clearing it up.