Bike Talk motorcycle forum

I am a first time Harley owner and don't yet know a whole lot about them. I bought a used 1989 FLHTC (56K miles). The bike had been sitting for about 4 months when I bought it. I never heard it run until I got it home and charged the battery. It started right up and ran well but my question is about the oil that spewed from the crankcase vent hose(there was also some initial exhaust smoke also but I attribute this to the excessive oil in the crankcase). There was an initial purge of oil and that was it, it did not continue. A friend in work said that the check valve on the oil pump must not be working correctly. Is it just a matter of replacing the check ball in the pump?

I have an 01 wide glide w/ a 95 cui HD stage 1 modified motor. This has all HD mods which include:bored to 95 cui,44mm CV carb,211E cam,HTCC heads,screaming eagle ignition and thunderheader pipes. I am getting pre-ignition (pinging) when I accelerate HARD. When idling or cruising no problem. I know this is not good for the engine. Looking a various aftermarket ignition systems to solve the problem. Initially liked the dyna TC88 series but S&S has the new $$$$ system out that learns and adjust to engine and driving. Comments,ideas does anyone have the system installed?

Okay... one last try and see.....
got an 02 wide glide..... has the thunderheader been updated/improved when it comes to the vibration the bike (may)pick up at higher speeds from the difference in length and weight compared to the factory pipes. It is down to a thunder or the V&H 2-1 classics. gott getem order from here soon.

yeah i know another exhaust question. I have an '05 883custom that i am in the process of coverting to a 1200. This includes boring the stock cylinders, porting and polishing the heads, bigger valves, wiesco pistons, SE cams, and SE ignition. I currently have the SE II slip-ons. I really want to change the exhaust to the vance and hines staightshots hs. Just wanted to get some opinions on this. I know the sound will be much better but what about performance?