[jed]

At 58K my evo has started leaking around the front cyl. base gasket. To begin with, how urgent is the need to fix this? Is it something I can live with a while until I decide to fix or, is it something that requires immediate attention?

Secondly, when I do tear it down, I would like to do a little upgrade, not get too wild with it because I'm a stickler for reliability. I'm thinking of bumping up compression a little, and a cam change to get more torque from the engine with stock heads, and wondering if anyone has parts recommendations for this? Also gasket recommendations, you read a lot about different gaskets, I want the best, I HATE doing things twice!

Would appreciate some input!

[chucktx]

the urgency on the oil leak is dependent on you!! keep enough oil in it and dont mind the mess........ride on
if your wondering why it is leaking it may be due to the fact that the engine was not warmed up before riding it....the major cause of base gaskets leaking is due to this. injected engines see it more, because they will run their ass off right out of the garage, a carbed engine has to warm up or it wont run correctly.
you will have to do a bit of work to the heads/pistons to get the compression up a bit....one way is by shaving, the other is changing pistons. as far as parts.....there are going to be as many different answers as there are responces. try to stay with quality parts, and deal with reputable vendors and you will not go wrong.....customer service is first in this area.
chuck

[hotroadking]

Depends if it's weeping a bit of oil it's not too bad, it needs to be attended to at some point and the longer you leave it the worse it will get.

James Gaskets makes good gaskets for HD's I think there is a metal base gasket set, CD here can set you up with the gaskets etc

As for performance you can only do so much with an evo before you have to start machine work. It's not like you can raise displacment easy like a TC with new cylinders and pistons.

I would look to drop in a new cam, Kuryakyn has the Wild Things cams which are getting pretty good reviews, or an ANdrews EV-27 would be a good mild street cam.

When you have the heads off you should consider taking them to a good reputable local shop and having them worked on, polish the exhaust and a little "street port" clean things up remove casting improve flow so the motor can take advange of the new cams. Plus better valve springs to handle the new lift of the cam as the old springs have some miles on them,

A set of adjustable pushrods, thinner head gaskets to raise compression a tic and you should be good to go,

If it is EFI you'll need a powercommander
if it is Carb you'll need to tune the carb and an ignition upgrade to handle the spark, a Crane Hi-4 for the nose cone is nice, it is adjustable for timing etc A bolt in replacement.

Pipes and air filter will make it all work,

That bike will feel brand new and run a lot better you'd be amazed what 15 or so HP increase at a min will do to a 45 HP motor, now you'll have loads more tq and 60 HP+ maybe closer to 70. Depends on where you baseline.

It should be very reliable with a cam change, some clean up, new gaskets and tuning. ANd safer, more power on a bike makes the bike safer JMO

[Harley Rider]

Originally Posted by hotroadking

It should be very reliable with a cam change, some clean up, new gaskets and tuning. ANd safer, more power on a bike makes the bike safer JMO

Hotroadking, I'am fairly new to riding Harleys and i was just wondering about your statment?

You said having more power makes the bike safer?

I'am not disputing this,i would just like to know why you think this?

[hotroadking]

Because my wife now believes it and it lets me by high power parts LOL

Actually if you have a bike that weighs in at 800 pounds like a dresser, drop on a normal 200+ pound rider and a 100 pound spouse, add some tools, luggage, etc we're pulling close to 1200 pounds.

Now here we have a stock 56 HP motor with 70 tq pulling 1200 pounds on the freeway, it runs good but you go to pass, and find in the middle of the pass you need more power to be past the point or you'll get into a curve, car, moose whatever.

With a 95 inch hop up, some cams head work maybe you'll be pulling 88HP and 100 tq, so where you're at full throttle and nothing more to help, the bigger motor is just at 60% of power capacity, it can accelerate faster better and pull more weight.

Sometimes the reason to get out of trouble requires throttle not brake and having extra at your disposal is a good thing.

So JMO having more power is a good thing. and IMHO stock HD's are underpowered, especially evos from the factory, they are not bad but again it's not my cup of tea to be stock. I like to know I have more in the wrist when passing than I need.

[AZ05FXST]

HRK, I like the way your thinking. Now if I can sell that same bill of goods to my wife I to will be in HOG HEAVEN. I agree with your statement about the stock engine performance. Our TC88B runs so much better after putting on VH 2into1 pipes, SE air filter, and rejetting/dyno tune. It's like riding a different bike, I never expected it would run that much better without major engine work.

TW

[chucktx]

i agree with hrk statment.....more power is safer......and he stated good reasons to have the power. that said, you have to know when and when not to use it!!!
chuck

[jed]

Thanks for the input guys, I'm pretty good at letting the engine warm up, on the occasion I dont, I'm real easy on the throttle.........its just weeping a bit at this point so , might not tear it down for a while.........as far as the mods go, you guys were right on track where I wanted to go, just a little "tweak" while I was inside the engine.

Have read some posts referring to evo longevity.......for you guys wondering, mine has almost 60K on it now, and has been totally reliable. My bikes are pretty well maintained.........and that's the key...............

[CD]

We have discussed this a few times. One of the EVO's weak points is the tendency to develop leaks at the base gasket. The sealing surface has to be true as possible and quality gaskets used. Another thing to consider is that we are growth in different directions as the engine warms up. The cylinders will grow vertically and in circumference (lesser degree), the case grow some and to boot there are two halfs to the cases so any imperfection at the mating surface becomes a potential leak.

The most effective soultion we have used is to lap the cylinder bases with a Trock base lapping tool and use the oil fix as we did in this article

https://www.directparts.com/static/a...leyoilfix.html

[joeowens78]

Jed-
If you want to spend the extra cash, I highly recommend it. Anywhere you take it, the engine has to be pulled apart. I have a 91 EVO fatboy. It had 15K on it last summer and i started getting a similar leak. My local shop (NOT harley, way too overpriced) recommended the following upgades:
1. Screamin' Eagle Pistons
2. port and polish the heads
3. new ignition (dyna 2000) or your choice
4. EV27 cam by Andrews or your choice
5. adjustable pushrods
This greatly increased the horsepower. I have not dyno'd it since the upgrades, but the power and torque is incredible. I assume you have no more warranty left on your bike. I highly recommend finding a reliable shop to do the work. Harley stores will rape you on this kind of work. I was quoted in excess of 4,000 dollars. My shop did all the work parts and labor for $1,600. The bike was done in two weeks. I am very happy with everything. The only negative to the engine work is that you will need another break-in period so you don't ruin the new parts. After 500+ miles you should be OK, but a good mechanic will remind you of that. Good Luck!