Oil Leak

I sprung a pretty good oil leak last weekend on a 99 Fatboy and spent most of my Sunday fixing it. It's all set now but I have a question.

The leak was in the lower portion of both rocker covers, the rear being worse than the front. I replaced all the gaskets and noticed that the upper two are the same rubber gaskets as the originals. However, the original lower gaskets were four small paper gaskets which looked like they were set bad during the original build.

The replacements were metal gaskets with a ridge in the middle so they would compress similar to a head gasket. They were also one piece so you can't get a bad set as long as the bolts go through he holes.

Did Harley replace these because they were having problems? Also, is it common for both front and rear to go at the same time? I would suspect that either the front or rear would go, not both. The original gaskets were in pretty bad shape. I don't know how they didn't leak earlier than they did.

As always, all input is greatly appreciated.

Ride safe.

When I owned a 1998 Fatboy I had the same problems, I was changing out the rocker box gaskets about once a year. I finally called the factory guys in Milwaukee and asked them what the problem may be. He first asked where I lived, I told him Wyoming, where it is cold for most of the year. I told him that I was warming the bike up per the owners manual before every ride. He informed me that the owners manuals for all Harley's are written for warmer places like California, Southern Nevada, Texas, but in Wyoming where it is cool all they way into July, he said that I should let my bike warm up for an addition 5 minutes. The oil in the motor is cold which inturn will put an increased amount of pressure on the head gaskets until the oil warms up and thins out. I started to let the bike warm up an additional 5 minutes before blazing down the street and had no more problems with gaskets failing. Ride Safe, David.

Weather

Well that sounds like a reasonable explanation as the weather here has been crazy the last several weeks going from the low 50's up to 90 and back down in the 50's again. I generally only warm my bike up for about five minutes or so depending on the weather. Basically until it will run without the choke (Mikuni Carb), longer in the cold and shorter in the heat. It was in the high eighties when it got real bad last weekend but it had a slight leak I had not yet pinpointed for a few rides before when it was cool. Were your replacement gaskets the paper type? I'm just wondering if the metal gaskets are an optional upgrade or a revised replacement part from Harley.

By the way, my sister used to work for Textron out in the flat part of Wyoming quite a while back as a payroll clerk, around 1985 or 86. I don't recall the name of the town but there weren't any houses there that you could see. It was basically a bunch of trailers all connected for the workers just outside the oil field. A man camp is what they called it. I used to live in Pocatello, Idaho. There is a lot of beautiful country out that way. I would like to go back with my family for a vacation some time.

Thanks for the response. I will try to let it warm up a little longer and see what happens.

Harley Davidson came out with the metal strip gaskets a few years back and they seem to last much better, that is the kind that I put in the 98 Fatboy when I had it. I live in Rock Springs, in the southwest corner of Wyoming. Ride Safe, David.