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[RedFXR2]

If it gets worse then we either split the cases and search for a bottom end problem or just replace the engine.

Quite a mystery.  Please keep us advised as to the final resolution.  I'm sure there will be something to be learned from it.

And if you replace the motor, will you get another HD 80" Evo, or go aftermarket and maybe upscale?  This could be a whole new thread.  I'v pondered before what I'd do if my motor went south for whatever reason.  I know that folks have put S&S 124's in their FXR frames (hold on tight).  And another guy I've talked to has a S&S 113 in his.  They both talk favorably about the swaps.

And a friend down here has a TP 107" in his 94 FXLR.  That thing is a real hot rod.

[RedFXR2]

Abby:  You may want to check your exhaust system.  I found this on another posting board.  much back and forth about a mysterious vibration on his FXR, all the way to pondering a new motor, like you.  From that board, final entry in the thread:



Well the vibration is fixed she runs smooth as she once did.
First let me say there is no fool like an old fool and I sure fit the bill.
I Was able to get a meeting with a service Engineer at the Harley factory
to explain my problem. The man was not fresh out of the box he had been
around for some time. He listen to my tell of all that had been done by two
different Harley Dealers service center and the money that I had spent on
trying to fix the Vibration problem.

Once I was through explaining all he kind of smiled and said "Don't know if I should tell you
this BUT.......Your engine is ok...the .006 output shaft run out is way within the limits.
from where it was measured.

He said "tell me again about the day the tyranny was over filled and don't leave anything
out. I once explained that the shop had over filled the tranny and that they drained
and refilled the tranny after that the service man took the bike out for a test ride to make sure
all was ok....The only other thing was when he came back he said your exhaust is to low and on a tight turn it drags . I told him that it never had done that with me but he said he would adjust it up so as not the damage the pipes.

The service engineer looked at me with a yep.....your problem is with your exhaust system....
none of the other things were causing your vibration.
He said the FXR is sensitive how the exhaust is clamped up.
He said I should loosen all the bolts and clamps holding the exhaust system then start the
bike let it run for just a few seconds so the exhaust would naturalize so no stress was on it
then tighten everything back up starting with the manifold first.

Well let me shorten the story when I went to reset the exhaust system I found that the exhaust bracket that mounts between the engine and the pipe clamp were not tight but very loose.
Must be that when the service person raised the exhaust he did not re tighten all the mounting brackets

My thoughts is why did the two different Harley dealers not have check all mounting bolts first
But on the other hand WHY DID I NOT CHECK THE EXHAUST........
Like I said nothing like an old FOOL.

[110tHunDer]

 
Ol' Red might be on to something there . . . but the story is it "happened overnight."  That's the thing that makes me think it could be electrical in nature and not mechanical.

Very intersting thread and please continue to keep us in the loop on what transpires, Abbynormal.

[Abbynormal]

Yep, I got all excited when I read the post from Redfxr2. The exhaust is the one thing that we had not considered, and about 500 miles before this all started, I had put baffles in the mufflers, and wrapped the pipes to reduce some of the heat in these Texas summers. Then my husband reminded me that we have just had a top end done,and the pipes would have been removed and replaced. None of this had any effect on the vibrations.

When all this started, I had just come home from an uneventful 400 mile trip to Fredricksburg, left the bike in the garage all night, and when I pulled out onto the highway the next morning the first thing I noticed as i accelerated to highway speed, was a bad vibration in the left forward peg. The vibration has changed off and on, sometimes worse and sometimes not so bad, but always there. It is a horrible SHUDDER of the entire bike at 1300rpm, but moves right through that rpm and smooths out to ok until about 2400 rpm, when a fine vibration starts, felt primarily in the foot pegs. Before all this started this was the smoothest riding bike around. We also have an 883 sportster, a 03 SERK, and just sold a nice softail heritage. This fxr4 was the pick of the lot for me, and I have been grieving for it. Demons, I am amost sure of it. Anyone know a good exorcist?

I will for sure keep you posted, and thanks for your interest. Any and all ideas are welcome.

[Hoist!]

1300-2400 RPM range takes you right thru the "lugging" zone. Unfortunately it sounds like a bottom end problem. You shouldn't need a new engine as this one can easily be rebuilt. Unless you were just looking for the excuse to put an S&S 113 or 124 in it! Good luck Abby!

Hoist!

[Abbynormal]

HA!!  There you go...a good friend of ours who is also a motorcycle mechanic, is lobbying for an S&S!!!  If I were prone to hot rodding my bike I would be all over that, but I am simply a 64 year old gramma who loves her bike. I do love to move quickly from 0 to whatever the speed limit is (70 in front of my house), but am not a speed demon. The v-twin specialist who is scratching his head over the bike is recommending a new EVO, if we cant find a fix for this one. Whatever, I just want my scooter back.

That being said, let me state how much I enjoy this site! Whenever I need a good chuckle, I just log in and see what antics the guys here are up to. I have had many a belly laugh over the banter here. Like the "garage door opener" suggestion.  If the general public finds out how entertaining this place is, woe is to us cause we wont be able to get online for the overcrowding!  And everyone is too kind, like Elvislee, who donated my new/old baffles out of the kindness of his heart!  Thanks guys.

Abbynormal 

[RedFXR2]

...a good friend of ours who is also a motorcycle mechanic, is lobbying for an S&S!!!  If I were prone to hot rodding my bike I would be all over that, but I am simply a 64 year old gramma who loves her bike.

Heck, half the fun in having power is just knowing it's there.  Kind of like walk softly and carry a big stick.  What mods I've done to my Evo transformed it but I don't redline it through the gears.  It just responds so much better that I don't feel the need anymore.

And everyone is too kind, like Elvislee, who donated my new/old baffles out of the kindness of his heart!  Thanks guys.

Yep.  Some good folks here.  Nice going, Elvis.   I "donated" some freebies to another FXR guy here about a year or so ago, myself.

[Hoist!]

HA!!  There you go...a good friend of ours who is also a motorcycle mechanic, is lobbying for an S&S!!!  If I were prone to hot rodding my bike I would be all over that, but I am simply a 64 year old gramma who loves her bike. I do love to move quickly from 0 to whatever the speed limit is (70 in front of my house), but am not a speed demon. The v-twin specialist who is scratching his head over the bike is recommending a new EVO, if we cant find a fix for this one. Whatever, I just want my scooter back.

That being said, let me state how much I enjoy this site! Whenever I need a good chuckle, I just log in and see what antics the guys here are up to. I have had many a belly laugh over the banter here. Like the "garage door opener" suggestion.  If the general public finds out how entertaining this place is, woe is to us cause we wont be able to get online for the overcrowding!  And everyone is too kind, like Elvislee, who donated my new/old baffles out of the kindness of his heart!  Thanks guys.

Abbynormal 

You can get a RevTech 100" Evo pretty cheap. Or you can get a HD factory 80" Evo pretty cheap too.

Hoist!

[RedFXR2]

. . . but the story is it "happened overnight."  That's the thing that makes me think it could be electrical in nature and not mechanical.

to reduce some of the heat in these Texas summers.

These two things brought back another Evo memory.  Heat and electrical problems.  Have you looked at the cam position sensor lately?  It's in the conical housing on the right side of the motor.  A couple of years ago when I did the motor makeover on mine, it was discovered that the packing (silicone-like stuff) around the circuitry was melting and seeping out of the bottom along the wire insulation.  I wasn't experiencing any problems yet, but I replaced it with a new one.  I'm amazed that the ignition was still functioning properly in that condition.  I've since seen this mentioned several times on other HD posting boards as apparently a common problem that can cause igntion malfunction if it gets bgad enough.  Pull the cover off and take a look.  It's easy to do and will be obvious by sight if it's happening.  Just another thing to check/eliminate from suspicion.

[elvislee]

Yep.  Some good folks here.  Nice going, Elvis.   I "donated" some freebies to another FXR guy here about a year or so ago, myself.

Yea Red, I remember when I first joined this site seeing somwhere that you had donated some stuff; a kind gesture it was too. I guess kind deeds rub off; at least that's what my Mom always told me and Abby and her husband are very nice folks. Maybe will get to go Texas way one day and ride the range with them...yeeeHaaaaw!!

[elvislee]

Hey Abby...Anymore news on your 4? I've been wondering the past few days...Keep us abreast on the skinny...Bets To Ya

[Abbynormal]

Bike about the same. Slight vibration. still shudders as you pass through the 1300 rpm range. About like old time sportster in pedals. Called shop yesterday and explained that bike still smoking on startup. He asked us to change sparkplugs. Front plug slightly fouled with oil burn. Rear plug clean and looks good. Have ridden about 1300 miles since top end. Mechanic said to ride more and see if cylinder cleans up. If not, he will take apart and re-do top end free of charge. Am tired of this, but still want to get 'er right and keep riding.  Thanks for the inquiry! Will keep you posted.

Abbynormal

[RedFXR2]

Something just aint right here.  Now, after a top end job, the front cylinder apparently is leaking oil into the chamber and the rear is good.  It was just the opposite at the start of this story.

Bike about the same. Slight vibration. still shudders as you pass through the 1300 rpm range. About like old time sportster in pedals. Called shop yesterday and explained that bike still smoking on startup. He asked us to change sparkplugs. Front plug slightly fouled with oil burn. Rear plug clean and looks good. Have ridden about 1300 miles since top end. Mechanic said to ride more and see if cylinder cleans up. If not, he will take apart and re-do top end free of charge. Am tired of this, but still want to get 'er right and keep riding.  Thanks for the inquiry! Will keep you posted.

Abbynormal

Before the top end job, it was the rear cylinder that had oil in the combustion chamber.

Received an update from the shop yesterday. Apparently valve guide seal on rear cylinder "weeped" or leaked oil for a long time. Build up of carbon on the piston and valves was excessive and was causing valve leakage resulting in low compression and the out of balance condition. We are doing a complete top end overhaul. Bike only had 21,000 miles. Should not have to do this work so soon. This out of balance condition has been very difficult to diagnose and did not reveal itself until we finally saw a puff of white smoke from the exhaust when cranking the engine.

So essentially, you've got the same problem as before, only now it has changed locations.

After you've ridden 1300 miles, I highly doubt that the oil in the cylinder is going to cure itself.  A couple of years ago I had new heads and rings put on my Evo and I had nothing like this in the break-in period or since.

Is there somebody else there (another tech) that you can get a second opinion from?

[Texas 103]

Received an update from the shop yesterday. Apparently valve guide seal on rear cylinder "weeped" or leaked oil for a long time. Build up of carbon on the piston and valves was excessive and was causing valve leakage resulting in low compression and the out of balance condition. We are doing a complete top end overhaul. Bike only had 21,000 miles. Should not have to do this work so soon. This out of balance condition has been very difficult to diagnose and did not reveal itself until we finally saw a puff of white smoke from the exhaust when cranking the engine.

Time for a 95 & Head work>>>>

[Hoist!]

Time for a 95 & Head work>>>>

It's an Evo Greg. Don't know of that being an Evo size with standard bore pistons. Maybe a 96, or 89, or, 100, 103, or 110, or 113, or 124....

Hoist!