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[kojak]

Comrades,
I'm a newbie to the site and found cvoharley while doing research regarding my problem. Well here's another one for the long list of 110 gasket / head / motor troubles. Mine is a '07 SEUC vin 950561 - 5.5k miles when story starts.
Rode up to Laconia for bike week from NC, noticed a couple of drops of oil coming out of rear cylinder by head. Nothing major but was dripping a bit each day on the ride up. Not being a wrench I figured it might be a head bolt that got a bit loose or something simple.
No measurable oil loss. So we all make it up to Weirs Beach and get settled in our cottages at the Naswa Resort. Next day's plan was to go up to Meredith HD first thing in the morning and get them to check it out and hopefully just re-torque a head bolt.
Well the service writer takes a look and tells me that the HD factory rep is there (bike week, so their hanging out) and they will want to pull the head and check it out closer. Well it is what it is so let's get 'er in there and get working on it. I ask about how long, he tell me 2 - 2.5 hours.. (Damn, going to miss the big run up to Mt. Washington that was leaving Meredith HD around 10AM or so.. Oh well got to take care of the Eagle and get her hurt wing fixed! No big deal we'll run the summit later or tomorrow. I tell my dozen pack members in our group to take off and that we'll catch up with them around noon.)
You got a whole bunch of education quick! With a Harley, always better to be safe than sorry.
2 - 2.5 hours to pull head and check it out, right... 8.5 hours later I get the Eagle back.(My bride and I hanging around the dealer's shop area the whole time. Getting some updates along the way. But it took me stealthing my way into the shop to talk to the mechanic.) Here's the summary - Service Manager tells me it's thought that there is / was a factory milling problem with the seating area of the head / cylinder and that they put new gasket on. He goes on to tell me that when I get back home I should go to my HD dealer and they'll put a new cylinder and head on. I said you say what? New head and cylinder? Why didn't you guys put one on? We don't have one they tell me and it's ok to ride.
Needs a new cylinder and head but it's ok to ride for the rest of bike week and back to NC? They tell me yep.. it will be fine.. I ask them to give me something in writing about what they found and it's condition. They tell me don't worry about it, it's in the computer and my dealer can look it up by running my VIN. I then ask them to print me a copy of what it says in the computer.. They tell me they can't. But it's ok to ride. It took 5k miles to leak the first time so you'll be fine for bike week and to get back to NC. Ok these guys are the experts. Surely they wouldn't let me leave if there was any problem. Man, I'm a fool believing that BS.
I leave the HD dealer around 6:30 pm and we regroup with our pack. 60 or so miles of riding after leaving HD shop and no oil drops. I think ok we should be ok. Next day we all take off to Mt. Washington. Seems to run ok up to the mountain base so we head up to the summit. It starts running a bit hot, pinging and losing power about 3/4's of the way up. At one point I had the throttle wide open and she was barely moving. Seemed like I was losing compression.
I let her cool down, check the oil, no leaks and then we head down the mountain. First and second gear down the hill. Right as we get to the base, she shuts down. I coast over to the side and notice the oil is running out of the front by what I believe is the cam sensor. It was hot.. I mean burning hot... Rear cylinder was yellow. (Riding up and down the mountain it didn't seem any hotter than normal on this '07 thigh cooker.) So I let it cool down, put some oil in it and try to start it up. Soon as I do, oil gushing out of the front sensor like a main artery cut. It's around 4pm I call Meredith HD and I talk to the service manager and tells me to call their sister store in Conway and maybe they can get me a tow. I call there and they tell me it maybe about 7 - 7:30 pm before they can get a truck out. Damn... Anyway, I get a truck on my own and get towed back to Weirs Beach. Rest of bike week, bikeless. I'm surely not bringing it back to Meredith HD so I get it trailered back to NC and my dealer in Rocky Mount.  The Rocky Mount HD team there said they could find nothing in the "computer" about my issue as the Meredith service group told me.
Here's the outcome: HD told my dealer that they would overnight a new motor to them for me and they were to pull the old motor and put it in the create and ship it back to them. I believe they were told do not open up the blown motor. They (HD) listed the new motor and labor as "customer comp." not a warranty issue... Hmmm...
I asked my dealer's service shop to find out why they (Meredith HD) would have let me leave with a motor that was defective and they (Meredith's service manager) said I should not have ridden it up the mountain. (They knew we were going to go up to Mt. Washington.) Maybe I should not have in hindsight. But they told me it was fine to ride. Maybe I just should have not spent $35 thousand dollars on this bike. Maybe I should have rode my Indian up to Laconia and up the mountain. I could go on and on. Lot of maybes..  So I have the Eagle back with a brand new thigh cooker 110 and in the process of breaking in my 2nd motor. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Any thoughts or comments on this problem or my stupidity on believing it was "ok to ride" with what they said was a incorrectly milled cylinder and head?
 

You got a whole bunch of education real quick! With Harley's, my philosophy is always better to be safe than sorry. Good luck on your new motor.

[SilverDawg]

You guys are slowly convincing me to sell my Jester before I get to 5K!!!

[skreminegul07]

You guys are slowly convincing me to sell my Jester before I get to 5K!!!

Would you buy another 110 assuming they are fixed?  There's already a guy with an 08 110 that lost oil pressure at 10 miles!

[SilverDawg]

Would you buy another 110 assuming they are fixed?  There's already a guy with an 08 110 that lost oil pressure at 10 miles!

No way....I just do not want to over react.  It does seem like a large number of these babies are having some serious issues. I'm only at 3k miles so far.  I'll stand pat for now, but will keep a close eye on what is happening to all of these engines.  Obviously, the touring bikes are getting hit hardest due to the miles the SEUC and SERK guys are piling up.  They Dyna and Springer folks are probably in for the same gig.

[hard10]

Well I checked the gasket again this afternoon. Looks like there is some new weeping with the new gaskets. It is VERY minor at this stage but I can see a film of oil on the edge of the gasket. I'm not sure if the pix shows enough detail but I'll try.

[hard10]

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[hard10]

3

[Vosselman (NL - Europe)]

Hard10,

You could try to clean it real good, maybe it's some leftover oil from assembly..... (I hope so.....)

Did your dealer check if everything is FLAT?

[Chief]

Well I checked the gasket again this afternoon. Looks like there is some new weeping with the new gaskets. It is VERY minor at this stage but I can see a film of oil on the edge of the gasket. I'm not sure if the pix shows enough detail but I'll try.

AJ,

So much for the new gasket fixing the problem. I think Harry (Unbalanced) has gone through the same with the revised gasket too.

Can you see any evidence of oil weeping out around the cylinder base? Mine is visible on the left side, down behind the shifter link.

[hard10]

AJ,

So much for the new gasket fixing the problem. I think Harry (Unbalanced) has gone through the same with the revised gasket too.

Can you see any evidence of oil weeping out around the cylinder base? Mine is visible on the left side, down behind the shifter link.

No other oil Cheif. I look very carfully while installing the new linkage ( )

BTW, made it to Lanc via MB, home tomorrow w/ cats.

[Unbalanced]

I am so hoping the new rear jugg and gaskets as a combination will fix this issue.   This is the 3rd official replacement of the gasket, but the 4th real time as when I had the front leak I had them do the rear as well on my dime to put new rings in since the fronts were so messed up.

I only have 200 miles on it, so I guess wait and see is the best I can hope for.

AJ did the dealer replace your Juggs yet and the headgasket with the new ones at the same time?

[Hoist!]

Amen to that Harry! And this is the last chance for me. If, the new HD pistons, HD cylinders, and Cometic head gaskets don't hold up, I'll be gettitng non-HD, hi-performance ductile iron barrels and forged J&E 4" flat top pistons. I'm gonna be pissed if I have to take that top end apart again. I'll make sure there are no HD parts left up there. Only RACING CHIT!!!

Hoist!

[Chief]

No other oil Cheif. I look very carfully while installing the new linkage ( )

BTW, made it to Lanc via MB, home tomorrow w/ cats.

I bet Shelby is REALLY looking forward to that.  New chew toys. 

[MJZ]

CHIT CHIT CHIT CHIT CHIT CHIT!!!!!!!!!!!11
If any of you have been following the Posse Ride topic, you might have seen Jerry (Ultrafx) who had his rear jug and gasket replaced the week he left, has just noticed it is leaking again. He got 6K out of the new one.
Looks like MoCo has not got a clue as to a fix.
I am now really thinking I need to just go by dealer to cancel my deposit and wait for some better news.

[Chief]

CHIT CHIT CHIT CHIT CHIT CHIT!!!!!!!!!!!11
If any of you have been following the Posse Ride topic, you might have seen Jerry (Ultrafx) who had his rear jug and gasket replaced the week he left, has just noticed it is leaking again. He got 6K out of the new one.
Looks like MoCo has not got a clue as to a fix.
I am now really thinking I need to just go by dealer to cancel my deposit and wait for some better news.

I wouldn't get too panicky about it. Mine is leaking again and it still runs great. I'm hopeful they will get it figured out and then all will be well. I've 1.5 years of warranty left and several gaskets to go. The bike is great I love it, even with its problems.