Hitchcocks Forum

Hi folks, due to the ingress of oil into the primary case on my 08 electra x I've ordered a new oil seal for the drive side, i'm waiting for a puller for the rotor can someone tell me if the entire inner primary has to come off to access the seal of can you do it by just taking the engine sprocket off ? I've always filled the oil tank to pretty much the top of the dipstick, the problem of oil ingress has become less now that I've allowed the oil level to drop towards the bottom of the dipstick, is this a known issue ? I've not been having any symptoms of wet sumping with the oil tank full cheers Andy

'Twould appear.. that nobody knows. Ring Mr. H. Someone there will know.

Is this any use:- http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/pa ... Crank_Case

You only have to get the chain/engine sprocket and clutch off, you can leave the inner primary casing on, though this would be a good opportunity to check the condition of the gearbox sprocket and replace it if at all doubtful (for which the inner primary case does have to come off). The nut holding the gearbox sprocket measures 50mm across the flats, I invested in a 46mm x 50mm ring spanner which is quite a hefty bit of spannerage.



I can't remember if the E/S engine sprocket on mine needed a puller or not when I converted my Electra to kick start only, but the other sticking point if you are removing the inner casing can be the three 8mm countersunk socket headed screws holding the front of it on, sometimes they can be done up exceptionally tightly by the factory, but the metal can be a bit soft - might need an impact driver with a hex head bit. The back of the chain case fits on to the 5 speed gearbox with a 6mm stud and nut.

Dont be too hasty...


Once upon a time it was all too common for the Electra X to fill its primary side with engine oil, and it was NOT coming in past the drive side oil seal.


Check the engine breather catch-can: it has a small 'vent' (drain) hose in the bottom of the canister that is (was) connected to primary chaincase.??


When the main engine breather (off the oil tank) is poorly routed, engine oil is blown up into the catch-can and drains down into the chaincase...




Drain the excess oil from the chain case, remove the small breather hose or clamp it closed.


Now instead of oil overfilling your primary side, it will be blown into your air filter!!!!



Search the old messages for the cure, or contact me off list and I can send you a Word file on the subject...

royalenfield AT clear DOT net DOT nz

That's woken a few grey cells... Very easy to spot if using ATF in the chain case because when the engine oil and water from the catch-can start mixing with the ATF it all ends up looking like pink milkshake.

Thanks for the replies guys, when I got the bike the clutch was crap, dragging and slipping so I ordered a new one, when I drained the primary I found a full 2.5 ltrs of emulsified oil, I just put it down to poor maintenance by the previous owner, fitted the new clutch and the required amount of atf, hundred miles or so later it began to slip a bit again, drained it off to find 1.5 ltrs, this time the strawberry milkshake thing, then I noticed the breather was going directly into the primary case, I have now vented it straight to fresh air over the back mudguard thinking I solved the problem as it does spit a bit of emulsified oil from the breather, I believe this is not uncommon on the lean burn engine, 200 miles later started to slip a little again, this time I undid the level plug to find 750ml of extra oil in there it was the strawberry thing again but I didn't actually take the case off and clean it so I assumed there must have been some left in, so it must be coming through the drive side oil seal, however.... I always kept the engine oil level at the top of the dipstick, I've let it drop a bit and the problem has improved quite a lot, but I may as well change the seal while I've got the case off, I knackered my primary gasket so I ordered a puller at the same time and a new seal, i'll look at it over the weekend

Hi Andy, going by your last reply it sounds like the engine is wet sumping and oil is going from the crankcase, past the seal and into the primary case. If so, it must be wet sumping quite heavily, but the fact you state by lowering the oil level in the 'tank', the problem has eased a little seems to back this up. Parking on the centre stand, rather than the prop stand might also help, this assumes you use the prop stand, of course. A new seal might solve the chaincase oil level rising, but the wet sumping on an Electra X might be something that has to be lived with, although they are less prone to smoking and making a mess than the 'classic' types when started up in this state. Regards, Paul.

Cheers Paul, the seal was completely shot which is nice to find, its all back together i'll give it a good run tomorrow but i'm not expecting any more issues..... from this anyways, it was wet sumping into the primary for sure, the seal just fell apart it was doing absolutely nothing, thanks for everyone's input cheers Andy