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[papasmurf]

I have lost the will to live trying to put the sludge trap back on the Electra X (ish) after cleaning it.
It now looks as if the only was to put the large pipe and the back and top of the trap is going to need taking the petrol tank off so I can get enough slack to replace the pipe.

[Adrian]

I assume you're referring to the catch-tank for the breather. As you have mentioned previously that your bike is a post-industry thoroughbred (phrase copyright Royce Creasey) I can't tell exactly what the guy who built it did, but there's a wealth of debate over what to do with the 2004 and later Bullet breather system, some of it recorded on this forum. Much of it involves junking the catch-tank (and blanking off the pipes to the back of the timing chest and primary case).



The original Bullet system vents directly to the atmosphere and always seemed to work, so you could revert to something along the lines of this, basically the classic duck-bill breather dangling over the gearbox sprocket, but with a piece of 90° bend to suit the breather exit on top of the oil tank. This works fine if you DON'T OVERFILL THE OIL TANK or ride the bike too enthusiastically, which will rather cover the back end of bike with oil... A less mess-prone version would be to fit a one-way valve after the 90° bend and then a longer piece of hose out along the rear chain guard to the back of the bike. If you want an eco-friendlier version you can route the breather pipe into the airbox after the non-return valve, assuming your non-standard bike has the Electra-X air cleaner box.



Hope this helps.



A.

[papasmurf]

Adrian. I only took the sludge trap (catch-tank) off because I had the seat and electrical cover off to fit a new starter solenoid. I took the opportunity after the dire warnings on the forum about the amount of sludge that collects in the catch tank. In my case after taking it off and apart there was next to no sludge in it. (After 12 years.)
So all I want to do is put in back now it is squeaky clean.
(It was VERY difficult to remove, and it seems it will be ever worse to get it back.
The pipe I am having trouble fitting because there is no slack at all in it disappears to somewhere under the petrol tank.

[Adrian]

Sounds like a very good reason to junk the catch-can completely if it has picked up next to no residue after being on the bike for 12 years, and just run the breather pipe to the back of the bike. Other opinions are available...



You might be able to extricate the hose just by undoing the rear tank mounting bolt and slackening off the front just enough to lefr the back of the tank up a bit.



A.

[Adrian]

Sorry. **lift** the back of the tank etc...

[papasmurf]

Adrian I am of the if it ain't broke don't fix it. The oil and petrol additives I use have obviously been working hence little sludge.

[PeteF]

Have a look here. Just my thoughts on the subject

[papasmurf]

Pete F, thanks but I only took the catch can off to clean it due to the dire warnings about how much sludge a Royal Enfield produces. My Electra X very obviously does not. I suspect due to the petrol and oil additives I use.
I merely wish to put the catch can back where I removed it, (with great difficulty,) from.

[Dennis C]

An excellent helpful description Pete, you obviously put a lot of thought into it.

[stinkwheel]

I've said this before but my 350 bullet with the same oil tank breather system produced outrageous quantities of emulsion in the engine all the time. The whole of the inside of the oil tank and the dipstick would be coated with it, the catch can and assosciated hoses would be full of it within a couple of hundred miles.



Even when doing protracted touring (I did an average of 150 miles a day for 3 months) it still filled up with the stuff. In fact, the more miles it did in a day, the worse it got. I replaced the whole lot with a simple 8" long duckbill hose on the oil tank stub and even that would become fully choked with the stuff, it would block and the power would drop and oil would start leaking out round the tappet cover. I'd have to stop and surrepticiously blow it out at the side of the road.



Then one day, I fitted a set of samrat rockers and, because I decided to retain the o-rings and keep them pressure fed rather than volume fed, fitted a hitchcocks scavenge pressure relief valve at the same time. I have never seen a hint of mayo since.



Based on the above anecdote, I'd suggest that those bikes which produce an excess of mayonaise have an issue with the scavenge side going over pressure. How I don't know. Maybe drawing blowpast material into the scavenge pump before it can get to the breather?