oil puke out of breather tube.

[MD 20/20]

Hello, new  owner here,name is Kevin.
Just received my new /old X out of Deadwood, SD from Jim Tautkus (in case anyone knows him).
Put in a new battery , added 1 quart oil. took it on a shakedown and all is well. Pulled back into driveway,, idling,and it puked out a big puddle of oil. I tried raising the line of the lower protion of the swingarm, raising it to vertical by the caliper. Helped somewhat, but still getting some coughing out. I have heard of relocating the breather, and have been net searching but not finding any info. Any assist you folks can give me on this as well as other issue's that crop up, I sure would appreciate it.
I personally have 2 90's era evo's as well as a 46 Indian Chief. I was looking to add another bike, started researching the X's, and here I am.
Thanks, Kevin.

[wytfut]

Well Kevin welcome to X world!!

Well no harm done, as long as the oil didn't dump all over the air cleaner. If it did, make sure you clean it, and reroute that breather for future.

I'm going to guess you added oil due to what you saw on the dipstick, and were try to get it to the full ash mark.

That won't work with our X's, and it'll puke every time.

So here is the procedure for checking the oil.... A bit of voo doo. Start your X, with you on the machine up right (I don't know if this bike has the pick up tube update)... And let it warm up. Once warmed up, run the throttle up to 2.5k-3.0k rpms for a good 30 seconds....  Shut off the X, dismount, put on kick stand, and pull the dip stick.
On the dip stick you should have oil showing on the middle hash mark, to the next hash mark down. If its on the bottom mark you are probably ok, but if you decide to add, only add oz's at a time.
If it reading higher than that, your X will puke it out until it likes where the oil is..... Which will be messy, but accurate, and no harm.

Our X's are 4 quart bikes.. Actually more, as you cannot get the last one out, unless you tear it down. So when filling/changing the oil.... Throw 3 quarts in, then slow down around the next 4 oz's. . It may not puke on more.... This is a reasonable point of taking note..... Know how much YOUR X will run on, as they all are just a bit different. It probably will not puke at idle....

Sidenote from experience....  If you X has one, or you are thinking this is the way to go..... The siteglass on the oil pump is really cool to look at, but is far from an accurate  measure on how much oil is in the motor.

Again welcome.... And please feel free to come back with any issues
Bruce

[rt66john]

Kevin,

I read your post a few times to see if I read it right.  You said you moved the tube closer to the caliper.  Are you saying that the breather tube is already routed toward the rear of your X and not up near the air cleaner?  A few Xers have done that mod, including me.  Others have a tube going under the swingarm pivot, then follow the fender around so it can puke behind the rear wheel if it does puke.  Still others leave the hose shorter and use a bracket attached to the rear footpeg mount and a small air filter.

Bruce is right about the voo-doo and the oil capacity.  Most know exactly how much oil to add at each change to keep his/her individual X from puking.  For example, mine will take all 4 quarts and not puke, but I haven't done the "pickup tube" mod yet.

John

p.s.  I'm no expert on these bikes.  Bruce (despite what he tells you) is very knowledgeable, even if he is from Nebraska.   

[MD 20/20]

Kevin,

I read your post a few times to see if I read it right.  You said you moved the tube closer to the caliper.  Are you saying that the breather tube is already routed toward the rear of your X and not up near the air cleaner?  A few Xers have done that mod, including me.  Others have a tube going under the swingarm pivot, then follow the fender around so it can puke behind the rear wheel if it does puke.  Still others leave the hose shorter and use a bracket attached to the rear footpeg mount and a small air filter.

Bruce is right about the voo-doo and the oil capacity.  Most know exactly how much oil to add at each change to keep his/her individual X from puking.  For example, mine will take all 4 quarts and not puke, but I haven't done the "pickup tube" mod yet.

John

p.s.  I'm no expert on these bikes.  Bruce (despite what he tells you) is very knowledgeable, even if he is from Nebraska.   

The breather tube was in Im assuming the stock location, running along the bottom of the swingarm, exiting at the tail end of the swingarm. I cut the tie wraps and curved it upwards at a 90 degree direction, so the end is upright and near the front of the caliper.
i talked to Jamie and Marty today, and they told me the same thing about filling the thing up. I did order their reloc kit for the breather and the fan assist oil cooler too, as this one has the jeggs cooler (looks like a jegs), and Marty said they tested a bunch and the jeggs was the suckiest they tested.
Im gonna yank the ecm too, as i dont know what tune is in it and Jamie had no records of working n this X.
I got a soft spot for Cornhuskers, they all right with me . My mom is from Nebraska (Stanton by Norfolk, N central), grandpappy farmed 400 acres and a few critters way back when.

[wytfut]

Geez.... U 2 knotheads....... Well thanx, for the cooperation.... No idea where either of you are from..... And I'm still no wizard at this....
But this is how I stand on this site right or wrong.... I'm gonna give it my best shot to help out who ever, as these bikes in my opinion VERY cool...
An d if I can't help someone.....  I know where ask, or where to research.....

Seriously, I love these bikes....

Ok Kevin.... The OEM placement is right back into the backside of the air cleaner mount. I'd suspect not too many still there

Stanton/norfolk area eh?    I know the region.    Thanx guyz!!   Bruce

[rt66john]

Hee hee.

Turns out Kevin and I are pretty close to each other.

Bruce is right again. The hose you had is not the stock placement. Sounds like it is very similar to what I did with my #2016.

I may even hazard a guess that you don't have a stock air cleaner assembly either.  If the element itself is round and sandwiched between two aluminum plates, it's one of the aftermarket units.

[MD 20/20]

It does have the intake upgrade on the bike, that was done previously.

[wytfut]

Anytime X owners can get together is cool..!

[Jumper]

Well... From my point of view... Vent the hose out the back fender.. NO WHERE NEAR THE CALIPER! Cause if she pukes, she pukes on the brake pads and that makes stopping a wee bit hard... Oil level also depends on what size oil cooler you have as well... A NFP Cooler holds more oil than a stock cooler. I can go with 4 quarts and a smidge if I let it drain out for a while.
Check your updates list as well and plan on doing your upgrades when you can, the "SOONER" ("KneeBraSki"reference) the better....
Sooners are from Nebraska right?

Jumper
 

[AZSUPERX]

Hopefully you don't have the same issue I had.....burned valves. It started by puking a little oil then just got worse from there.

[wytfut]

I'm gonna guess that Kevins bike has had a short pampered life so far. In other words typical....

I believe I had the worst oil puke situation ever a few years back. Due to lack of intelligence, I used silicon gasket sealer on a few gaskets.
Very small pieces of silcon came off into the oil system...... And proceeded to score both oil pumps.  I had to do a lot of head scratching and conversation with Jamie to get it figured out.

14 mile trip, and I had 1 quart of oil left. Ass end was covered with oil...   That's a lot of puke....

Bruce

[MD 20/20]

Well... From my point of view... Vent the hose out the back fender.. NO WHERE NEAR THE CALIPER! Cause if she pukes, she pukes on the brake pads and that makes stopping a wee bit hard... Oil level also depends on what size oil cooler you have as well... A NFP Cooler holds more oil than a stock cooler. I can go with 4 quarts and a smidge if I let it drain out for a while.
Check your updates list as well and plan on doing your upgrades when you can, the "SOONER" ("KneeBraSki"reference) the better....
Sooners are from Nebraska right?

Jumper
 

I got the vent kit from Jamie coming along with the fan assist cooler. He has my ecm now waiting for a running bike to flash it with xtune. I dont have verification and Jamie doesnt show my vin ever into his shop, so I dont know what tune it has. The intake has been upgraded, and the po says the trans was done too. Its got 11k miles, so Im running on trust the trans has been done. PO also believes but not 100% certain pick up tube mod has been done. Given the bike has the full load of accessories, someone spent some time and money on it. I wanted an X with some miles on it so I would know its performance was proven, vs an 800 miler that likely had nothing done after an owner found out wwhat it would cost to do the updates.
Feels like the rear brakes already got puked on, so I will throw some pads on it. Is there an easy place to find pads?
The ignition cylinder is long gone too. I see I can get nos for about $350. Is there a harley switch that might graft in there nicely?
Thx, Kevin.
I like that Jamie fella. He believes ethanol is a good waste of corn liqour, on which I gotta agree.

[wytfut]

There is a HD switch that will work.... But I don't know which one it is, and well it just isn't right to put it on....
Jamie/Marty probably also have the stavos kit switch, which although pricey is virtually bullet proof.
Jamie/Marty also have the pads, or you can look at the x reference list on this site if you wish. Truthfully any time I can afford ot I try to buy from the vendors, as thee are only so many X's out there.....

Bruce

[wytfut]

That sounded more harsh than I planned. You csn put anynthing you want on your X,because it is yours....    I'm no purest, but try to stay with the EH stuff

[2CoolWheels]

MD,
   This is the best price I've seen around for the rear pads, though I can't vouch for the quality:
http://www.cheapcycleparts.com/products/181848-sbs-739ls-s-pu-brake-pads-shoes-ls-sintered-brake-pads#

Mike