[vrodjohn]

The weather is awesome here in Maryland today so I decided to go out for a couple of hours and run the dog #hit out of the bike. When I got back I noticed a pretty heathy oil leak from the rear cylinder jug. It was wet and had dripped onto the back of the engine. Anybody seen this ?? I have read about valve covers leaking after running hard. It is not pouring out so I wiped it off and went back out to see if maybe I had'nt noticed it before but sure enough it was wet again.

If I ever get that call from the dealer to install the new fuel module I guess I will have them look at this at the same time.

 

[Max]

vrodjohn there are severl things that seem to leak on the rear valve cover. Before you ask the dealer make sure it is not the vent for the rear valve cover. They are bad about coming loose and leaking after riding hard. Of course the rear cover itself is also bad about leaking. But when it pours out that bad it sounds more like a loose vent.

Max

 

[vrodjohn]

I went back out and looked at it a little closer now that it has cooled off a bit. It is definately leaking from where the rear jug bolts to the block. It is dry as a bone at the head and valve cover area all the way down to the engine block. It appears to be worse underneath the exhaust pipe where it bolts the the jug. It has pooled under there.

 

[Max]

I know that the size of the heads on the v-rod make it a little hard to tell but the v-rod does not use jugs. The heads go all the way down to the block and the block has the sleeves for the pistons in it. Here is a pic of the rear head, if you have a photo program then circle the area that the leak is at and repost the picture.

Max

 

[vrodjohn]

My edit skills are lacking. The leak is in the general area exept for it is on the other side.

 

[Max]

Well the area you have marked is the headgasket. If your sure that it is not coming from a higher area that you can't see then you need to get that serviced asap.

Max

 

[vrodjohn]

I went out and looked a 3rd time and it is the head gasket that is leaking. I looked closer at the other side and there is some small amount of seepage from there too. What great news.

Do you think I should take off my V-Mods and PC before I take it in ?? I saw a small amount of oil there a couple of weeks ago but did not think much of it. It was right after I got the 1k service done. I don't think it is ok to ride with this leak. I guess I'm grounded until further notice, good thing winter's coming.

Thanks for the info Max,

John

 

[Max]

John your dealer will determine if you need to remove the v-mods and pcIII. If you have a dealer like mine you would be better off to remove any mods. My dealer is always looking for ways to deny any kind of claim.

Max

 

[vrodjohn]

Took the bike in on Saturday and spoke with the Service Manager about the V-Mods and the PCIIIr. He said he had never heard of the V-Mods so I gave him the web site address for them. He said he would research and let me know what the dealer's stance would be on this setup. However, he did say NO to the PCIIIr. He recommended flashing to SE1, I asked him if he did not know about the V-Mod's how could he recommend just a flash ??. He says that with lower restriction exhaust you only need the updated flash to increase fuel delivery and eliminate the lean conditions present in the stock flash.

I await his call to update me about the V-Mods this week.

 

[VRODScout]

John, What dealership do you use?

Mike

 

[vrodjohn]

My dealer is Waugh Enterprises in Orange, VA

Don't get me wrong, I have had nothing but good experience with this dealer so far. I think that for whatever reason they do not like aftermarket components like the PCIIIr to be installed.

John

 

[VRODScout]

OK, Southern MD...cool. I am quickly loosing faith in my dealership up here in Bel Air, MD. Thanks!
Mike

 

[vrodjohn]

Received a call yesterday that the head gasket needed to be replaced and that they had to order the parts. Would have by Monday 11-17. This means the bike will be down at least 2 weeks because I cannot go get it until the weekend. Service manager did say that they contacted the MoCo about the problem. He says that with the V-Rod that they want info on all failures that the dealer see's on this bike.