no oil to top end of 96 sportster General Motorcycle Discuss no oil to top end of 96 sportster in the Motorcycles forums; I have a 96 883 with 1200 top end. changed a head gasket. tryed running motor with rocker covers off to be sure everything was ok and noticed no oil ...

[duckmanlabs]

I have a 96 883 with 1200 top end. changed a head gasket. tryed running motor with rocker covers off to be sure everything was ok and noticed no oil to top.i changed the lifters,push rods are clear rocker arms are clear.i have 20psi at the filter and oil is returning to the tank.If i lift the push rod covers when its running oil aplashes all over but none goes to the top of either head. had some noise from front intake valve but all others are quite.I changed the lifters thinking too much side clearance was causing a drop in pressure but that didnt seem to make a differance.talked to several HD mechanics and noones had any ideas. im about ready to set it on fire and walkaway any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for any info jay

[aceharleywrench]

How long are you running the bike and at what RPMs? If you didnt have any oil going to the rockers it wouldn't take long to stick a valve.It sometimes takes a test ride to get the lifters to fully pump up (which translates to oil flowing up the pushrods) Unless you've installed new pushrods with no through holes drilled in them there is no reason your rockers shouldnt be getting oil,you're probably just not seeing it or giving the lifters enough time to pump up.My advice is to squirt oil all around the inside of the rocker boxes,button it up & ride it.