question for anyone with HD experience

[CBRF3RIDER]

Hey guys
My little brother has a 2010 883 Iron that he bought back in June. I just came home for the weekend and noticed that both of the heads were weeping up at the top of the engine. Not a leak but noticeably weeping. It looks like its around the head gasket. I told him to take it to the shop (its still under warranty) on Monday. Anyone know if a little weeping is normal on these sportsters? To me, this is unacceptable but I am far from an HD expert.

This will be the third problem we have had with this bike. The first was the day after we brought it home we discovered the battery was already done for- it would not hold a charge. They almost didnt give me a new battery when I took it in because they dont cover batteries in the warranty, but it was obvious they had given us a bad one from the dealership. The second problem was a leaking shifter seal, which they fixed with no problems asked.

Im hoping that its maybe normal because he is pretty pissed off. I suggested he sell the damn thing before its out of warranty but that really made him mad lol.

 

[CBRF3RIDER]

Id also like to add that a dealership near me has a brand new Ducati Monster 696 for the exact same OTD price my brother paid for his HD. I wish I could have talked him into that.

 

[kdburtch]

The monster would have been better, as far as the weeping that sould not be occuring, that is only normal on the the late 70-early 80s models. My bro has a 2009 883C that does not leak, weep, or drip a drop of anthing. I would wipe it off with a rag and see if it comes back when sitting, or riding, and definatley bring it back to the stealer-ship, it could be that someone did not follow ther correct torque specs or bolt sequencing when installing the heads.

 

[CBRF3RIDER]

Great thanks alot for the quick response! I kind of figured this wasnt right, but like I said I dont know alot about HDs. I cleaned it up the best I could, im going to check it tomorrow and see if any of it came back. Were probably going to go for a ride too depending on the weather.

I did a little bit of research and it looks like its something called the "rocker box cover" that is weeping. I guess that its pretty common with the newer Sporsters.
Rocker Box Gasket Failure Rate - Harley Davidson Forums
Pretty ridiculous, in my opinion. Just another reason not to buy HD.

 

[Fred]

Harley rocker box covers always leak. They're ****ty cast parts, and they vary in thickness so much that sometimes they won't tighten down on the rubber seal.

It's been like that for years.

Fred