New motor priming procedure

[lost_harley]

So this is the first time I have installed a brand new engine. I have an S&S T124 and I have looked for a good way to prime the engine and/or oil pump and haven't found a good way to do this yet so I was wondering if anyone had any tips for me?? Thanks

[autoworker]

Fill engine and oil filter with oil.Remove spark plugs and ground them.You may want to put a squirt of oil in each cylinder just to be sure the cylinders aren't dry.Turn off fuel or remove fuel pump fuse.Crank for no more than 25 sec. or until oil light goes out (whichever comes first).If the light doesn't go out wait for several minutes for the starer to cool,repeat.If the light doesn't go out the second time....
To hell with it,install the plugs,turn on fuel and see what happens.

[BKACHE]

For an EVO engine

Priming the oil system prior to Start-up
All engines should be checked for oil pressure prior to start up. Oil pressure should be
visible at the top end feed screen plug, which is located to the rear of the rear lifter block on
the cam cover side. See Figure 6.
To verify that you have pressure before running your engine follow these steps:
Make sure you have filled your oil tank with clean engine oil and no oil lines are crimped.
1. Remove the top end feed screen plug.
2. Disconnect all wires from the coil.
3. Remove spark plugs from engine.
4. With the motorcycle in neutral, turn on the ignition and crank
the engine in 5 second intervals until oil pressure is present at
the top end feed screen plug. If oil pressure is not visible repeat
this process until oil is present. After oil is present reinstall the
top end feed screen plug.
5. Continue to crank the engine for approx. 20 seconds total. You
will now have oil to the lifters and can start the engine.
Note: If you have difficulty priming your engine's oil pump you can remove the oil pump's check ball (see Figure 6) and fill the check ball cavity
with engine oil and then reinstall the check ball. By doing this you are removing air pockets in the pump and flooding the pump's feed
gears with oil. Generally this will greatly speed the priming process.

Initial Start Up
One of the most important parts of the break-in procedure is the initial starting of your engine!!!!
Read this completely before starting the engine!!!!!!
1. Remove the Air Filter Cover.
2. Twist the throttle wide open and make sure that the fuel pump is working.
3. Give the engine 2 full fuel squirts and full enrichment or choke.
4. Leave the throttle shut and start the engine.
Upon start of the engine, immediately set the idle at approx. 1000-1200 rpm and let the engine idle while initial idle mixture or air bleed
settings are adjusted, if needed, to allow the engine to idle properly.
Some of the things you should not do to a new engine are:
 Do not start the engine without first going though the oil pump/lifter priming process described earlier.
 Do not start the engine without a large fan pointed at the engine and on its highest setting.
 Do not rev the engine or blip the throttle repeatedly.
 Do not let the engine idle for long periods.
While these things may seem unimportant please consider that new engines create much more heat than engines that have been broke in.
Remember these are Air Cooled engines.
On the initial start we recommend letting the engine run approx. 2 minutes then letting it cool before repeating this procedure. Do overall
checks before restarting. Do not over heat the engine! For each 2 minute cycle, run the engine at idle 10-15 seconds then at 2000-2600 rpm
for 10-15 seconds. Check and verify that your engine has adequate oil pressure and is returning oil to the oil tank.
After you have run the engine for approx. 4-5 minutes, verify that no intake air leaks or oil leaks are present.
Do not let the engine get excessively hot! You can now TAKE YOUR FIRST RIDE!
25

[rageglide]

Fill engine and oil filter with oil.Remove spark plugs and ground them.You may want to put a squirt of oil in each cylinder just to be sure the cylinders aren't dry.Turn off fuel or remove fuel pump fuse.Crank for 25 sec. or until oil light goes out (whichever comes first).If the light doesn't go out wait for several minutes for the starer to cool,repeat.If the light doesn't go out the second time....
To hell with it,install the plugs,turn on fuel and see what happens.

Or leave the plugs out, put the trans in top gear and spin the rear wheel a handful of times.  If after that you fire it up and still have issues with the red light going out, figure you assembled the oil pump wrong.  :-)

[lost_harley]

So just to be captain obvious, am I to understand that the oil pump will pump oil with the engine power on? Just by turning the wheel?

[texaskatfish]

AFAIK - oil pumps are mechanical - spinning the engine via the rear wheel would work as all as any ...........

for Gracie's new build we made sure the oil filter was almost full and just fired her up (gently as described above NO revving) - oil pressure came up in 3 seconds or less

[les]

Fill engine and oil filter with oil.Remove spark plugs and ground them.You may want to put a squirt of oil in each cylinder just to be sure the cylinders aren't dry.Turn off fuel or remove fuel pump fuse.Crank for no more than 25 sec. or until oil light goes out (whichever comes first).If the light doesn't go out wait for several minutes for the starer to cool,repeat.If the light doesn't go out the second time....
To hell with it,install the plugs,turn on fuel and see what happens.

Except that I crank for about 10 seconds at a time with half minute pauses in between.  I crank about 5 or 6 times to assure the oil system is primed, especially the lifters so they don't chatter on the first start.  The starter won't have a problem cranking an engine with zero compression for such short durations.

[2006FXDCI]

Fill engine and oil filter with oil.Remove spark plugs and ground them.You may want to put a squirt of oil in each cylinder just to be sure the cylinders aren't dry.Turn off fuel or remove fuel pump fuse.Crank for 25 sec. or until oil light goes out (whichever comes first).If the light doesn't go out wait for several minutes for the starer to cool,repeat.If the light doesn't go out the second time....
To hell with it,install the plugs,turn on fuel and see what happens.

Or leave the plugs out, put the trans in top gear and spin the rear wheel a handful of times.  If after that you fire it up and still have issues with the red light going out, figure you assembled the oil pump wrong.  :-)

This is how I've always done it

[TweekmyTwin]

I do the same as above but just one more step.. I fill the oil tank/pan with air pressure while I crank the motor.

[gordonr]

I believe the engines from S&S come prelubed. My 124T was hemorrhaging oil all over the floor when I unboxed It. I also removed all the chrome to powder coat and there was pooled oil under all the covers as though It had been hooked to an external machine and spun.

[lost_harley]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I feel better about how I should go about firing it up.

[rageglide]

I believe the engines from S&S come prelubed. My 124T was hemorrhaging oil all over the floor when I unboxed It. I also removed all the chrome to powder coat and there was pooled oil under all the covers as though It had been hooked to an external machine and spun.

Sounds like they build them the same way HD does, assembled dry(ish) and connect em to a machine which spins and pumps oil(special no doubt) throughout.

[hbkeith]

If its a brand new S&S motor ,if your asking about first startup ,why wouldn't you ask S&S ( the people you gave the money to,and maybee have a warranty with ? ) how they recommend it  . ive always turn key on and started em

[86fxwg]

Pull plugs, install mechanical gage, unplug starter solenoid,jumper battery lug to solenoid. Let starter cool, repeat till gauge comes up. This way ur not injecting raw fuel into cylinders with key on.