Mahle piston

[Dannydaytona]

First post and a hello to all
Have a  base gasket leak so I took top end apart. I now have new James gaskets and I'm about
To reinstall pistons.
I have original Mahle pistons only marking is a number 4 and makers logo.
Does the "4" mark go toward exhaust
1985 flht 1340 motor
Thanks in advance

[kd]

The small valve pocket goes toward the exhaust. If the skirt has a chamfer in the lower edge on one side, they are for clearance at bottom dead center and will face each other in the middle.

[Dannydaytona]

Flat top with no relief or chamfer

[tmwmoose]

Hope you only pulled one pin clip per piston to remove and hopefully you remember what side you did it from. You should be able to carefully clean the tops to find the embossed arrow or etch one. We won't ask you why you didn't mark them ok

[Hybredhog]

   Once cleaned, you should see an arrow that goes forward. HD did not have valve relief pockets on 84-85 pistons, and you must be carful if you think you want to install a cam. You may get lucky depending on the grind of cam, but you could also crash the valves.

[bagga]

86 models are known to not have relief pockets too.