I was very happy to find that the newly acquired Shovel has a Rev Tech oil pump installed.. :doh: Well, with the crappy plastic gasket, it leaks very bad. Fortunately, it is only leaking from the cover so I didn't have to remove the whole pump. My question is, do I still need to prime the pump if I only removed the cover to change the gasket?
Often pump priming is not needed, especially if the full oil tank is above the pump and the bike sits overnight. Gravity will do the job for you.
Otherwise you can remove the check ball cover, spring, and ball, until oil flows.
If the tank is below the pump you may need to crank the motor with the spark plugs and check ball out. Remember to give the spark a place to go (or disable it) and not torture the coil.
If the pump has gone completely dry and won't pick up oil, squirt oil in the check ball cavity (with the ball out) and wait a bit for the oil to seep into the pump. This will seal up a dry pump and get it going.
I usually pack a little Vasalene in the pump gears so it does not start dry.
I usually pour a pint of oil into the bottom of a fresh motor so it gets splash lubed on the first start and it doesn't have to wait for the oil pump to get oil.
A Harley motor is mostly splash lubed.
Great info. Shouldn't need to prime in this case then.
You should center the pump while torqueing the bolts. Binding can ruin an oil pump.
It's actually just the pump cover that I had to remove.