EVO Harley Engine Tear Down - Kevin Baxter - Pro Twin Performance

Let's tear down a Harley Evolution Engine! A full tear down and diagnosis.
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/ @kevinbaxter
Pro Twin Performance and Baxter's Garage
723 W Winder Industrial Pkwy
Winder, GA 30680
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[@briankorelec7718]

Feeling very lucky indeed at the moment.

[@intoenduro2842]

Love to see a Evo rebuild as well 🙏😉

[@kerrylewis2581]

I have not wrenched an EVO in thirty years. So cool to watch this teardown.

[@pugloverg6671]

This guys respect for crank runout is badass….details people…..

[@FlipandTheBlueMule]

Gotta love them EVOs

[@jimkraft9445]

I only have 64,000 on my 99 Softail Custom. I did change out the inner cam bearing at 23,000 just for peace of mind. I am still running the stock cam as I am 83 years old, and do not need the extra go. It is when guys change to a high performance cam that puts extra pressure on the lifter rollers that they have trouble. There have been some stock EVO's that go 200,000 miles without wrenching. But the inner cam bearing can go bad any time, even with a stock cam. Seen it happen to many times. IT only takes a slow guy like me a day to change it out. I replaced the push rods with Harley adjustable push rods which have worked fine. Saves a lot of work, and I have no leaks. I love the EVO. The best engine Harley ever made in my opinion. My first Harley was a 1942 "45" flat head, when I was 14 back in 1955. No power house, but fun to ride.

[@Grimexperience62]

Well said. Why do people hop up and push a fantastic engine like the Evo to run like a Ninja, I'll never understand. All the power and speed we need. Kudos to you for taking care and respecting your ride..

[@jerryspencer5453]

Thanks Kevin. Love to see you work. Anything about EVOS is good for me. Got 2 1998 models, Ultra and Heritage Springer. Love them both and you are the guy that helps me keep them on the road.

[@esfahan1961]

Exactly what happened to my 110ci CVO engine last August except I wasn’t that lucky! Cost me a new engine. I did feel a grinding sound on the motorway which I misinterpreted with a rusted front wheel bearing or loose disk brake. By that time the bike just died under me with no power at all. Took 9 months to get a new block and fix my 2014 Deluxe CVO which I’ll collect in a week. Thank you for explaining issues so well to non mechanics like me.

[@kevincooper2619]

Great seeing EVO stuff

[@intoenduro2842]

Great watch Kevin thanks and a very lucky owner for sure! EVO the new ol School 🏆

[@briankorelec7718]

Kevin… you are infact the man! Happy to see this ol bag of hammers is in good hands and cannot WAIT to get it back in my FXR! I miss riding it! Thanks so much for everything, huge piece of mind for me knowing it’s in good hands,you and I can get up on a ride and try and set our hair on fire in Sturgis next year!

[@joekubesch8558]

I'll hafta miss the premiere: got date with the Mrs. I'm lucky like Brian!

[@jackthebagger7589]

EVO's rock , my 84.5 Tour Glide I put 225000 on and my 88 Tour Glide was around 342000 , back in the nineties there was a guy from NC who put over 400000 on a Tour Glide , as I recall the cases were never cracked open . Keep Mike Jones busy , gonna ride over and see you guys soon I hope

[@thomaskirkpatrick4031]

I'm hoping to to get close to that on mine.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I really like the fact that you're the kind of Rider that I am. I love having tons of miles on my bikes I have 400,000 miles on my Sportster don't know what my Triumph has because they don't have a speedometer but I've ridden that bike 40 plus years God knows how many miles is on that. At a quarter of million miles on my CX500 cam chain broke and destroyed the engine. It's funny how my low Tech Sportster outlived my high-tech Japanese motorcycle. I actually wore out the front end on my Sportster back in 2009. Some guy just bought a brand new Sportster and put a girder or a Springer on it so the whole stock Fork was at the shop and I got the whole stock for 300 bucks and 100 bucks in labor to put it on. Everybody said all you're so lucky that would have cost at least $800 at the Harley shop that's why I spend my money at an independence shop. Evos forever forever evos.

[@CapnDrift]

I noticed the blanket. Here's a head scratcher for you; my 62FL will slowly dump the tank into the case. If she's sat for more than a week I'll pull the filler cap and put a butter tub under the breather (that previously dumped into the primary). I know when she's going to puke because I can hear the breather tube gurgle as I kick her over. I once put a 1/4 turn valve on the supply line. Here's the head scratcher part; she still did it. Yep, with supply shut off oil still migrated from tank to case. All I can figure is that due to the side mounted filter in the tank the oil is actually coming from the return. No I haven't tried valving that. When everything else is eliminated that all that's left. The only other line is the gear case breather, but it runs above the tank's fluid level. I considered putting a ADBV filter in it, but I discovered after getting hot she might not push enough pressure to open it. Oh well, after sitting I just "puke her" the day before I'm scheduled to ride.

[@wesvoges224]

Really good to see the inside of an engine that was built right. Thanks Kevin.

[@KevinBaxter]

Thanks Wes!

[@philipwoodacre1644]

crazy long engine tear down series JUST KEEP GOING THEIR WILL BE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!!!!!LOVE IT LOVE IT ALL THE BEST KEVIN FROM PHIL IN GREAT BRITAIN.

[@pugloverg6671]

I had a flat lifter wheel once in my shovel…..new lifters and pushrods and still have the engine…..

[@mickrose6450]

Like a surgeon of the highest order just brilliant thanks for sharing Kevin🍻

[@ralphclayjr7528]

Awesome engine break downs and very informative.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

I checked the oil on my Sportster once and it was super low so I topped it off but when I got on the highway the oil started to overflow the tank and run all over my belt which proceeded to disintegrate. It would slip through the pieces that had no teeth and I just prayed that I would get home and the closer I got home the more I worried about the belt breaking but I got home and I learned about the wet something on a Sportster. Love that S&S case looks gorgeous. S&S makes the greatest stuff.

[@ernhrtfanracing]

Great to see the EVO teardown. Had a 97 FXSTC but never any problem. Thank you and what a great save!

[@KevinBaxter]

More evo and shovel stuff coming! Thanks Scott

[@stevedunsmore2558]

Hopefully the motor company is watching this video and might do this as a new model. Great idea.

[@timothyvotaw7517]

Great video. Got a stock 80 Evo been sitting 8 years, burnt exhaust valve, so teardown is next. This helps a bunch.

[@capecodbiker9902]

Wow brain was definitely lucky with that lifter

[@thomasczyz1279]

Love the videos learn something every time …can’t wait for the next one hopefully you’ll be putting it together….

[@MikeGibson-er6dq]

I like your videos and have learned so much. I appreciate your honesty and integrity

[@ldeanmason1788]

Great series Kevin. Over the years we worked on tons of evos. The lifters (followers) was always a problem with this model.. all brands btw.

[@johngaulding3710]

Take a close look at the rocker shaft bushings. They are cold rolled steel that are bronze coated. Cheap cheap cheap.

[@christophercummins4946]

That's what I call Good Karma what a lucky break that guy got pretty amazing the Polish job on those cases are absolutely beautiful the only other guy that I know could probably say that was a guy I knew in Tucson Arizona when they can get him that shiny they look like Chrome that's a sweet sweet job

[@virgilastacy5281]

I own a 99 Softail got 87k and running great when she hits a100k going to freshen her up love that engine I'm the second owner and we both took care of her anyway keep it between the mustard and mayo and rubber side down later

[@samstein1822]

Seems to me that the build quality of Evo’s is much higher than T.C. And M8’s. Is that right?

[@morningstarx5340]

The evo had plenty of it's issues too. I think build quality is fairly consistent across the 3

[@BagpipekilR]

I agree with morning stars statement. All 3 have issues in their design, albeit the evo being older didnt have to meet the requirements of the other 2 models. The Evo motors had cam bearing issues, lifter angle issues, crankcases cracking, oil pump drainback, base gasket leaks, crank breather valve wearing into the right case. Twin cams had tensioner shoe issues, crank runout problems, compensator failures, rocker box leaks, trans issues with the 6 speed. M8 engines have sumping problems and oil blowby issues, insufficient oil pump flow, they all have their demons. Pick your poison, upgrading and customizing is one of the funnest aspects to me. Love my 94 Evo and my 02 88TC. Will hopefully add a M8 to the satable one day. Ride safe brothers 🤘

[@SaddleTrampTV]

On my bagger and the softail, I had the rear exhaust lifter crap out on me. But I caught it in time both times. Happened between 30k to 40K. It's good practice on an evo to change out the lifters every 30k to 35k.

[@bmp72]

I had the same plastic breather gear with the yellow plastic spacer in my 1983 FXDG shovelhead. The spacer was way to thick, the teeth were chewed of the breather gear. I have the feeling HD used a one size fits all spacer and counted on the 6 slats on the breather gear to wear it down. I think on my bike it was way to tight, and that the teeth were chewed off in the first few minutes of the bike running back in 83. The bore was undamaged, put a metal breather gear in with the correct metal spacer.

[@jerryjackson7397]

Can't wait to see this!

[@darylthompson5071]

As always outstanding

[@FreedomRider1982]

I just came across your channel. I'm happy to support you and other fellow content creators. I look forward to seeing and hearing more from your channel in the future. Keep up the great work and ride safe, out there ...

[@andrewdking]

I got an original EVO Grey Ghost Fatboy. Back in 2016 I heard a tinkling sound and assumed it was a broken valve spring. All power was then lost and had to get it towed by the AA back home. A local custom bike builder then collected it and found not only had one of the cam followers shed all its hardened steel needle rollers all around the internals of the engine, but also one of the crank main bearings inner races (a shrink fitted item) had walked about a 1/4" along the shaft. The engine is now with 'famous' engine builder BOZ in Rye England and he still has it 7 years later 😢😡

[@stevejames6758]

Have you paid your bill??

[@MrChopemup]

I had a lifter come apart on me just north of Zaragosa Spain. I was coming from Sweden. I coasted into an Apple orchard farm. it was late, but I had it all apart by midnight. Woke up the next morning. Put it back together. Cleaned it all up as best as possible, of course. I always carry an extra lifter with me, I didn’t need it for 10 years. But I did then I’m pretty much a nomad so I need to have these things. When I got to Zaragosa Harley Davidson. They wanted to 130 euros for one. And it was a 10 day wait. Change the oil and headed to the Canary Islands.

[@thomaskirkpatrick4031]

Oh yeah it's about time, something I can really get into. Don't get me wrong, the Twin Cam and M-8 videos are fun to watch, but I'll never buy an M-8, I had a Twin Cam, which is the reason I now own a EVO so I'm really excited to see you work on one.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

The Evolution motor was developed under AMF. Imagine if AMF kept the company. The Evolution motor for the big twin as well as for the Sportster was the best motor that Harley came out with. I would not take a twin cam or a Milwaukee H for nothing. I love my evil Sportster. I love how my crappy government phone cannot pronounce Evo now it did but usually it says evil. You think it's trying to tell me something?

[@christophersmith7714]

Nicely done. Much appreciated. I have had my 88 Springer since 93. Cheers from UK

[@wilfredsexton2823]

Love your video's so full of knowledge Man

[@tracyhardin4542]

Great video.

[@christors]

Kevin, I love your content. Keep it coming please. Also, maybe you can give some more opinions for people on the EVO that are going to to a light build.

[@Rokonroller]

Excellent work/narrative 👍👊

[@sidneysnottley6414]

And ... another great vid.. Thanks

[@jeffnevius]

Very nice

[@Charger1908]

I noticed you said this evo had a lot of performance work done to it but I noticed that it did not have roller rockers. Seems like that would be one of the first performance upgrades done to an engine, am I wrong? I use them in all of my automotive builds and I just bought a set for my Milwaukee 8 build. Thanks Kevin!

[@andigossweiler1551]

Exact the same on my Road King: after 4 years with a loud valvetrain, I was motivated this winter saison to do some good things to my engine and install a new cam (EVL-3010 replaces Andrews EV-13), lifters and adjustable pushrods. After I took the camchest apart, also one single lifter (same as yours, the intake from back cylinder) had to much play in the roller bearing, but no needles fell out. This was the source of the loud valvetrain. I replaced all them with Feuling HP+ lifters, assembled everything back together and voila, all noises are gone and the valetrain is like new. Only a slight gear whining is present, but this doesn't fear me because a light cam gear noise was audible also before this operation.

[@leonardstanford1877]

What were the cam specs ? I have noticed that cams with fast ramps seem to be hard on lifters . I just had a lifter axle break & the piece fell down & sheared the oil pump drive key ! I also got lucky & did no damage to the pump or pump shaft bushing !

[@kurtruppenthal9506]

Great video. Brian sure got lucky. Many a evo have been damaged by lifter roller problems. What do you think about a small c clamp on the oil supply line to the pump for a 2 or 3 month storage to prevent the sumping?

[@pugloverg6671]

This guy is good….give him some business people….I would

[@jberschi]

How do we find Doug Baumgardner for polish work?

[@rebel_ltz]

27:28 That's what she said!

[@Chaplain161]

Looks like some misplaced needle bearings in you hand.

[@scottmagyar]

Team great Video, But i was curious what is the best overall stock riding engine the Evo, or the twin cam or M8 thks

[@Jim_Berry]

Who is the manufacturer of the new case? Love the video by the way!

[@briankorelec7718]

Cases are S&S

[@duanepeiffer5071]

So do you replace just the one bad lifter in this situation or all four? Can the cam be polished or does it also have to be replaced?

[@fugemlpriks1876]

Thanks for sharing Kevin. Can you reseat the check valve ball in its seat in the pump ? Have a 91 Heritage that's spewing oil into the intake every time I start it cold . Thanks Kevin 👍

[@depthsounderdave]

Don’t fall into the trap of using a checkball and valve lapping compound to form a spherical seal. You want a thin contact ring 0.003-0.005”. A conical seat can do this but the best for hand honing is a tri point seat.

[@ahill7099]

exactly the destruction that happened to my buddies 91 evo..lifter went and trashed motor through pump..all new motor after

[@stevereid8903]

For such a nice well built engine it's a pity it had a plastic breather, should of had it replaced last time it was rebuilt. Still very lucky you might be needing new crankcases.

[@bluesriderDF]

How many miles on this Evo engine?

[@JCcanU]

? would you reuse the Cam or change it with minimal wear , I had a Axel snap and the roller was stuck in the lifter but it ground off 10th of a lob , I replaced it , but my stock N cam had a lot of wear like that and adjustable push rods , It looked like the Lifters had been changed it was a stock cam HD N .

[@kevinsnook8271]

on a 95 evo will the check valve sticking cause too much pressure and push all the oil out of the motor?

[@jonathanlockley9871]

Say Beetlejuice 3 times and Dewalt will answer. 😊

[@jeffdecamp1043]

Kieve had the exact thing happened to me. But I wasn't that lucky. Now going through the clean up on mine 95 first gen EFI ultra classic. Any suggestions? Thanks .moving forward.

[@Sway1177]

Anyone know how many miles were on this motor and parts? I'm worried about ever getting into a Harley with all these different problems I see pop up.

[@terrywalsh2349]

Did you not need to check for an INA cam bearing ?

[@dcxplant]

Ooooo what's under that grey tarp? ;-)

[@KevinBaxter]

oooooo.....lol. i forgot to cover it in a few videos. A serious performance FXR with all sorts of goodies to be revealed in Sturgis next year.

[@joeabbott7839]

What do about numbers matching on motor an frame

[@joeabbott7839]

I have 97evo head studs pulled out of the case is it ok to use longer studs

[@dearslayer4524]

Wonder what oil this gentlemen runs in this nice evo

[@thomaskirkpatrick4031]

Kevin, did you build this engine?

[@williamthompson3066]

How clean everything is I would say that it was refurbished or rebuilt

[@holisecleveland2859]

Kevin, would you please give me the model name/number on the DeWalt cordless wrench that you like so much?

[@jimsullivan306]

why did the lifter fail,is that common.how many miles on the motor?

[@revbikerbigd8664]

Stock lifters? How many miles on them? What's the best lifters for EVO?

[@joedmac78]

Don't forget to tighten the flux capacitor

[@travismccarty515]

I'd really like to see the bike this motor belongs to! An engine that meticulous has got to be sitting in something pretty. How can I see the bike?

[@barrymoore7043]

Hi Kevin, do you have the contact info for Doug, the polisher you mentioned? Thank you.

[@KevinBaxter]

Doug at 4404790436

[@briankorelec7718]

Yes, Doug Baumgardner, he can be reached at number Kevin gave, leave message and he will get back to you

[@richiebainbridge2608]

Hi, will you be showing us how to stop the ball check valve from leaking past .

[@depthsounderdave]

Absolute best method is a tri point honing. Order diamond coated ball hones in three sizes. Standard check ball size and 1/32” over and under that size.

[@unchartedthickets]

He uses the words religious folk use to describe their creator. Then he simply tells you why this seems improbable. Pretty straight forward. I haven’t seen a good response yet.

[@mickc4633]

So those rollers coming apart seems to be a very common thing lately. Harley Davidson‘s been having problems. I don’t know if they fix them yet they say they’re good for 15 to 20,000 miles for what I seen I believe it even Chevy LS motors having problems. What is it outsourcing? Curious what brand are those lifters and how long were they in the bike? Seems like screaming Eagles have been having problems with a little bit higher lift. Anything with higher lift. They seem to be giving up. I have a warranty on my 2014 that is got about a year and a half left before you see the bike. I hope it’s fixed. I’ve seen a lot of catastrophic. Thanks enjoy your stuff coming down that way in May. We never talk personal but you’re probably too busy. Anyway talked about dropping my bike off in the fall. If you have the room, I’ll pick it up in the spring, ready to go me and my woman will probably ride and fly Kevin. Thank you.

[@Crimepaysaskapolitician]

How many miles on that evolution?

[@Jonathan-L]

Hi Kevin, is there any particular brand of replacement lifter that would be more reliable over any other lifter available?

[@glennstatham960]

Maybe if Milwaukee sent some tools, DeWalt might wake up haha! (I use Milwaukee!)

[@john0270]

Dewalt will never wake up. Milwaukee did a great job setting up vendors for their products. Heard from several upstart businesses in town that they never even heard back from Dewalt, and Milwaukee reps were on site within two weeks......

[@ORflycaster]

I can't find the video on Ohio Mike's bike.

[@mickrose6450]

If I win lottery ya can send me a motor to oz😁

[@Sam590ss]

Big cams? I've learned the hard way that not having the proper head work done can cause a .590 and bigger cam to have interference with the guide.

[@KevinBaxter]

EXACTLY sir. once you go past about .585, many considerations need to be made.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

How can anybody put plastic parts in a motorcycle engine that gets warm when running just don't get it.

[@emmanuelgonzalez5154]

Ask that to BMW

[@billcarothers9182]

You have contact info for Doug in Ohio that does the polishing ?

[@KevinBaxter]

For polishing...Doug at 4404790436

[@billcarothers9182]

@@KevinBaxter thank you.

[@krogersucks45]

How many miles on this motor ?

[@briankorelec7718]

Bike is a 92 fxlr,chassis has just under 19,000 miles on it,but the rear wheel and engine has WAY more than that on it !