[Yamahawk]

Thanks for the info, Ace!
   What about a one-way valve (pcv valve)? There has to be a way of stopping the oil from blowing out the duck bill. I think I am going to get a new duck bill, as I have trimmed it about half, and now it may not have the proper pressure to keep oil into the crankcase.

[Grumpy Gramps]

I have had Hitchcock's breather kit for almost 2years and works fine??

[Yamahawk]

Thanks, G G I appreciate the info. I will try a couple more things to alleviate the excess oil, and the breather kit will do the trick, if all else fails. The engine is running smoother for some reason, and it is very nice at lower rpm. Perhaps because of the new seal, or perhaps because of the intake cam adjustment. I have noticed a small backfire on deceleration in 3rd gear, and it could be because I had to remove the exhaust pipe to r & r the worm gear and seal. The joint at the head is just a slip fit, and I seated it rather firmly with a rubber mallet prior to tightening the mounts on the pipe, but that doesn't ensure an air-tight seal, and it could be sucking air there. I may have to wait on the carbon buildup to 'seal' the head pipe again lol...

[Grumpy Gramps]

Yamahawk to seal your joint between head and downpipe the best thing is ordinary clear bathroom silicone sealer mines been done for 2 years same time as the breather kit and again no problems, main thing is to clean inside the head and the outside of the downpipe, let it go off overnight before starting the engine ??

[ace.cafe]

Thanks for the info, Ace!
   What about a one-way valve (pcv valve)? There has to be a way of stopping the oil from blowing out the duck bill. I think I am going to get a new duck bill, as I have trimmed it about half, and now it may not have the proper pressure to keep oil into the crankcase.

The duck bill is a one-way valve.
Trimming the length to about 1/3 is normal practice,  and shouldn't be any problem.
If you want a mechanical valve, KrankVent is the one used by racers.

The OEM breather system has a small duck bill inside a catch can, and a vent hose at the top. This acts as an air/oil separator, and breather valve, all together.  Occasionally you need to drain the catch can.

There will always be some atomized oil mist out the breather duck bill because of the atomized oil mist inside the crankcase, being whipped by the crank. It should only be a minimal mist, however.

During cool weather, water condensation can mix with the oil to form a mix we call "mayonnaise", and this can clog the breather hose. It can be cleaned out, and riding times of at least 30-40 minutes help minimize it by allowing the engine to get hot enough to evaporate off the condensed water. Water condenses out of the air inside the engine on cool nights when it drops below the dew point.

[Yamahawk]

The seal seems to have cut down on the amount of oil discharged through the breather. I will look into a check valve, the KrankVent seems a little pricey, although there is a company in the UK that sells a nice one for 11 pounds. I took the bike on a little run, and I haven't noticed the oil level dropping down much on the dipstick, so I will keep an eye on it. The catch bottle had less than a half ounce in it also! It is likely never going to stop completely, as that is the nature of our beasts lol, unless one lets it run out of oil 

[RE350]

Pull the points cover. If loaded with oil this usually is result of bad crank oil feed seal. A common problem on these bikes especially with the cork seal. The 1996 all used the cork seal so your bonded seal w/worm was installed at a later date even though your bike has low miles. I bet all your problems are related to the oil feed seal.

[Yamahawk]

I had noticed oil seeping from the points cover, mixed with the grease that I lube the spindle with through the zero fitting there. Is this what you are referring to? I will pull the points cover and clean it well, now that I have a new quill bolt worm gear seal in, and see if it is still seeping oil there. Thanks!

[RE350]

Yes. Oil level too high in timing chest due to oil leaking from oil feed to crank. Return pump can't maintain proper oil level in timing chest. Leaking into points housing and other places. Does the bike wet sump or smoke excessively at startup?

[Yamahawk]

Yes. Oil level too high in timing chest due to oil leaking from oil feed to crank. Return pump can't maintain proper oil level in timing chest. Leaking into points housing and other places. Does the bike wet sump or smoke excessively at startup?

The only smoke is when I kick it, and it chuffs back through the carb, and I get oil smoke out the air filter (K&N). It doesn't do it always, but sometime it will, and then start normally. Sometimes, it kicks back  and the kick start lever wags briskly like a happy dog with LOTS of clatter. Not sure why, but that can't be good lol. Since I changed the bonded seal and worm gear, it doesn't appear to be leaking out the ignition cap. But, the head gasket does leak oil from the pushrod tunnels, and it appears that it is leaking more now. What once was just oil on the fins on the timing side, now has migrated over the the primary side, and is leaking down onto the cases. I am going to change the duckbill breather back to lube the chain, as out the back oils up the saddlebags, and also the rear of the bike... and the catch bottle helps, but it sometimes slips and rubs through on the tire, which then oils up the side of the tire... also not good lol. I am thinking of plumbing in an oil/air separator in the breather line, and see if that will help, if not, I am going to get the Hitchcock's kit to return the oil into the oil tank. It is a messy dilemma that I face right now!
Have you ever heard of an oil return passage becoming blocked so that the timing chest/crankcase won't return the oil sufficiently fast enough to clear the crank area? I was thinking that the oil drilling might have swarf in it, but not sure how I would clear it if it did. Anyway, it is better now that I have changed the seal, but not alleviated entirely.
Charlie

[RE350]

Normally you would get a lot of oil smoke after bike sets a few days with a bad crank seal allowing excess oil into the sump. Frankly, looking at pics of the old seal I  have seen much worse, so probably not the whole picture.  From your description it sounds like oil smoke is not occurring so old seal and return pump may not be the main reason for oil loss.  Check amount of oil in the crankcase sump (not the oil drain plug) after a drive. Should not be much in there if return pump is working since this is a dry sump design. (A bad return pump would also cause excessive smoke from too much oil in sump, smoke you are not getting). The possibility exists that main problem could be blowby past the rings building up excess pressure in the crankcase and spewing oil. Have you checked compression? Worn piston rings would cause compression loss and excess pressure in the sump with oil leaks.

[Yamahawk]

I am getting a little less than 20
ml of oil from the front sump drain, so it isn't the scavenge pump. I am attaching a pic of the oil drained from there. Which leaves me with some head scratching. I think it is the worm gear cork seal, which is 21 years old, and as far as I know, has never been changed. The bike has around 3200 miles on it currently, and it may need replacement! I have a bonded neoprene seal and worm gear coming from Ft. Worth, along with a timing cover gasket. And, while I am in there, I will try the 1 tooth retarded inlet cam as per Bullet Whisperer's video! I know it may end up with a little less compression, but I think it would give the engine a little bit more smoothness, and a few benefits.
Charlie

This was all the oil in front sump, after 30 minutes of draining. i believe the scavenge pump is doing its job. I will check the compression next!