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- why does half empty harley oil tank fill up after riding?
my harley sportster oil tank was half empty,and after i rode it a short distance it was full. could there have been too much in the crankcase?

A You may want to ck your ck valve in your pump the oil is draining into your crankcase then being pumped back into the tank when started -Not a real problem but I would ck into it AKA wet sumping

- oil leaking from around filler plug on 82 harley sportster?
Oil is leaking from around the filler plug on the crank case on my 82 Harley Sportster. Oil is draining from the oil tank and making its way to the crank case side of the engine. Im not sure where it is leaking over at. Oil is leaking around the oil filler plug on the primary side of my 82 Sportster. I replaced the o-ring and the filter in the plug. It till leaks like crazy every time I ride it. That is the only place it is leaking but the oil level goes down in the tank after a couple of times of riding it.

A Your question and description are very misleading, we need better info. First off, there is NO FILLER PLUG FOR THE CRANKCASE. Harley crankcases are a semi-dry sump design with a remote oil tank....meaning....you do not fill the crankcase, you fill the oil tank. Due to the tank being higher than the engine, while sitting, gravity will cause a small part of the oil to drain from tank, seep past the oil pump and drain into the crankcase. When the bike is started, the oil pump will pick that oil up, and circulate it back to the tank. Also, the is NO FILLER PLUG ON THE PRIMARY....there is, however, an oil LEVEL screw hole. To fill the Ironhead primaries, oil is poured into the primary chain inspection hole until it runs out of the small hole near the shifter....which is almost never used since the proper amount of oil is 1 quart. So....like I said, you need to redefine your question with better and proper info......if we don't know specifically what you mean, we can't properly answer. Edit...It sounds like you have a bad left crank seal inside the primary. The pressure of the pistons coming down is forcing oil from the the engine to blow past the seal and go into the primary. This would explain your loss of oil in the tank and and excessive oil level in the primary. This leak would also cause the primary to be pressurized from the downstroke of the engine, causing the severe primary oil leak. This is NOT a job for someone who is not experienced. You would best off to take it to a shop and have it looked at and repaired.