NOW there is a big smile!
Groily, Erling, et al,
After absorbing what both of you said, I decided that either I had a problem or I didn't know enough to know if I didn't have one. I suppose I should have described my initial oil return as spit-pause-spit-pause-spit. It just didn't seem right. Also, not only was the oil tank not hot, it was not lowering enough in level to make me believe enough oil was getting to the engine. I opened the pressure relief and saw some emission there, so I supposed there must be something moving. I pulled the drain plug from the sump plate and got about a 1/4 cup. I pulled the rocker feed and got no output with the engine running. OK, the search was on. I blew air into the feed line backwards toward the tank and it was clear. (Though as an additional surprise, blocking the pickup tube inside the tank didn't stop air flow to the tank. It makes me wonder if I have a spurious hole in the pickup tube inside the tank or if there is supposed to be some secondary port.) I did discover that I had a lot of carbon pooled with oil at the bottom of the tank from before this build and, also, some grit too big, I think, to get by the oil filter integral with the bottom plug. Nevertheless, I was glad I discovered that mess before running-in the new build. So, in a last thought, I decide to try a pipe cleaner into the oil feed fitting at the engine. "Hey, why isn't this thing going in?" I pull away and out drops an 1/8" diameter ball of some kind of schmutz, that wasn't there when I mounted the fittings. I don't know where this thing came from, maybe it was some kind of insect nest or food spirited away inside the engine end of the feed tube while the tank end was still attached.
What a find! This changed my whole day and holiday weekend. I checked the feed fiiting again with the pipe cleaner and it went smoothly in. For a bit I pondered the question as to if I must go deep in the engine before starting up, rather than take any chance of other big pieces in the system. I decided that anything similar to this that already got into the engine must get pulverized in the pump. The next question I pondered was, "Am I out of grace period for running on assembly grease?" Having seen some flow at the pressure relief and, also, having the spitting return, I figured I could run a short time to check for better oil return, Also, I put a piece of clear tube in the rocker feed line to watch what happens there. So, I started her up and got proper "sputteringly continuous" return within about 15 seconds. What a relief (for now, at least).
With the engine running with oil (usually a good thing) and without installing the mufflers, I took a short ride and found that the primary chain tightened up again. While stopped in front of my house to assess the situation, a police car went right around me. I think I got a break regarding the mufflers because I was wearing my helmet (not law in this state).
Anyway, this post has run on a ways. I am really looking forward to being one of those among you who reports where and how far they rode, instead of just talking about the fun of rebuilding. I suppose I have some more running in to do before I take on long-term confidence, but, as I said, today was a big step.
I'll say thanks, again, to everyone who contributed to the mechanical issues and offered friendly encouragement. The latter, perhaps more important. I have a few mechanical quesions/topics in waiting, but, for now, I want to languish in the glory. Also, I will be posting new pictures and video.
Richard
