Compression help

[Pegtooth]

Rode Pan until Nov and she ran well and pulled strong,never smoked and I'm not sure if oil use was excessive. Loaded in trailer and pulled to AR. Left Pan in Arkansas to have leaking tranny seal and gear in kicker replaced, and couldn't start bike when I pulled it out of trailer and onto shop floor. Called shop and they say compression is around 40/50 pounds and needs top end done. Is this generally a relatively simple diagnosis , or does it need consideration of quite a few variables? Thanks for everything guys. Any input would be a big help as I'm without a clue.

[59pan]

That doesnt sound right to me. Two things. A well broken in motor will run on almost no compression and second, compression problems that will prevent operation dont happen because of a trailer ride.
I would check the ususal suspects, good spark, gas, and some resistance on the kick starter.
I bought my 59 cheap because there was no compression on the front cylinder. Turned out that a manifold screw had come loose and lodged the intake valve open. Easy fix but the seller thought for sure that the motor had taken a sh*T.
I bet it is something basic and simple. Keep looking and avoid the top end job expense.

Good luck.

[Pegtooth]

Thanks 59pan.Luck I need;got no skills yet but know one more thing to look for now.Got some info from the shop, and corroboration from Billy and a thread on pg.8 that he more than likely correctly diagnosed the bad rings. Heading to northern Arkansas tomorrow with new set of plugs, hoping to oil test it warmed up. Appreciate your help and if you get up that way riding,shout for anything.

[Panacea]

Hey pegtooth, thanks for the welcome! I'm actually not new here, for some reason the server screwed up so I just re-registered. Wouldn't that be nice if whenever we screwed up we could just start over? This is a cool site, I've learned a lot just readin' thru. Im on my second panhead. My first was in 93, a 49 pan chopper with a 45 degree extended early HD springer. Now i've got a 51 hydra-glide, with a 84" stroker. It's curently completely disassembled top to bottom. I've got my heads back as well as my juggs all re done, also had the tranny re-built. Waiting for my cases to come back from Head Hog so I can begin re-assembly. Later my friend...MW