[Muletanna]

Hello,

Normally I ride my tw just a few miles from my home to parents etc. Last weekend I went with a longer ride with friends maybe 20-30 miles or so.

Have not ridden since and just noticed what looked to be 1 small drop of oil under bike. It was a very small drop but still so I felt around on left side of bike and it is slightly oily around cleaner bolt. I just had chain/sprockets put on bike about 1 month ago and wondering what they could have done that might cause this. I say this because the shop owner I trust 100% but he had a new helper (14 years old) and I found a few other problems after I got bike back (both bolts that hold on right footpeg were very loose and rear brake was so out of adjustment it was applying the brakes all the time). I prefer to fix this myself if it is easy like the other 2 items but I will mention this to the owner just so he knows. Any ideas before I start?



Thank you!

 

[MTD12]

I'm no mechanic but maybe it is a bit of extra oil from the filter. I usually end up with some oil in the little tube below the filter area, and a bit of oil around the bottom of the filter area. Is your tube in place? Just a thought.

 

[Ben Parry]

Doh.



1. It's a motorcycle, not a nuclear powerplant, so one drop isn't the end of the world.

2. You don't have to fix a single drop - bikes always drop a little bit of this and that, new chains carry lots of lube so you can expect a drip, filter box gets oil vapor through it and lots of short journeys will cause some damp in there to (water vapor from the engine etc).

3. You must live in a perfect world if you fix every single drip - have a close look under the bike and see what it is exactly and where it's coming from.



Seriously, you only need to get concerned if you get a persistent leak and the bike gets oil wetting from a gasket or you get oil on the floor/you/riding gear etc all the time.



Ben P.

 

[dhoenisch]

Did they do an oil change as well for you? When I did my first oil change, after removing the filter, I got a little oil on my skid plate, and I would get a drop every now and then from that, so I was just wondering if they maybe weren't being careful, like I wasn't, and spilled some of the oil when they changed it, if they changed it.



Anyhow, just another thought you may want to ponder.



Dan

 

[JarrodWeaver]

The drips on my '94 come from the outside countershaft carrier seal. Next time it's taken apart will replaced the seal but its not worth repairing (to me) on its own.

 

[Muletanna]

Did they do an oil change as well for you? When I did my first oil change, after removing the filter, I got a little oil on my skid plate, and I would get a drop every now and then from that, so I was just wondering if they maybe weren't being careful, like I wasn't, and spilled some of the oil when they changed it, if they changed it.



Anyhow, just another thought you may want to ponder.



Dan

Sorry for the delay in the reply....My mechanic had to come over to pick up his computer (we trade out work) and I had him take a look. He said it looked like the front sprocket gasket but since they were so cheap he would change out all 3 (the cover and gear shift gaskets too) while he had it apart. He also said the leak was nothing to worry about and I could continue to ride it..just check oil level once in a while. I normally only ride the bike short distances and at slow speeds but the weekend before I noticed the leak I rode with some friends and rode it at 55-60 for some distance so maybe that had something to do with it. Since then I have not noticed any leaks and have yet to take the bike in to get that done. But I will soon as I had a flat the other night (big nail) and since the tire is about shot anyway..will just get a new one installed .



Oh speaking of which, I had my flat at my mothers house and lucked out as the leak was slow enough that I was able to ride the bike home. I had my sister follow in her car with extra air just in case but made it home just fine. Not sure if this was just luck or if it has something to do with the large rear tire, but normally tube tires I have had in the past go down FAST. Anyway just glad it got me home and now it's time it gets a little bit of TLC.



Cheers....Muletanna