Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Oil leak found!

I have been noticing a small leak (2 or three drops) on the garage floor that only drips after riding. Bike sat all winter without a drop but started again after riding. I asked the Triumph mechanic about it and he said to clean up the counter sprocket area and check it after riding. He had changed several seals on these bikes in the past and he also said that Triumph had changed the design of the seal recently. I did as he said and confirmed that the leak was indeed coming from around the seal and running down and dripping off the oil filter.

Counter Sprocket ?

or is just me with it being late and my heads not on right?

Maybe been sitting all winter and there is a lot of moisture in the case? Floating on top of the oil. It will blow out a few times after sitting for any length of time. Us NorEasters dick with this every year. New oil will not hurt. kitty litter - broom
dood, it is a Triumph after all

Gooch,
I don't quite agree with your mechanic's appraisal. If that were the case, there would be a ton of us with the same problem...
If it fixes your leak, well, that's good... but it was more likely a factory installation issue where they buggered the seal.
03 TA with 10k miles and it hasn't leaked a drop.

12000 TA no oil leaks at all, will be keeping my eyes open from now on though

I've noticed a few drops after a ride. It started a few weeks ago. I haven't tracked it down yet.

Actually there have been several leaks from the countershaft sprocket seal. I replaced mine a few years back. I'm curious as to what the redesign might entail. It's easy to remove, but a bit tricky to reinstall without buggering up the seal. I bought a spare at $7, if someone has the new seal, post a pix. Here's a shot of the one I bought:

My shaft seal leaked twice. First time Triumph replaced it under warranty with no questions asked. About two months later it started leaking again. They kept the bike for about a week to make sure it wasn't part of a bigger problem, ultimately they just replaced the seal again and didn't find any other problems. That was late last summer (2006) and I haven't had a problem since.

i had been having an annoying drip from my oil filter most of the summer. after reading this and other posts I pulled off the sprocket cover and a huge mass of black goop - legacy of my overenthusiastic chain oiling habits. Cleaned it out and no more drip!

yep. mine was blowing wax/oil out the front of the cover.

Triumphs don't leak oil...

[once it all runs out on the ground]

Had to replace mine a while back. Not a big deal if you don't make it one. Carefully drill a small hole about halfway between the edges of the seal, insert sheetmetal screw, pop it out with a good set of needlenose pliers. Pack inside of the new seal with assembly gel to hold the garter spring in place, carefully start the seal making sure the lip doesn't roll, then find an appropriately sized driver and tap it on into place. No sweat!

Thanks Rob. Assembly gel? Where do you get that? Bike shop? Auto parts store? Is assembly gel what I ask for?

Thanks again.

I'm a transmission rebuilder so I buy it in bulk from wholesale suppliers but you can probably just ask for transmission assembly lube at an auto parts store, or google Trans Jel or Smart Blend and find it online. In a pinch you could use Vaseline, but then you would need to change your oil very soon because it might not mix well with oil.