Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Clutch Cover Leaking

Smelled burning oil this morning on the way to work. Saw a bit of smoke rise off the Exhaust pipe...seems the clutch cover is leaking along the front edge.
When I got to work I cleaned her up and tightened most of the cover bolts as they were loose, some more than others, not sure if it would be enough to cause the leak.
I guess I have a 65mile ride home to find out if it is gonna leak some more.
If she does leak on the way home, is there anything I should be aware of before i pull the cover and replace the gasket?

Thanks Guys!

-Ryan

hi,
yes, drain the oil, or at least lean the bike over to the right when you take the clutch cover off so as not too loose too much oil.

Is this a common leak?

Ryan-
Its not a common leak. When I did the heavier clutch springs, I had the plate backwards and installed and removed the cover about 5 or 6 times before I figured it out. Its been a couple of years at least, surprised it started leaking all of a sudden. The little round shifter rod seal seeped a little, but not too bad. When you change it, someone suggested putting a small piece of plastic wrap over the end of the shifter rod when you slide the cover back on, keeps the end from tearing up the new seal.

Lon-
Thanks for the heads up. Seems quite a few of the bolts were loose, so I grabbed some oil, helicoils, and a gasket on the way home and will tinker tomorrow.
Heck...
1 Qt of Amsoil $10
1 Clutch Cover Gasket $8
1 Set of M6 HeliCoils $45
Not having the Motor Sieze due to lack of oil...Priceless ;-)

My Weekend starts now! Have a good one too!

I sent the clutch cover gasket- its in the legal size envelope in one of the boxes my son dropped off. Check the torque values in the shop manual, they are really low.

Easy Peasy and luckily I didnt need the HeliCoils, just a couple longer bolts. Hmm, $2 for bolts or $45 for the coils...
I just feel really bad about drainig the Amsoil that had only been in there for about 3 or 4Kmi...