Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Wotdidido?

Ok, here's the story.
Nothing was wrong with the bike except the clutch was slipping,
got heavier springs from Fast Eddy and put 'em in.
Minor struggle getting the cover back on, but eventually OK.
So I think.
Test ride, clutch works great, come back home,
oil leak out the airbox overflow tube.
Took it to a bikeshop, they took the left sidecover off,
said the o-ring on the PCV tube where it exits the case needed replacing.
Get it home, STILL DRIPPING. I'm reluctant to throw good money after bad until I know.
What Did I Do?
Chy? Dog? Anybody?

The big thing is knowing exactly where it's leaking.. That side cover has little covey hole in the back side that serves no purpose except to collect stuff and sometimes oil residue from a recent repair.. it's right about in line with the rear of the cylinder head if memory serves and is really hard to see.. and harder to clean out. I had a similar issue after doing some work on my bike.. I'd clean it but after a ride I'd have oil residue in the area of the pipe seal in question. I pondered the gasket but reasoned it was a good gasket and a clean surface so that shouldn't be an issue. Long story short, oil had managed to get into that little hole I mentioned and it would seep out when upright but not on the side stand and though it appeared I had a leak, I did not. Once I got the residual oil cleaned out, all was good.
My advice on chasing oil leaks is general.. clean the entire affected area till it's spotless using brakekleen or a similar cleaner. Then put it on a stand or lift with a fan on the engine and run it for awhile to see exactly where it's coming from. A good light will reflect the liquids trail quite nicely and you should be able to trace it's source. If it is indeed in the area of the crankcase pipe seal, it needs to go back to the guys you paid to fix it but thats your call.

You also might check the top bolts in the case.. the threads for the one in the general area of the aforementioned covey hole has a tendency to strip out some times.

Thanks Chy. Unfortunately, it's not leaking out of any seal or gasket.
It's coming out the PCV tube, up into the airbox, and down the drain tube.
I'm going to let the dealer handle it.
I don't want to try something myself, and I don't want to take it
back to people who obviously don't know what the bleep
they are doing.

Some of these bikes tend to spit a bit of oil.. I know a fellow with a yellow and black Speedie that fashioned a collector (jar) to address that very issue.. when it fills up, he just pours back into the crankcase.
Mine did back in the early days but only when I ran the slab.

I have heard of people cracking the tube that forms the breather assembly on removal of the cover from the crankcase but I really don't know what the end result might be but I would think that could be symptom.

Over filling the engine oil could be a cause as well.

Good luck with it.. hope you get it figured out.

Okay we have a verdict.
the oil seal behind the breather on the end of the crank was damaged.
I got things misaligned the first time I tried to slide the cover back on.
By the time I straightened things out, it was too late.
It's always something.

Good to hear ya yoter sorted.