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Oiling the boot leather.

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    #1

    Oiling the boot leather.

    Bike: 1981 GS1100EX

    Miles: 247,348

    Modifications: 1166 kit, degreed cams, heavy duty clutch basket, Barnett clutch kit, heavy duty clutch springs, top end oiler, GS750 oil pump gears, oil pressure gauge, Mikuni smoothbore carbs, K&N pod filters, and 4 into 1 header.

    Conditions: I was riding down the road with my best friend on the back (my wife). We were going about 70 MPH, temperature was around 80 degrees F. The engine was running smooth and there were no apparent problems. We had been riding for about 30 minutes.

    Problem: I shifted gears and felt my foot slip off the shifter. I looked down at my left foot and it was covered with oil. I rode the bike to the house and parked it to inspect the problem. There was no one place that I could tell where the oil was coming from. The front of the motor was covered with oil. It was not coming from the valve cover gasket or the tachometer drive.

    Two days later, I took the bike to the carwash and cleaned the oil away. I then took the bike for a 15-mile ride. I came home, put it on the center stand and looked for the leak. Not a drop any place on the bike. I have no idea where the oil came from. I would rather find a leak than nothing at all...now I am afraid to leave the house incase it slobbers on me again.

    Any suggestion would be appreciated!

    Hap
    Tags: None
    #2
    maybe it is out of oil now! LOL sorry couldnt resist it.
    when you washed it and test rode it, how did you ride it? did you baby it?
    take it out and starting out slow in first gear open it up and let it pull all the way up.
    you want to get it good and warmed up and build up plenty of crank case presure.
    did you go over all those oil lines and fittings, including the oil filter cover bolts?

    where is your crank case vent located at now?

    is it posible that you may have run through some oil on the ground and it was sprayed up on the front of the engine by the front tire?

    Comment

      #3
      Not to overlook the obvious - but have you checked your forks?? 8)

      Comment

        #4
        Originally posted by shaftzuki
        Not to overlook the obvious - but have you checked your forks?? 8)
        good one Mark!! when my fork seal blew the first time, it blew oil all over the front of the engine!!

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by focus frenzy
          Originally posted by shaftzuki
          Not to overlook the obvious - but have you checked your forks?? 8)
          good one Mark!! when my fork seal blew the first time, it blew oil all over the front of the engine!!
          That's exactly what I was thinking about ... 8)

          Comment

            #6
            Originally posted by shaftzuki
            Not to overlook the obvious - but have you checked your forks?? 8)
            I thought about that one too but my fork oil is a different color than this oil and my forks have shown no sign of leaking. It was definitely engine oil.

            When I took it for that 15 mile test ride I rode it like I always do...hard but not abusive. I think I need to ride it for a good 30 minutes and see if the leak re-appears.

            Thanks for the input so far...every little bit helps!

            Hap

            Comment

              #7
              An intermittent fault (hopefully this is only a one off mystery!) is hard to diagnose. Crankcase venting is a one off possibility, but if it was the front of the engine, perhaps not. Getting up to peak operating temperature may be the only test for a gasket starting to let go whne the oil thins out a bit.

              Were you riding close behind a Harley??

              Comment

                #8
                maybe someone threw a quart of oil at you and said "take that you you biker!"?

                Comment

                  #9
                  I`m lost on this one. I sit and thought and thought...could it be a cylinder stud loose??? when building crankcase pressure blowing by the stud? One of the small 8mm head studs gone? wouldn`t be leaking at the oil pressure sending switch and running through the cylinder appearing to come from the front? Loose cylinder head? leaking by the cylinder o-ring from underneath the sleeves going out fins in cylinder? Heck can`t think of any more wierd stuff. BTW seen that last one before. Let us know what you find...

                  Comment

                    #10
                    My old GS850GT had a leaking stator cover gasket once (the underside).
                    Took me several test rides to find the leak. It covered my left foot with oil too, but only at higher speeds.

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Originally posted by jojo
                      My old GS850GT had a leaking stator cover gasket once (the underside).
                      Took me several test rides to find the leak. It covered my left foot with oil too, but only at higher speeds.
                      Getting off the subject and not helping Hap one bit........

                      I over-oiled my new airfilter. Thought I'd wrung it out real well - not so. When it got hot after the first run to work the residual oil ran down onto the shaft drive boot area with the bike on the sidestand. I spent a very anxious hour trying to figure out where the oil was coming from. Not a good feeling.

                      Hap, hope you find an inexpensive leak.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        When my S head gaskets let go, I got oil up on my shin and thigh area.

                        The leak didn't happen until I was at higher speeds, over 7K on the tach.
                        Also the motor was very warm/hot.
                        I was able to make it home, about 60 miles at slow speed.

                        Check the base gaskets also.
                        I just had mine replaced, head,base and valve cover gaskets.
                        Also while the head was off he replaced the gaskets for the tach cable.

                        No more leaks, money well spent.

                        Good luck, hope you find it

                        Keith
                        Keith
                        -------------------------------------------
                        1980 GS1000S, blue and white
                        2015Triumph Trophy SE

                        Ever notice you never see a motorcycle parked in front of a psychiatrist office?

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Hap,
                          My suggestion is to go take the same ride that you were on when you discovered the leak. This time with out the wife just in case she needs to come get you.

                          Comment

                            #14
                            i think you hit something in the road....and was your oil level correct when you checked it? if it was full couldnt have come from your bike.

                            Comment

                              #15
                              Hi Hap,What about the 2 O-rings on the center-front head bolt nuts, they make a mess when they let go, similar to what you describe, and are not readily apparent

                              Comment

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