Mysterious Oil leaks

So, my main drive assembly started to leak oil from the post holding the brake cable to the bottom of the drive shaft outer assembly just before where it joins the final drive assembly and CARC. I cleaned and scrubbed and tracked where the oil could be coming from and convinced myself that it was in fact the post that was screwed into the bottom of the drive assembly. Just when I was convinced that I had tracked it down, I took it to the mechanic.

The leaked stopped! Crazy, it just stopped leaking. It was 100 degrees (41c) that day and had been on the bike for an hour or so, maybe the metal expanded and sealed my leak. Anyway, it stopped.

2 days later, I ride to work and park. Come out in the afternoon to see windblown oil splatter on my bike just aft of the right cylinder head. Sure enough there is oil around the intake and in the baffles of the heat exchangers on the right cylinder head. Not a lot, but enough to travel with 90 MPH winds pushing it backwards.

Ok, point is, anyone else seen these issues???

10,600 miles on my '13 GRiSO.

Sorry? What are these 'Heat exchangers' of which you speak?

The leak from the brake line clip is worth keeping an eye on but check the level in the bevelbox. If it's still at or close to the bottom of the threads of the filler it's fine. If it's substantially lower you may of lost the pinion seal and be leaking oil into the swingarm.

As for the leak from the head area check the cooling gallery plugs and the plug tube o-rings as these are the commonest sources of leakage.

Pete

My limited knowledge has taught me that they leak from a plug around the front of the cylinder there are photos in the forum some where and they also leak from the little hole at the base of the plug cylinder. Have a close look at the cylinder to see where it is starting.

if it is from the little hole that is a drain for the plug tube then it might be the o rings on the tube surrounding the plug. They are easily pinched when a mechanic replaces the rocker cover.

Both these leaks will blow back onto the bike.

Oops ignore me Pete is the Wiz

Thanks Pete. I will have a gander. As for my heat exchanger terminology, I'm not a mechanic so my lingo is slang at best. You know, the metal ribs on the cylinder bodys, they exist to help in cooling the engine by dispersing heat into them with Max airflow around them. Then you have heat being exchanged from the engine to the air. How's that for technical, ha. They hated me on the submarine I served on. I called the nuclear reactor the Hot Rock.


Thanks again. Now I'll go do some more digging around to find this pesky leak.

Austin

Converted Duc wrote:

Oops ignore me Pete is the Wiz

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No need to be ignored. It was good advice.

The 'Heat exchangers' comment is what had me confused, now that's cleared up I understand what you're talking about.

As well as the above mentioned things there are a couple of other places to check if you don't find its one of them but let's approach it methodically and start with the easy and obvious.

Pete