Help! Coolant leak...Kinda, sorta??

[Vtwinguy]

Ok, so I started stripping down the "new" bike today, it's the first thing I do when I buy a used bike. There are a lot of backyard mechanics out there who shouldn't own a wrench let alone work on a motorcycle. I like to see what's been done and know where every nut and bolt goes. Plus I check out the wiring, found a couple of wires mashed under the blades of a couple of fuses instead of hooked in correctly.
Anyway back to the topic....after about an hour I noticed some coolant on the floor. I found the leak and took some pics for you. it was a drip about one every 15 seconds or so. Funny thing is all I did (coolant wise) was remove the reservoir cap. I wasn't anywhere near the leaking area. After about 20 minutes the leaked stopped. I couldn't run the engine so I don't know if it will leak under pressure, but there were no leaks when I ran it before. Any ideas??

[gearheadfla]

Very common on a XII that has been parked for awhile, like mothballed for the winter, Lots of times after being ran and rode a bit it will stop, other time you just need to replace the o-ring seals. My 88 did it when I first got it, (barn find that set for 15 or so years) but it stopped, run it, get her heated up and keep a eye on it, all else fails replace the o-rings, lots of people here have done that job and will chime in.

[Vtwinguy]

Thanks gearheadfla! Good to hear it's a common thing. I did have the heat on in the garage, maybe she warmed up just enough to leak. Like I said it didn't leak before when she was running, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.