New to the forum and I have some questions.

[R1pilot83]

Hello, I am new here and I found you all by searching for information. I have a 1989 Voyager 1200 XII . The bike is rough with 85,000 miles but I ride it anyways. I have a 2007 R1 that has not been rode for 2 years because of my old Kaw ;). I just installed new front wheel bearings and I am looking for the torque spec on the front axle nut. I also have a leak on the left side near the front shift pedal. It smells like it is brake fluid. I am trying to figure out as we speak where it is coming from. I am doing a oil change as well. I feel that with 85k going to a synthetic is probably a bad idea. I don't know what it had in it either. Anyways, feel free to lend me some advice. I will be here a lot looking for parts to get this bike back in better shape.

[dsmmrm]

There are many here with greater knowledge than I but as a guess I'd say clutch slave cylinder for the brake fluid leaking.

Also, the oil of choice seems to be Rotella T 15w40. 3 qts + 22 oz. and be sure to get both drain plugs and the filter.

[cushman eagle]

I just looked in my service manual,and find the front axle nut is to be torqued to 65 ft lbs.Thank you for joining our wonderful family of voyagers

[R1pilot83]

Thank you both for the help. I am curious about the oil though. Running regular car oil is frowned upon in my R1 because the wet clutch needs a friction additive. Without it the clutch will slip. Is the Voyager not the same way? It does have a wet clutch from what I understand. It looks like I need a service manual.

[SgtSlag]

Actually, on a wet clutch, you do not want *friction modifiers* (the star symbol, nearly all gas engine oils have it), as they will cause problems. Shell Rotella T is diesel oil, without friction modifiers added. It is rated for use in auto's as well as diesel engines. I believe it is also JASO rated, for motorcycles.

Most Voyager owners havd used it for years, without issue. I ran the full synthetic, Rotella T6, 5W-40, for a while, but its lower viscosity, cold, led to cutch issues. Switched back to Rotella T, and the clutch slippage disappeared.

Run the 10W-40, Rotella T oil, changing it, and the filter, every 3,000 miles, and you won't have any issues. Cheers!

[Mr Jensee]

There are several versions of synthetic oil on the market. As stated above just don't go with friction modifiers in the oil. If you do go with a synthetic I had great luck in other bikes with Castrol Syntec 15-40. However Shell Rotella T 15-40 Diesel oil works best on the Voyager XII. It is cheap and the bike has hydraulic valve lifters that seem to love the oil. It will not harm a Voyager.

[Thud300]

The latest version of Rotella T is now called Rotella T4. Still has the JASO-MA specification on the back label, which means it's suitable for motorcycle wet clutches.

[cranky]

... and Heaven forbid, you could even buy motorcycle oil for a few
more bucks and get great stuff and not hafta worry!!!! Get
synthetic and double the change frequency and call it @ even! JM2C

[R1pilot83]

Sorry, I had it backwards. The R1 was NOT supposed to have friction modifiers. Thanks for clearing that up. I am a huge Amsoil fan and I have some 10w40 Full Synthetic motorcycle oil on the shelf. I also have a gallon of Rotella T. Since the Voyager was build before synthetics were really out I felt that the bike might not like them so well. I have been letting the bike drain for a couple days since I have been too busy to get back to it. I will get it all changed here when work lets up. I still have not found the leak on the left side. I thought it was the slave cylinder but it is brand new with new gaskets. I will be looking got some new plastics for this old thing soon. Are the tops to the rear bags hard to come by?

[Jimvoyager01]

I am also a amsoil fan,,,I have used amsoil 10-40 motorcycle oil in my 2001 1200 voyager for 65000 miles,,no problem with clutch or shifting,, ride safe

[dsmmrm]

"Are the tops to the rear bags hard to come by?"

From what I have observed so far, the tops of the rear bags are the hardest part of the entire motorcycle to find. If you do find some or if you still have one or both either fabricate a tether system as many here have done or keep them locked at all times. They seem to have an annoying tendency to fly off while going down the road.

[Thud300]

About those lids, my 91 was missing the left lid but I lucked into one on eBay for 51 bucks, sans the lid for its storage compartment. They can be found, but usually for much higher.

Do they come off even when the latches are locked with the key?

[cranky]

Thinking logically, if I were to lock one key, it would be the front one, it would
prevent wind/gusts from lifting it up. Also, the rear is under the trunk, go out
and try to remove your lid with the front latched... I'd think you would hafta
destroy the lid to get it off... JM2C

[Jimvoyager01]

They do not come off with the lids key locked

[cushman eagle]

They do not come off with the lids key locked

If---they are properly latched.In our haste to head to the Nashville rally, Peg packed the bike,locking the bags,but did not check for them to be latched.150 miles into the trip,she calls me on the intercom,and tells me the left bag is open.We find a place to get to the side of US70,and reattached the lid I had followed the advice of others on the forum,and installed tethers during the last winter service

[R1pilot83]

I got the oil change finished, as well as the bearings installed in the front wheel. Next I took the bike out to see if I could find the leak. It seems to be coming from the sight glass?? Is that possible? I am stumped. I sat there and watched oil drip right into the exhaust but I could not tell where it was coming from. Very, very frustrating. I want to get this fixed. By the way, the bike rides great with the new wheel bearings.

[cushman eagle]

Check to see if the oil might be coming from the water pump.My bike did the same thing,and I put a water pump seal kit in from Carl Leo,and that fixed the oil coming over the sight glass.

[R1pilot83]

So you are saying that it leaks from the water pump, and then runs back from the airflow? Maybe that is why I can't tell where it us coming from. I am afraid that it is going to cause a crash. I had oil leak once on my old XJ750 and I nearly ate it in a curve do to the tire being oil soaked. Where can I get the kit for the water pump? How bad of a job is it?

[R1pilot83]

Can anyone point me in the right direction of where to buy the gasket kit for the water pump? I would like get one ordered asap. Thanks.

[cranky]

... I believe Carl Leo has been mentioned in the past as a knowledgeable source, maybe
he can send Ya a list of P/N's to order.... Just replaced my water pump not too long ago
as it had >60K on it, leaking, and I had a new one in the box...