oil leak

[Riley1841]

Trying to track down oil leak on left side of engine, behind foot shifter.

mystery_1[1].jpg (22.28 KiB) Viewed 940 times

this is where I think it is coming from. Question what is this, pipe in picture. It goes up in front of engine between exhaust pipes to right side.

mystery_3[1].jpg (24.73 KiB) Viewed 940 times

here is another picture after cleaning. Tried looking up in manual found general area but no joy.

[Riley1841]

Here is two more pics.

mystery_2[1].jpg (27.34 KiB) Viewed 939 times

mystery_4[1].jpg (27.4 KiB) Viewed 939 times

[Riley1841]

It is the pipe right behind clutch cable.

[SgtSlag]

Sorry, I can't see the oil leak in the photos. When I click on the photos, they pop up the same size as in the text post -- too small really make out anything clearly.

Can you put a yellow circle around the leak, so we know exactly where to look?

Are you using the specified viscosity oils: 10W-40/50? If you are using a thinner oil, that might be a part of it.

Did you open both drain plugs when you drained it?

Did you add only 3 quarts 22 ounces of fresh oil, with a new filter? This is found on page 6-6 of the OEM Manual:
3.5 L = 3 Quarts 22 ounces. The engine must be completely drained, with the correct volume of oil added to it. Otherwise it will push itself out, somewhere... Cheers!

[GrandpaDenny]

Does the leak smell like gear oil, perhaps?

[Riley1841]

Update, the oil leak is a seep leak that appears to be coming from the front of drive shaft. I cleaned area and will watch for awhile to see how bad. fingers crossed I can wait till winter. to answer your question, it does not have much smell more like dirt. On my first oil change I did not pull both plugs. After more reading here I changed oil again the right way, now I can see oil level in site glass. Sorry about pictures they wouldn't have helped. They are of the water pump; oil must have been blown there. I don't know how to put any marks on pictures. Yes, I am using 10-40 oil. Thanks for the replies.

[Nails]

Update, the oil leak is a seep leak that appears to be coming from the front of drive shaft.

Probably from the final drive, draining through the driveshaft housing forward to where it's leaking. I suggest checking your final drive oil level, or better yet changing the fluid, checking for a vent (if none, then drill one), and otherwise doing the final drive maintenance. This is described in detail in other threads here.

[Riley1841]

Thanks for reply nails. I did check drain, flush and did refill final drive. It was low and very dirty. Will read up on drilling vent.

[GrandpaDenny]

Thanks for reply nails. I did check drain, flush and did refill final drive. It was low and very dirty. Will read up on drilling vent.

When you refilled it, did you fill it up all the way to the bottom of the fill plug like the manual says? If so, that's exactly why you're having a leak. Our collective experience has shown that the correct fill level is to 1/4" below the threads.

[Riley1841]

No that part I read on here. May not be exact 1\4 inch, but real close. I did put more in then came out. flushed it twice put 100 miles on bike drained and refilled. That way I am sure to have flushed all the dirt out.

[Nails]

The final drive gets wicked hot. Oil can blow out the vent (if there is one -- why MaKa quit venting it) or out the gaskets (that black fuzzy stuff covering your final drive). A couple gaskets are on the driveshaft. Like others, I've found that a small vent does the trick -- I didn't need to replace any gaskets, just take off the pressure-cooker.

Threads here about this work -- not really all that heinous. (The gaskets might be another matter. Dunno or want to.)

It's really necessary to keep an eye on this level, as in you still have some oil in there. Really, really necessary if you travel in triple-digit temps.

May not be exact 1\4 inch, but real close.

IMHO, you're being too fussy about the level. Ride instead. And check it more often. I suppose the thickness of the black fuzz might be a reasonable proxy.

[Riley1841]

Sounds good to me. Thanks to all for the help. Really getting love riding those bike.