First Post, New Owner, Oil leaks

[LabidySabidy]

About a month ago I purchased my first motorcycle. The 1980 xs1100 Midnight Special and I love it. The problem I'm having is that there are a few places which are leaking oil and the more I read up on these places the more I feel I made a bad investment.. So some good news of these leaks would be nice, or bad either way information would be much appreciated.

Image (1 of 6)(Crank Case Bearing Housing/Crank Case Cover)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzP...ew?usp=sharing

This Is the main leak that frightens me as I have read that if the leak is from the crank case bearing housing that I may need to take the engine off of the frame and start to take it apart. The other cause of the leak could be the engine crank case cover, and that I hear is an easier fix.

Image (2 of 6)(Also of Crank Case Bearing Housing/Crank Case Cover)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzP...ew?usp=sharing

Image (3 of 6)(Zoomed Out)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzP...ew?usp=sharing

The next leak I believe to be coming from the cam chain tensioner. I plan on switching this part to the ACCT but would also like a bit of insight into this problem. I noticed that there is also an oil like residue around the header pipe, but as I have read this is rarely the issue, but I'd still like to take it into consideration.

Image (4 of 6)(Cam Chain Tensioner)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzP...ew?usp=sharing

Image (5 of 6)(Alternate Angle to Show My Fear of Header Pipe)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzP...ew?usp=sharing

I know that air may push the oil upwards from the cam chain tensioner but just from peeking under there; from the naked eye. The possibility of the header pipe having an oil leakage from somewhere still seems possible to me. (For this issue and the others if you desire more photos please let me know, as I would be happy to help you to help me )

Lastly I noticed a leak from the bottom of my stator cover. I did lay it down as this is my first motorcycle (in my defense it was during a u-turn). And I was wondering if thiat alone could be the cause of if there could possibly be an issue with something internal such as a bearing.

Image (6 of 6)(Stator Cover)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzP...ew?usp=sharing

For a few other minor leaks I have read that using RTV silicone to seal them up would be sufficient, and if this is the case with any of the problems I've presented that would be nice to know. Anyway I've written enough and I do appreciate any insight into these oil leaks that I am experiencing, thank you.

[LabidySabidy]

Side Note

Sorry if this was the wrong sub-forum to post in. I was having trouble being able to post to the thread I thought I was supposed to. So I posted here. Let me know if I've done something incorrectly.

[MaximPhil]

Welcome Labidy,
Others will jump in with some real solutions soon.
Now that you have some pictures of the problem / evidence.
I suggest you pick up some de-greaser ( Gunk or similar) and give the engine a really good clean. Then keep a close watch for where the oil reappears.
Phil

[Ken Talbot]

From your pictures #4 and #5, I would say you have a leaking cam cover gasket, and it is most likely leaking from the right side of the centre section, behind the exhaust cam channel. When oil leaks from this area, it makes its way down through small drain slots that are meant to keep rainwater from pooling on top of the motor around the spark plugs.

Use the search tool at the top of the page with the search terms "oil leak baby powder" to come up with a list of posts that will help you understand the situation.

[LabidySabidy]

Much Appreciated

Thank you gentleman for you advice. I will do a thorough job of cleaning the engine with degreaser. I've read a little about the baby powder method. Is it intended to better identify the major areas of leakage? I actually did just a few weeks ago replace that gasket, so maybe I just need to do some cleaning and see if it continues. I'm also hoping that by changing the cam chain tensioner I'll see some improvments and maybe just seal it up with RTV.

[BA80]

The first few pics looks like the O - ring on the bearing holder there next to the starter. East fix.

The last one looks like the o -ring on the oil galley plug under the alternator cover. Easy fix

Ken hit the middle pics dead on. That's a valve cover gasket.

If you still think you made a bad investment I'll come on down and take it off your hands. I'm only 2 - 3 hundred miles away.

[LabidySabidy]

Thank you BA80
Is the bearing cover to the left of the left side of the starter cover? I'm sorry this is my first mechanical feat so I'm not as we versed as some.

Is the galley plug on the bottom side of the alternator cover or is it an o-ring that goes along the length of the entire cap!

Let's what the results of a nice cleaning are. I plan on doing this today

Well I'm not quite there yet as I am beginning to get attached to my XS1100 it's a fantastic bike in so many ways. Just curious though; what makes people love this bike so much? I'm still learning it so I can already sort of see, but I'm still new to motorcycles.

[JeffH]

Just curious though; what makes people love this bike so much?

Its just FUN to ride, no a BLAST to ride

The XS11 is a very versatile bike.
Each owner can set the bike up for their style of riding from naked to full touring.
That's why so many folks have more than one XS11.

Bike is a fine long distance touring machine and also spanks it pretty good on twisty roads in the mountains.
Its also pretty quick. So whether stoplight-to-stoplight riding or just cruising around or hauling butt in the twisties or taking a 4,000 mile trip it is a bike that does a lot quite well.

Can also invest a little or a lot depending on the end game objective. Bike is fixable plus its up-gradable if one is so inclined.
Added bonus is that the XSives are all really great people to know. That's why we have Rally's to get together.
Plus a bunch of XSive Guru's to help us diagnose issues so we can fix our bikes. Just a lot of + + + + things that make us love these bikes so much.

Jeff

[LabidySabidy]

I appreciate the insight. I'll have to see if there are any rally in my area because I'd love to meet some XSives.

[BA80]

Thank you BA80
Is the bearing cover to the left of the left side of the starter cover? I'm sorry this is my first mechanical feat so I'm not as we versed as some.

Is the galley plug on the bottom side of the alternator cover or is it an o-ring that goes along the length of the entire cap!

Let's what the results of a nice cleaning are. I plan on doing this today

Well I'm not quite there yet as I am beginning to get attached to my XS1100 it's a fantastic bike in so many ways. Just curious though; what makes people love this bike so much? I'm still learning it so I can already sort of see, but I'm still new to motorcycles.

Yes, the bearing HOLDER is left of the starter cover. That bearing cannot be pulled out without removing the starter. There are 2 or 3 rubber o - rings around it that get hard and leak. There is also an o - ring on the nose of the starter that should be replaced.

The alternator cover holds the plug in and must be removed to pull it out and replace that o - ring. It just slides out. CAUTION!!!!! Do NOT start the engine with that cover removed! The plug will become a projectile and you will have an oily mess to clean up.

[JeffH]

About a month ago I purchased my first motorcycle. The 1980 xs1100 Midnight Special and I love it.

Just curious (since i didn't see this mentioned); How long had the bike been parked before you bought it? How many Heat Cycles have you put on the bike since you got it?

Leaking ACCT and Cam Cover Gasket are one thing but for the seals and o-rings I was wondering how long you suspect the bike had been parked and then how many times you have ridden the bike (cycles) since you got it. Just curious.

As the guy posted, A good cleaning and re-test (like baby power method) with hawk eye attention will be a good start to at least get ACCT and Cam Gasket identified and resolved.

Jeff

[LabidySabidy]

My guess on how long the bike was sitting is somewhere around 4-6 months, but I can't say for sure. The man who I purchased it from is a used cars dealer and had gotten the bike as part of a trade. It seems like it's had a decent amount of work since many of the bolts seem to have been work on at one time or another. The gentleman I bought it from told me that he started it every day and only occasionally rode it, as for how long he let it run I cannot say. Another downside is that the tachometer and speedometer seem to be malfunctioning so I also don't know how many miles have been put on the bike.

I have ridden the bike around 15-20 times since and these oil leaks have always been there. They did however get worse since last week I had mistakenly put synthetic in the motorcycle. I do plan on going back to conventional. I never rode it hard and always kept in mind that it is air cooled. I'm learning more about the bike the more I work on it and it seems like the owner who had previously worked on it was incompetent.

[DiverRay]

Before you drain the synthetic oil, put about 4 oz. of Berryman's B12 chemtool into the oil. Fire it up on the center stand with a box fan blowing across the engine, and let it go for about 5 or 10 minutes. The B12 will help soften the oil seals, and MAY reduce some of your problems.
The big thing with ANY oil you use is it CANNOT HAVE friction modifiers in it! These will cause the wet clutch to slip very quickly, depending on the modifier. The API circle that is on every bottle of oil should be blank in the bottom half, and have an SG SI or something like that in the top.
Do NOT use silicone gasket sealer, as it can break off and plug oil passages. I like the non hardening Permatex or Yamabond #4. I just smear a very light amount on one side of the gasket to hold it in place as I assemble things.
Welcome to our mad world!

[mack]

As

BA80 stated, these are all easily fixed. The o rings for the primary shaft bearing housing are #26 on a parts fische. Look under the crankcase heading. You need two of part #93210-60538-00. Just remove the starter cover disconnect the wire so you can pull the starter out, the loosen off the three hex head bolts and you may have to twist and pull a bit but that housing will pop right off. Slip on the new o rings and then reassemble in reverse. Takes about 30 minutes tops.

[mack]

As

a side note, when you get the housing off have a good look at it. Between the two o rings is an oil raceway with holes in the top and bottom. The top hole allows oil to come in and the bottom hole allows oil to pass into the auto feeder that lubricates the shift drum and through another series of passages to a gear shaft. Make sure both the upper and lower holes are clear in that housing before installation or you'll have bigger problems down the road.