Well I found an oil spot on the floor yestersay about the size of a quarter. The oil had dripped off the lowest point of the swing arm on the left side of the bike. I put the bike on the lift and I could not find an oil trail anywhere. There was a little oil on the transmission oil plug and it looked like a rubber shaving was hanging off the plug. The O-Ring may have gotten pinched after I changed the transmission oil last week. I found a little bit of oil on the end of the overflow hose but as I looked up inside the hose, it looked dry so I am at a loss.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

What kind of oil in your tranny?...gear oil has a very distinctive smell..

you could stand the bike up straight when you park for the evening and put some paper underneath...that way it should drip straight down..If the last work yo did was change the tranny fluid, I would suspect that also.

 

***Update***

I took the bike out for about 10 miles today, brought it home and put it on the lift and waited. The spots showed up and it appears it is coming out of the over flow line. The spots were directly under the hose, on the frame and floor and the end of the line had oil on it. What was weird though is the inside of the overflow hose looked dry. The oil is dark brown in color. It definately looks like engine oil as opposed to tranny or primary.

I checked the engine oil while the bike was still hot (on the side stand) and the oil level is right at the [Full HOT] line, maybe 1/16" over the line.

The only work I've done lately was change handlebars, cables, brake line, etc. Nothing to do with the engine oil. It has been about 1000 miles since my last oil change. This is the first spots I've seen. The only thing I can think of is with the new handlebars I can take sharper turns and more severe angles around the turns, could this be causing the oil to slosh around more and result in oil coming out of the over flow hose? The oil is limited to a few drops.

 

I spoke to the dealer today, they said that the oil level should be a little below the FuLL HOT line when the bike is hot. Last night I rode the bike again and it did not leak afterwards. It seems the oil level may just be a little too high.

 

Hey Warg,

I think the bike needs to be upright when you check the oil. If your checking/filling it when its leaning on the Jiffy/bike stand, then you get a false low reading in the oil tank and probably overfilled it.

After a short ride and a couple minutes after stopping, I usually check the oil level in the vertical position while sitting on the bike, or on a vertical stand/bike lift if you have one.

I've heard it is important to run the bike before checking the oil level, because on some Harleys, some oil can run out of the tank and into the motor when the bike sits (giving you a false low oil tank reading). A wrench friend of mine says the motor itself holds about 10-12 oz of oil in the lower (crankshaft) end.

Good luck...hope it's not a leak. Also, be sure not to overtighten engine/trans/primary drain plugs. The o-rings for the engine/tranny plugs can split/distort and leak. A little teflon tape works great at the primary drain plug (don't overtighten it).

 

I just changed the O-Ring on the tranny drain plug, it was shredded. I put a new quart of tranny oil in (approx. 21 oz.) and I think that will take care of that.

I have checked my service manual and it says to check engine oil on the side stand. My dipstick even says "Check on side stand".
I always ride my bike a little and then let it idle a minute or two before checking. I used a turkey baster and lowerd the oil level to where it is midway between Fill and Full HOT. Hopefully that will take care of it. I don't think it is leaking anywhere, I cannot find any oil residue on the engine except directly under the overflow hose. I think the tank was just a little overfilled.