Curvy oil leak.

Well the first day of riding my curvy, and its leaking oil. Seems to be a very slow leak, with a few drops under the bike after I've ridden and parked up. I assume its also leaking as I ride, but I think if left for longer periods it stops.

I tried cleaning off the suspected areas and taking it for a ride, but with the on and off rain it's almost impossible to do this today. I think it's coming from the clutch area, as some is dripping onto the exhaust pipe (and smelling quite horrible). However, there is also some dripping off separate areas under the bike. I'm hoping its all coming from the same place and simply running underneath.

After many searches, it seems the clutch cover thing is a prime culprit for this. Is this the best place to start?

Also, how safe is it to ride as it is? As long as I keep an eye on the oil level, is it going to cause any problems, assuming its only a seal type issue. Oh and the dripping onto the hot exhaust pipe, issue at all?

Thanks all. And be gentle, only had the SV for a couple of days!

No issues with continuing to use it as long as you keep an eye on the oil level. Mine was leaking from the same place when i got it, it had been stood for a few years. I bought the rubber ring (clutch cover gasket) but have yet to fit it as the problem went away once I'd used the bike for a bit and the original one swelled back up.

Easy fix and the rubber ring was about a tenner.

Good to hear I can still use it. I believe this one was left standing and neglected for a while before I bought it, so maybe it will right itself.

Any idea if there are other common places to check?

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by Blueperson

No issues with continuing to use it as long as you keep an eye on the oil level. Mine was leaking from the same place when i got it, it had been stood for a few years. I bought the rubber ring (clutch cover gasket) but have yet to fit it as the problem went away once I'd used the bike for a bit and the original one swelled back up.

Easy fix and the rubber ring was about a tenner.

Clutch cover is the most common culprit on the SV engine, as its made of plastic and tends to warp and simply replacing the O ring won't fix the problem, but you can try this first.

Do a search on this site, there's plenty of threads about it, but sometimes the best option is to get a replacement clutch cover, one that isn't warped

[Biker Biggles]

Other things to check----
There are two breather pipes that go from the crankcases to the airbox.If they come off there can be an oil leak,and usually some rough running.Less common is if the gearbox ouput shaft seal has gone,or the sprocket nut has come loose.This can cause a big oil leak and needs dealing with straight away.
But its probably the clutch cover,which is plastic and warps easily,and is prone to leaking if the nuts are overtightened.Often you need a new cover as the warp is permanent.

Is it best to find a clutch cover, rather than simply replace the gasket and o-ring?

From what I've seen, most clutch covers are second hand on eBay. Is there any way of guaranteeing these aren't warped too?

[yorkie_chris]

Originally Posted by _Troy_

Is it best to find a clutch cover, rather than simply replace the gasket and o-ring?

From what I've seen, most clutch covers are second hand on eBay. Is there any way of guaranteeing these aren't warped too?

Not really.

You can play with them to try get them flatter. There are also fancy machined aluminium covers you can get, think they are around £80 from states.

An. Well this bike is a step down/budget bike for now, so no aluminium stuff for me. Ill get to the route of the problem tomorrow and will more than likely try the seals before anything else.

[yorkie_chris]

In that case try your best to flatten it with some emery on a flat surface (sheet of glass etc) then refit it with some high temp silicone/instant gasket, don't overtighten bolts.

Then it is best to leave the bike for a while to let it go off properly before you start it, 24 hours should do it.

[5hort5]

YC may not agree (he is the master ) but I fixed my curvy leak by donig the following:

• Drain the oil
• Take off the cover
• clean both sides
• Check the o-ring seal. If it's broke replace it. TBH relpace it anyway
• Use some liquid gasket all around the o-ring
• put it back together again*****
• add new oil

Change the oil filter if you want at the same time

The **** is to say to use a Torque wrench to do this. Do not over tighten the bolts or it wont work. (Or you may snap one like I did first time lol)

The liquid gasket can be got from halfords or can be found cheaper on line, halfords as example below:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...egoryId_255217