leak from right-hand crankcase/side cover- common problem ?

Hi, i've seen a 650 advertised with a leaking right hand crankcase/sidecase cover. The seller seems to suggest that this is common and changing a rubber seal cures it, is this a common problem ?

Could this be the sign of a good thrashing ?

Originally Posted by chriskk

Hi, i've seen a 650 advertised with a leaking right hand crankcase/sidecase cover. The seller seems to suggest that this is common and changing a rubber seal cures it, is this a common problem ?

Could this be the sign of a good thrashing ?

Is it the clutch cover or the larger cover on that side that the clutch cover and water pump bolt to?

From the description of the seal it sounds like the clutch cover but if I were selling a bike I would buy one and fit it - It really is *that* easy assuming that really is the problem.

The only ones I've come across with that problem have generally been due to cack handed maintenance or accident damage rather than the seal suddenly deciding to give up the ghost.

I currently have this same problem with my clutch cover although i'm not sure its that common. Mine is leaking due to a crack at the bottom. I replaced the O ring seal on it and it has not solved the problem. The seal was only £9 ish so it may be worth trying for you.

[Sid Squid]

This could be the clutch casing if it's an early model, where the outermost plastic section is separate, leaks from here are not unknown, having fixed a few of these leaky covers I now know that a new 'O' ring is rarely needed, (and is a painful £10~ish), remove the cover and clean the surface of the crankcase where the outer edge of the cover touches it, you'll notice the edge of the case is a little corroded, this corrosion expands a little and lifts the cover enough for crankcase pressure to squeeze a dab of oil out of the join.
Reassemble it and the leak should be cured.

Course it could be from somewhere else and all the above is irrelevant.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

This could be the clutch casing if it's an early model, where the outermost plastic section is separate, leaks from here are not unknown, having fixed a few of these leaky covers I now know that a new 'O' ring is rarely needed, (and is a painful £10~ish), remove the cover and clean the surface of the crankcase where the outer edge of the cover touches it, you'll notice the edge of the case is a little corroded, this corrosion expands a little and lifts the cover enough for crankcase pressure to squeeze a dab of oil out of the join.
Reassemble it and the leak should be cured.

Course it could be from somewhere else and all the above is irrelevant.

Cheers for that. Mine's recently started to do this so now I'll have a look and sort it.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

This could be the clutch casing if it's an early model, where the outermost plastic section is separate, leaks from here are not unknown, having fixed a few of these leaky covers I now know that a new 'O' ring is rarely needed, (and is a painful £10~ish), remove the cover and clean the surface of the crankcase where the outer edge of the cover touches it, you'll notice the edge of the case is a little corroded, this corrosion expands a little and lifts the cover enough for crankcase pressure to squeeze a dab of oil out of the join.
Reassemble it and the leak should be cured.

Course it could be from somewhere else and all the above is irrelevant.

My 99 SV has developed this problem over the last week. Would sorting it myself be quite straight forward or is it something that should be left to someone who knows what they're doing?

[northwind]

Originally Posted by thegibdog

My 99 SV has developed this problem over the last week. Would sorting it myself be quite straight forward or is it something that should be left to someone who knows what they're doing?

Yeah, dead easy... 8 bolts really, though fitting the o-ring into its channel can be a faff, sometimes. I've tried Sid Squid's approach and for me, it didn't work, but then I reckon my cover's probably warped. Dab of universal blue sealed it up nicely though, shouldn't be neccesary really.

[mister c]

Had the same problem. Was the clutch cover. Got another one off a member on here, fitted it & not had a problem since
Dont overtighten the bolts when replacing it, because it's only made of plastic.

[dirtydog]

Originally Posted by northwind

I reckon my cover's probably warped. Dab of universal blue sealed it up nicely though, shouldn't be neccesary really.

mine was warped and had a crack around one of the bolt holes so i paid out for a new cover IIRC it cost me £44 for a new cover plus £9 for the O ring
took all of about 5 minutes to replace unfortunately whilst i had the oil leak the crankshaft ate itself when the oil got too low if i'd sorted it sooner (or checked the oil properly) it would've saved me £450 for a anohter engine

Mine ('99) showed a small leak from the bottom of the plastic clutch cover - having only recently getting it back on the road after a spill, maybe it was related to the crash.

Anyways... it seems that a quick check of the cover bolts w/a torque wrench showed most of them to be tightened less than the specified 10Nm. After tightening them up to where they should be, so far so good and the leak has stopped.

If only everything could be this easy.