Oil and Noisy engines

[daffyduck]

Just swapped the 1100S for a 'P' plate 1100GS. All seems okay except for a couple of minor niggles. Oil is being sprayed back onto the top of my left boot whilst riding, and today I started it from cold and the left pot seems to be making some very odd mechanical noises to begin with.
The oil is very minimal and could be coming from the top up plug on the left cylinder, but could be originating from under the cylinder head before landing on my boot. You can see traces of fresh oil on the rear of the cylinfder coming away from the filler plug to underneath where it then hits the boot. If it is not due to the filler cap O-rings, which appear to have been recently done by the previous owner, what else could it be?
Met seller halfway at Andover, so engine was warmed up by the time I arrived, yet appears to ride and run quite well. Does not have the same amount of power in comparison to my old 1100S. Was told that there was a 18bhp difference between the two. Any thoughts on this anyone?

 

[themadprofessor]

There are a number of possibilities.

For a start from my son's experience with a leaky R1100RS I know that the position of the visible oil marks can be very misleading.

Two places where oil can often leak from and then coat many parts of the engine are the banjo bolts where the oil pipes to the oil cooler are attached. These have aluminium washers either side of the banjo which usually rot away and then leak oil - everywhere.

One of them is not a banjo in the normal sense of the word, and is on top of the engine. On my son's bike it leaked over his right hand boot and all around the right hand barrel. He thought it was the barrel to crankcase joint and promptly stripped this down and resealed it only to discover that he had not cured the leak. Our local dealer says that they now replace these washers at every major service as it only takes a few moments whilst the tank is off anyway.

The other is down on the side of the sump by your left foot. I don't think that this would coat the rear of the barrel but mine was an RT and the fairing might stop the wind blast from spreading the leaking oil.

I think it is worth looking at these first as they seem to be known weak points.

Apart from this it could be rocker cover seals, also known to leak occasionally, or head gasket.

Otherwise there are other people around who are much wiser and may have other suggestions!!

Chris

 

[Nigel Cummins]

Try the rubber sealer on the tappet cover that seals off the area around the spark plug. Did the valves on mine and must of stuffed up the positioning on refitting. lots of strange chuffing sounds followed by a small oil leak but only a 5 minute fix.

 

[jefformston]

Oil spray

Same here - must have trapped the rubber seal when refitting the valve covers after asjusting the tappets. Sprayed oil all over my boot. Quick fix just remove the valve cover and refit.