Oil leak from top of engine

[Bendy toy]

R1200GSA 08 with 24K miles is leaking oil. At first I thought OMG cylinder base as that's oily and oil is dripping onto LHS exhaust. But front cover shows a film of oil and maybe below alternator.
My suspicion is an oil pipe. Has anyone had similar issues?

 

[Rusty Bolts]

Whip the tank off and have a shufti. On the left there is a rigid pipe that goes to the oil cooler. Could it have been chafing on something? On my 07 GS at the top of the engine, RHS, there is the oil pressure switch and the other pipe to the oil cooler. Could it be the switch/fitting weeping and running down the LHS when on the side stand?

 

[MikeO]

Have a look at your front shock...

 

[Bendy toy]

I will have a look, but front shock unlikely because it drips like mad when engine running.

 

[Pukmeister]

On my 07 GS at the top of the engine, RHS, there is the oil pressure switch and the other pipe to the oil cooler. Could it be the switch/fitting weeping and running down the LHS when on the side stand?

Seen the same on a mates 2008 GSA. OIL TEMP SENSOR atop the engine on RHS, the alloy joint washer beneath it corrodes and let's oil seep out. Puddles atop the engine then trickles down left hand side when on the side stand.

A cheap easy repair, just undo sensor, clean up and replace with a new ally joint washer (probably about a quid).

 

[Bendy toy]

Thanks that makes enormous sense because my 08 had a badly corroded (but not yet leaking) oil pressure switch washer. I had better check out my temperature sensor.

 

[Rusty Bolts]

Seen the same on a mates 2008 GSA. OIL TEMP SENSOR atop the engine on RHS, the alloy joint washer beneath it corrodes and let's oil seep out. Puddles atop the engine then trickles down left hand side when on the side stand.

A cheap easy repair, just undo sensor, clean up and replace with a new ally joint washer (probably about a quid).

Ahh! oil temperature sensor. Where the pressure switch located?

 

[Pukmeister]

Ahh! oil temperature sensor. Where the pressure switch located?

Left hand side of engine block.

 

[Rusty Bolts]

Left hand side of engine block.

Cheers

 

[bisbee]

Left or right needs to be specified eg sitting on the thing or looking at it from the front HTH

 

[Pukmeister]

I mean your Left side as if you were astride the bike facing the handlebars in the normal riding position.

 

[Bendy toy]

One of my pictures shows the oil pressure switch - its dry or rather oil mess exists well above that level. The other picture shows (what I called) the LHS exhaust pipe with oil dripping over it.

Left or right needs to be specified eg sitting on the thing or looking at it from the front HTH

Pukmeister's suggestion makes perfect sense to me and TBH even if the offending widget is on the other side of the engine how hard is it to look over there while the petrol tank is off..

 

[Bendy toy]

Update

The mystery is solved.

The bike's previous owner liked his gadgets and some were more useful than others. This problem was caused by the spare oil bottle tucked into the carbon canister slot under the petrol tank. The bottle top had split so oil was chucking out when the bike was ridden. I had noticed how clean the oil was but didn't put 2&2 together.

I also used an inspection camera to look for the oil temperature sensor under the petrol tank. The seal was dry but showing possible signs of a leak developing. It will get a new washer next time the tank is off. My bike will get the same.