Ive got a bit of oil showing around the gaiter between the bevel drive and the swing arm should i worry or is this yet another "feature" of these??
oil weep from swing arm gaiter
- Thread starter ianran
- Start date
Ive got a bit of oil showing around the gaiter between the bevel drive and the swing arm should i worry or is this yet another "feature" of these??
What bike have you got - your profile says 1200? If so you might be better off posting in that section
Some airheads have a slight leak into the rear drive but shouldn't. I can't see why any later bike would have oil coming out of the rear gaiter unless there's an oil leak from somewhere.
What's the gearbox and FD oil levels like? Is the rear shock leak free too? Could the oil have come from anywhere else, like it's actually ACF50 that's dripped down?
What's the gearbox and FD oil levels like? Is the rear shock leak free too? Could the oil have come from anywhere else, like it's actually ACF50 that's dripped down?
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A small amount of oil in the rear gaiter is considered normal for 11xx's too (not sure about 12's though). Assuming ianran has an 11xx then he needs to pull the gaiter back and see how much is in there - a couple of teaspoons is ok - a cupfull isn't.
When my 1100's GB output seal failed, I had a good cupful in there
If there's a load in there check the GB / FD oil levels to work out where it's from and take it from there.
motobiker
Registered user
Mines been leaking off and on since I bought the thing... but the level in the FD fill hole never moves.
I don't worry about it.. when theres a trail of black oil visible.. I wipe it off. (job done)
If the levels move.. or the amount of oil were to increase - hugely then I would.. take steps. But its hasn't, so I won't.
Can go for days or weeks with no sign of any oil.. and then suddenly its there. Just a quirk of the bike to keep me on my toes... and give me a little attack of paranoia ~ always a thrill.
I don't worry about it.. when theres a trail of black oil visible.. I wipe it off. (job done)
If the levels move.. or the amount of oil were to increase - hugely then I would.. take steps. But its hasn't, so I won't.
Can go for days or weeks with no sign of any oil.. and then suddenly its there. Just a quirk of the bike to keep me on my toes... and give me a little attack of paranoia ~ always a thrill.
hitmanh
Registered user
My 850 gets about a teaspoons worth of oil every couple of months or so. Doesn't seem to effect the oil level in the bevel box and it's far to much hassle to fix. Just clean the oil out every now and then and keep an eye on oil levels.
Cheers
Matt
Cheers
Matt
motobiker
Registered user
Never heard of that particular fault being regarded as 'normal'... and if I discovered it.. I certainly would NOT regard it as normal either.
but then.. how exactly would you discover it?... take the whole thing apart? you cant really check the level of the GB oil easily... would you even know if the oil had dropped by a couple of tespoons? I think not.
Oil that drips from the gaitor is normally 99% water.. and 1% oil. and 100% of the time looks a lot worse than it is.
Its little quirks like this that makes such a tediously reliable machine a bit exciting.
(for all of a minute)
I have been told by Steptoe (amongst others) that a little oil in the FD gaiter is normal and nothing to worry about.
Oil can get there from one of two places - the FD seal and the GB output seal. I believe that the FD input seal can 'breathe' some oil, I don't know if the GB output seal can do the same (but I doubt it given the volume of the box).
Given that you'll never determine which seal it is without a strip down, if you're only getting a couple of teaspoons every couple of months I think you can safely assume it's the FD input seal and not worry (but keep checking levels).
When my GB output seal gave up the ghost it went from an occasional drop to about half a pint in the swingarm over the course of a month - at that point it pretty easy to tell where it's coming from.
motobiker
Registered user
Matt... this has been known about for donkeys years.. going right back to 1994 in fact.
it was your line about a couple of teaspoons of oil from the gearbox being 'normal' that I took issue with. Oil leaking from the GEAR BOX is NEVER 'normal'
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Oops profile wrong, ive got an 1150. Ive wiped the oil of and am going to mnitor it or flog the poxy thing getting pissed off with silly faults and shite seat!!
Undo the gaiter clamp next to the FD and see what (if anything) comes out.
My gaiter held half a pint of oil inside the swingarm and didn't leak a drop to the outside...
Is this a std cable tie holding it in or something poncier?
Oh tedious about describes it!! Exciting...............I wish!!!
Depends - my 1100 has a proper stainless band clamp - I think the inferior 1150's
have a cable tie - as far as I know it's just a standard tie.
My 1100 has a tie wrap or palstic equivalent. One day I'll see if the clamps on my 100GS will fit, although the current 1100 is 11 years old and the low tech / cheap solution seems to be working ok.
Undid cable tie moved gaiter about, stuck me finger in, took it out and put in the gaiter hole, no dribbles nuffing so just me being a BMW owner!!
, no dribbles nuffing so just me being a BMW owner!!Undid cable tie moved gaiter about, stuck me finger in, took it out and put in the gaiter hole
Excellent
The 1100GS should have re-usable metal clips. The 1150 has cable ties. Except my 1150 which has the BMW metal re-usable clips - you can't use the 1100 clips on an 1150
