Posted by INTRUDN on March 14, 2001 at 08:07:50:
In Reply to: Re: oil leaking from block posted by Polar Pilot on March 14, 2001 at 00:22:57:
Had the same thing happen to Stef's bike. The only way to get it to stop leaking is to take part of the top of the motor off and replace that freaking "plug" with a new one. The one that was put on Stef's bike had a little metal band around it to help it stay put. The reason the leak occurs, and disappears, and comes back, and disappears, etc., is due to this little freaking rubber plug piece of crap itself. It expands and constricts each time the motor heats up and cools down. Sometimes it reseats itself properly and won't leak for a while, then all of a sudden, BAM! There it goes again. The expansion and constriction, combined with the vibration of the motor itself, have doomed many of these plugs. Luckily, someone got some good sense and redesigned the plug, so that the metal band now helps it hold it's shape better which allows it to stay in place.
The plug is located internally on the right side(if you were sitting on the bike)of the head. It is not the plug you see from outside on the motor. You have to take off the chrome covers, then all those 10mm bolts (be sure to keep and replace them in exact order). Before the "head" cover will come off, you must also remove the two oval shaped covers from the top of the head. There are two more 10mm bolts under those covers that must come off before you can remove the head. Once you have the top end exposed, you will see the plug. It is about the size of an American quarter (25cent piece for international readers). It is towards the front of the motor, next to the cam. When you pull it out, you can access the nut on the lower mount. I offer that as a reference only, you do not need to remove this nut, however, this is the ONLY way to tighten that sucker. If you look to the left side of the header pipe, you can see the nut in that cave-like hole, but you can't get a tool in there to it. I think they did that just to tease us and make us go nuts trying to figure out how to get to it :^) While you are already that deep into the top end, you might as well go ahead and check and adjust the valves if needed, as well as inspect the cam and fittings for premature wear (just a suggestion). Good luck!