Oil leaking

[dave01]

Took most of the bodywork off today to install the swaybar and noticed a lot of oil on the right side. I found the seam where the top and bottom of the airbox join had a lot of oil on it, so I opened the airbox. Almost no oil inside, just a little on the filter side. This has me baffled how it got out of the airbox and ran down by the intake tubes. Anyone else have this problem? I havent done the Harbor Freight filter mod yet since the spyder will be going up for sale soon.

[bjt]

It happens. Mine would probably be similar to what you describe. By looking at the outside of the airbox between cleanings, you'd think I would have a healthy puddle of oil in the airbox but it's never more than just a light film in many places and a few small spots where it pools, like in the front corner by the air filter.

[NancysToy]

I had much the same. Little oil in top of box (more way down in bottom), quite a bit near drain holes in box, and oil all over outside. Filter looked very good. Just the nature of the beast, I guess.

[dave01]

Thanks guys. Makes me feel better. I'm used to riding bikes and oil leaks on them are bad things...LOL

[Donzo]

I have never had oil in the intake box etc - I always keep the oil at the add oil level on the dipstick. A buddy of mine has oil on his rear shock because so much oil is coming out of the box - don't top off the oil, keep it low and it should help...

[BeRight]

Just checked mine this week for the first time (2,500 miles) and had a small puddle (1/2tsp) in lower left corner - none got out of the box - thank goodness.

[NancysToy]

Thanks guys. Makes me feel better. I'm used to riding bikes and oil leaks on them are bad things...LOL
I'm used to riding old Brit bikes. If they aren't leaking, they are out of oil. LOL

[bjt]

I'm used to riding old Brit bikes. If they aren't leaking, they are out of oil. LOL

:roflblack:

[PERRO21]

Ive had my spyder rs 2011 for about a good month and a half. ran good added half a qt of rotella t6 about 3 weeks ago and 3 days added two brothers dual exhaust but today when i drove it home from work i was leaking oil from the air intake box... can anybody tell me if its something serious and what should i do.. thanks in advance.

[gypsy_100]

Took most of the bodywork off today to install the swaybar and noticed a lot of oil on the right side. I found the seam where the top and bottom of the airbox join had a lot of oil on it, so I opened the airbox. Almost no oil inside, just a little on the filter side. This has me baffled how it got out of the airbox and ran down by the intake tubes. Anyone else have this problem? I havent done the Harbor Freight filter mod yet since the spyder will be going up for sale soon.

Same experience. 4500 mi and leaking at the seam. Spent a couple hours cleaning it out. Now I keep the oil level mid-way on the stick. We'll see if that helps.

[gypsy_100]

Ive had my spyder rs 2011 for about a good month and a half. ran good added half a qt of rotella t6 about 3 weeks ago and 3 days added two brothers dual exhaust but today when i drove it home from work i was leaking oil from the air intake box... can anybody tell me if its something serious and what should i do.. thanks in advance.

Since you noticed the leak starting after you added oil, it could be overfilled. Easy to do, not intuitive procedure. Mine came 1/3 qt overfull from the factory. When the manual says with engine hot, they mean hot, not just warm it up. Best way is to take a ride, get the bike level, shut it off and immediately check the oil level. If foamy, it's probably overfull and you'll have to wait a minute or so for the foam to go away and check again.

What I do normally is come in from a ride, remove the panel for access (Baker air-wings require a bolt removal), then start it while it's still nice and hot and let it idle for a minute or so, shut it off and check immediately. I try to keep it at mid-level on the stick. If you then wait several minutes and keep checking it, you can see how fast it goes down and appreciate the need for checking truly hot and right after you shut it off. Then for curiosity's sake, check it the next morning when cold and you may not find it even registering on the stick at all. Or at the very bottom. That's how it gets overfilled -- riders checking it cold.

On mine, the o-ring on the filler cap tends to come about halfway down as I'm unscrewing the cap to wipe the stick off. I always make sure the o-ring is pushed up tight against the cap so when I screw it back in to check the level, I'm sure to get it in all the way. If the o-ring is part way down, you'll feel resistance when the o-ring hits and may not have the cap fully in all the way. Just a caution.

[PERRO21]

Thanks for that info.. i just finished cleaning up all the oil... i was looking for a filter but nobody seemed to carry it in the stores.. but when i took my oily filter to advance auto parts, he looked it up and it was puralator a13192 $7.99.... just wanted to let people know about that cause i was about to order online a k&n 33-2006. $34. which is way more expensive..

[Freddy]

So I'm right in assuming that the oil-in-the-airbox issue remains an issue eh?