Oil leak with an oil change

[xs650newb]

Hey everyone,

So I replaced the 2+ year old oil in my XS650 since it is essentially road ready now. Unfortunately this resulted in a new leak.

I am thinking this happened because the new oil is much less viscous.

The leak is coming from the RHS cover (clutch side) at the bottom most point. Is there ANYTHING I can do to shore up this leak short of draining the oil and replacing the gasket?

Any tricks out there?

Best,
Adam

 

[xjwmx]

Go around the cover and tighten the screws. Ideally tighten upper and lower alternately, from the inside to the outside. Try to find an allen driver that will fit on a 1/4" size long extension to use.

If that doesn't help, take the right cover off and if it still has the factory gasket in good condition wipe it and the case edge down and try again. The factory gasket is pretty durable I've found.

 

[5twins]

When I got my 650, it was like the Exxon Veldez on 2 wheels, lol. I bought a complete engine gasket and seal kit and eventually used most all that stuff. Now it doesn't leak anymore (much, lol). Use an inch/pound torque wrench on that right side cover. Unless you've got 30-40 years motorcycle wrenching experience, I doubt you're good enough to torque those cover screws equally and to the proper torque just by hand and guessing at it.

 

[xs650newb]

K. Thanks guys. I was hoping to do something that didn't involve draining the oil again but looks like I don't have a choice.

Best,
Adam

 

[Hairyblackdude]

I'm wondering if you can lean the bike way over & just pull the cover without losing oil..??

We used to do it on our Raptor 660 quad when changing the starter clutch.

 

[xs650newb]

Thats a good question. Anyone care to chime in?

Best
Adam

 

[XSLeo]

Yes it can be layed over and not loose too much oil. What oil did you put in? I've not seen an oil leak start just from an oil change. A leak get worse yes. Old oil builds up sludge that plugs some leaks. New oil removes some of the sludge, letting you think a new leak started when it was just a sludge plugged old leak.
Leo