This wouldn't be so difficult if I didn't love riding this bike so much.....my Ducati is DOA at the moment (not really but I don't dare ride it till I get new belts), my WR400 sumo is a blast but it's hella loud, and frankly just not the same, and the project bike is still....well....a project. I know that any thought of racing again is just a fantasy at this point so that bike stays in the shed..... So I changed the oil the other day, in an attempt to see if my shifting issue was oil related. Went from Rotella T6 to generic 20w50. Now while I was doing this I figured I'd swap out my airbox & cover. The dealer spun the nuts in the plastic and gave me a new set. I'd already removed the maze and snorkel and cut 4 holes in the bottom edge of the cover for a little more breathing. The new replacement box/cover is stock with the exception of the maze. Last night I get home and the entire left rear of the bike is soaked in oil, including the rear tire.....so glad I took it easy. At the bottom of the airbox is a little drain hole. I've run a rubber hose from that drain hole to just above the chain, just rear of the countershaft sprocket. The reason being is that I've noticed that when run on the highway for an extended period (not that I do that often) I'd get some oil leaking out that hole, so the hose acts as a Scott-oiler in a way. Well that's where the oil came from. The airbox was full of oil, the filter was soaked with motor oil & it must have drained out the hose & onto the chain. Increased crankcase pressure for some reason? Too much vacuum in the (stock) airbox pulling the oil out the breather? Anyone else have an issue with this? I knew I never should have let the dealer touch this bike. I've been riding for @40 years and for the longest time done my own work. I just figured it was under warranty so why not? I'm almost at the point of just tearing this thing down & rebuilding it, but I can't have 2 projects at once, so I'd have to finish the other project bike first.....
you don't seem to have had much luck with this bike.. I have 5/6 years of 610/630 ownership and very very few problems and I don't think I have heard of anyone else having so many problems as you. It sounds like every ride you have another issue.. I am sorry to hear that. Maybe you should cut your losses and look for another / different bike. When you refer to it as a "piece of shit" it sounds like you have already mentally committed to it not being a good bike for you so whats the point of holding onto it. Maybe you should try a ktm690, if you are lucky you might get a good one and not have so many problems ? If you keep it I hope you get your issues resolved and don't have these continual problems.
I've toyed with the idea. I really do like the bike. It's relatively comfy. Has the right amount of power for my needs (I traded a heavily modded 180rwhp '06 R1 for it....new owner lasted less than 24 hrs before wadding it...shame). The suspension is awesome. The brakes are awesome. It's light. There's really nothing I don't like about the bike, except for the fact that it breaks so often. I read on here about 20-30k miles on them, I've now got just over 4k miles.... I really think that the problem lies (and started) with the initial problem. I was just tooling down the highway and it basically ran out of power. Limped home, brought it to the dealer. After going through the husky "flow chart" for diagnosis and replacing a bunch of stuff, they found that (as I had initally told them) that the cam timing was off. The reason the cam timing was off is they found an errant bolt in the crankcase. I guess the cam chain picked up the bolt causing it to go 'round the cam gear and throwing the timing off....(?) Now according to the dealer, there is only one bolt of that specific size and shape in the motor, and when they looked where it belonged, it was already there, so they chalked it up as a manufacturing mistake, rebuilt the motor and gave it back to me. (I suspect lies) The radiator problem I can swallow, it was an easy non-time consuming fix. I'm willing to bet that the clowns that out the motor back together we're really laxidasial about it, and fubared some things here and there. If you saw their shop you'd understand. My garage (not that its anything special) looks like a sterile surgery center in comparison. I have other bikes to ride. I think what I'm probably going to do it finish the project bike I have on the lift at the moment, and then turn my attention to the husky lump. I figure if I go through it piece by piece and weed out all the weak links it'll end up being dead reliable in the end. One thing I can tell you I'm hugely disappointed with regarding the fit & finish of this bike is the fasteners. I understand the bean counting and low bidder wins, but these things are silly-putty soft. I've done a fair bit of metal work in the past and am familiar with how things are supposed to be. I drilled out a stuck bolt in the old airbox cover last night and I couldn't believe how soft the bolt was. The bit just went through it like it was brass.....ever try and take your front rotor off? Better use some heat, or you'll end up replacing them like I did.....same silly putty material....and that's not a good spot to be cutting corners IMO. That all being said, my frustration lies in the fact of what a fantastic bike it is, when it's not broke. Back to the original question at hand.....has anyone experienced oil in the airbox like this? It's definitely coming from the breather hose that goes from the valve cover to the airbox. The bike pulls like a freight train, the plug is perfect, and it doesn't burn any oil so I doubt I'm getting blow by from worn rings (besides, it's only got 4k mikes on it)......
The only common air box oil issues are laying down on the air box side, and overfilling the crank case.
It's never been down.....actually I could have a big red nose that honks.....I was the last one to change the oil. I had the bike level on a S/A stand, and filled the sight class to the middle (between the low/max tics on the left of the sight glass). Then I ran the bike for a minute or two. Then I waited for it to settle, noticed the oil level was slightly lower, then I topped it off to just under the max tic on the sight glass. I think I've figured out the trans issue with the help of my 15 yo....I need to consult the manual but I'm pretty sure there's either a few parts missing or something was re-assembled incorrectly.
That doesnt sound good - i had a mate had a dealer put his clutch back less a washer and it resulted in a top and bottom end rebuild . It does like you had some drunken monkeys throwing spanners at it ..
Yeah, you'd figure that service personnel would have a clue. When I traded my R1 in for the SMS it was prestine, showroom condition, not a scratch and polished like a gem. When I brought the SMS in the owner even stated that it was the nicest SMS that came back, and customers actually commented on how sweet it looked. When I got it back it was rediculous......damaged shrouds, scratched & greasy exhaust, spun fasteners, stripped bolt heads......just awful. I get the fact that they're mostly an off-road shop, and are probably used to wrenching on beat dirtbikes, but you'd think that when a customer brings in something that they obviously take pride in, you have a little respect & treat it accordingly.
Be aware, when checking oil level after running, it takes several minutes perfectly vertical for the oil level to fully rise in the window. Very easy to over fill. .
Happened to me. The day after I bought my bike I found a puddle of oil underneath it Called the PO and lo and behold he was "pretty sure" he had overfilled it. Oil would leak through and out of the bottom of the airbox.
Funny about all this overfilling business... I have a 610 that has a horrible oil weeping issue... I RTV'd everything above the cylinder head... let it sit for a few days.. maybe even weeks (was winter)... cleaned the whole engine spotless... And.... still leaks like Hell.. it runs down the front of the motor, hits the headers, burns and smells... continues running down the front of the motor and around the sides of the cylinder.... it's horrible, I just call it my greasy Italian whore. But... the oil sight glass is always where I filled it to, even with a 5k KM oil change interval.
Sounds like the rocker arm shaft is leaking, borgchulze. I have the same problem and the oil seems to find it's way to the same places.
