I'm a little bummed out

[fastpappy]

Ok noticed a couple of oil stains on the ground under the front of the bike. Gave a quick visual but couldn't really see where it could be coming from. Found some spluge on the bottom of the fairing below the radiator and it's gonna be too hot today to even begin to investigate in ernest. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions??

 

[Geezer]

Motor oil. fork oil, coolant, or brake fluid?

 

[fastpappy]

Motor oil. fork oil, coolant, or brake fluid?

That's kinda my question also. Forks are dry,calipers are dry. The spluge at the bottom of the fairing seemed too thick to be coolant. I took another look later on in the day to see if there were any fresh stains and didn't see anything so now I'm thinking could this have been from an old leak that I never noticed and could have been dripping slowly down the fairing. Like I said too hot today to really get into it and calling for thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow (no garage) so I'll have to just wait and keep an eye on it

 

[RiderJoe]

Is your bike a California model by any chance? If so, maybe the canister..

 

[fastpappy]

Is your bike a California model by any chance? If so, maybe the canister..

Not California. No canister.

 

[mshrout]

it could be the valve cover gasket weaping on you, trickling down the front of the block, but I guess you would smell Oil burn as it would be next to exhaust pipes. check your coolant recovery bottle on level. keep us posted.

 

[Rocnsanman]

When was the last time you did an oil change? Sometimes oil will collect on the foam in the fairing and on a hot day possibly spot the driveway?
Just a thought.

 

[RossKean]

Ok noticed a couple of oil stains on the ground under the front of the bike. Gave a quick visual but couldn't really see where it could be coming from. Found some spluge on the bottom of the fairing below the radiator and it's gonna be too hot today to even begin to investigate in ernest. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions??

Fork oil leak is the most common but you said you checked. Spots under the fairing, I assume, rather than the wheel/forks?

On my 2007, the radiator overflow reservoir became very brittle and cracked causing a leak. I have heard of this happening on a few bikes - relatively cheap to replace... I did a "patch" with a product called Seal-All plus some fibreglas cloth but tank was too brittle to trust it for long. Temporary for a week until dealer could order the reservoir.

I also had an issue with an actual radiator leak. Back side near the top left and not the result of inept maintenance or a rock - just happened. I was able to get a radiator shop to fix it - they injected some sort of rubberized sealant which blocked off the one affected tube. I think it would be tough to braze that radiator!

If the leak is water soluble, it could be brake fluid or antifreeze. If not, consider fork oil or engine oil. Odor can help identify.

This was my radiator thread
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/leaking-radiator.172405/
Good luck.

 

[fastpappy]

it could be the valve cover gasket weaping on you, trickling down the front of the block, but I guess you would smell Oil burn as it would be next to exhaust pipes. check your coolant recovery bottle on level. keep us posted.

The quick visual I did didn't see anything near the exhaust and there hasn't been any oil burning odor, coolant looked ok. Maybe I can get a better look today.

 

[fastpappy]

When was the last time you did an oil change? Sometimes oil will collect on the foam in the fairing and on a hot day possibly spot the driveway?
Just a thought.

A possibility. Did the oil and filter about 1500 to 2000 miles ago and could be responsible for the stain but the spluge at the front of the fairing is still confusing me. Will try a better look today

 

[fastpappy]

Fork oil leak is the most common but you said you checked. Spots under the fairing, I assume, rather than the wheel/forks?

On my 2007, the radiator overflow reservoir became very brittle and cracked causing a leak. I have heard of this happening on a few bikes - relatively cheap to replace... I did a "patch" with a product called Seal-All plus some fibreglas cloth but tank was too brittle to trust it for long. Temporary for a week until dealer could order the reservoir.

I also had an issue with an actual radiator leak. Back side near the top left and not the result of inept maintenance or a rock - just happened. I was able to get a radiator shop to fix it - they injected some sort of rubberized sealant which blocked off the one affected tube. I think it would be tough to braze that radiator!

If the leak is water soluble, it could be brake fluid or antifreeze. If not, consider fork oil or engine oil. Odor can help identify.

This was my radiator thread
https://www.fjrforum.com/threads/leaking-radiator.172405/
Good luck.

Yes spots under the fairing and a bit of spluge at the bottom of the fairing at the front. I definitely need to get a closer look. Coolant looked okay and the spluge seemed too thick to be coolant. Wondering if the spluge could have accumulated over time without me noticing and finally dripped. Just gave it the first wash since last year sometime.

 

[RossKean]

Antifreeze can get a bit sticky. Hopefully it is just accumulated crud. Hose it out and see if it comes back. I find when I wash the bike on the centerstand and switch to the sidestand (even a few hours later), there are drips of water that come out of the front fairing and radiator.

 

[audiowize]

The timing cover gasket was redesigned at some point to add some extra leak protection where the pick up wiring passes under it. Generally this will just seep a bit, but it's worth inspecting that area.