Oil leaking from left side of bike

[midqetsex]

I got a flat tire over a week ago and ordered Pirelli Diablo Stradas. I finally got them in the mail yesterday. The guy at the shop just called and told me they put them on and rode it around the block to test the tires. When they pulled in, oil was leaking all over the left side of the bike. I think he said he saw it on the headers. He said it was "unrideable." Anyone have any clues what this could be? I don't want him to charge me an arm and a leg to fix a gasket or something simple so I'd like to know what I'm looking at. I had it running the day it got towed for 5-10 minutes and not a single drop fell to the floor.

[DreKat]

high or low on the headers?

[midqetsex]

He didn't specify. He's gonna take the fairing off and look at it and call me back with whatever he finds. What am I looking at if it's high vs. low?

[Mojoe]

did you have a problem with an oil leak before you took it in? I don't know, but if I took my bike in for a tire change and the guy tells me he rode it around the block to test the tires, then talks about an oil leak.....well, I think I would be kind of aggitated and have some doubts about what went wrong.......cuz that is the first time I ever hear anyone claim to test the tires. just sounds like a lame excuse to ride the bike. out of the lord know how many tires i had changed on the cage.....and quite a large number on the bike, no shop guy ever suggested taking my bike for a ride to test them.

[midqetsex]

The oil wasn't leaking before I took it in. I called Progressive and tried to make note of what happened, saying I suspected it may have been dropped in transit, but they can't do anything yet. If it looks like the dropped it or something taking it off the flatbed, I'm going to file a claim. If not, I'll probably just assume I have terrible luck and something magically broke while it was sitting.

[midqetsex]

Am I right to assume that if something was broken before the shop, the oil would still leak while I had it idling/revving? I did that a few times to keep the battery charged and prevent the carbs from getting gunky and no oil leaked to the floor, anyway. The spot that it sat in for a week+ is perfectly clean.

[Mojoe]

I don't know what to tell you except that it sounds a bit fishing. Found out exactly what is leaking from the shop, and be very firm in letting them know that it wasn't leaking any oil before you brought it in. Keep us informed on what they say.

[midqetsex]

The shop called...

They told me that one of the bolts on the valve cover was loose and it was causing it to leak after riding "for a while." I'm not sure that he meant to stick that "for a while" in there. He quoted me ~$171 total with tax, including removing my old tires and putting the new ones on. I had my girlfriend call and pretend she had a Ninja 500 and wanted her tires changed. They quoted her at $80 for both. We have 7% sales tax, so I'm paying $80 for them to take the fairings off and tighten bolts on both sides. He is charging an hour and a half of work. He said they had to clean the bike up before they could find out where the oil was coming from. Progressive should pay for the rear tire to be mounted at least, so it looks like I'll be paying $131 or so out of my pocket. Let me know if anything sounds wrong with this before I pick my bike up tomorrow afternoon.

[Mojoe]

the only thing that sounds wrong is that he is one expensive mechanic. I just had my tire changed on Monday. It cost me $10 by bringing in the wheel myself.
Honestly though, you probably could have fixed the leak yourself for nothing. Just remove the fairing and tighten all the bolts on the valve cover....providing the gasket is still good.

[midqetsex]

Yeah that's what kills me about it. It was something easy to fix. We actually had a mild argument over the phone. The problem was that the bike was already at the shop and he said it was unrideable, so I told him he could take the fairing off and look at it. I figured it would be something more difficult. I'm not much of a mechanic, but I do enjoy learning and doing the work myself. I really didn't have time to go out and look at it, then I probably wouldn't have known what to do without running back in my house and posting on here anyway. BAH!