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3.5 years into riding, 99% of that on my Kat, and something other than rubber has finally touched Terra Firma.
No one to blame but myself.
Parked at home gathering my stuff (tank bag, key, etc.), walk around to the right side to plug in the tender and find I've parked it about an inch short of where I need to be. Being the smart guy that I am I just grab the bars, pull in the clutch, tilt it a bit towards me and roll it forward that inch that I need. No problem....I'm guessing most of you can guess what happened when I tilted the bike back onto the side stand (that I couldn't see, of course, being that I was on the right side of the bike. Never move a bike unless you are on it or from the left side...a rule I apparently forgot.
By the time I noticed that it had gone past the point of where the side stand should have caught it there was no way I was stopping it. Did my best to slow the drop and was successful, for the most part. Had a mirror housing crack a fair bit (interestingly the glass didn't crack or shatter at all, just popped out of the housing), put a few more scratches (lots were already there when I bought it) in the fairing right on the "bump" over the left side engine cover, and the bar end made contact with the ground. Fairly painless in the end. On its side for about 30 seconds total.
A couple minutes after I got it back upright I noticed a few drops of oil underneath. Grabbed some newsprint and laid it under the bike, ended up with maybe 15-20 good size drips it total. After a couple days (not riding it) I pulled the fairing off and found the back half of the engine cover with a nice coating of fresh oil. The inside of the fairing obviously had some oil on it as well, which had run down to the belly pan and out. Wiped down the engine cover and did a quick look: various scratches from just just below the logo to half way to the bottom, maybe 2 inches wide in total. No leaks from that area at all.
My questions are about two areas: Radiating towards the front of the cover from the scratched area is a thin line, maybe 3" long. Can't really tell if it's a deep, sharp angled scratch or a crack. Have the same kind of scratch/crack towards the rear side of the cover, but this one is only an inch long and off on its own. Neither is leaking while on the side stand, nor do they appear to be the source of the oil that did leak.
So, after that long winded explanation two questions remain:
What are the odds of the two areas on the cover actually being cracks?
The only reason I'm even worrying about it is that I'd like to ride it until a gasket gets here, then I'll be replacing it with the NRC cover I've had sitting around for a couple years, waiting for a reason to be installed. I know I could fire it up and see what happens, but....
Where might the oil that did leak out come from? The oil lines are fine, not a spot on them. No oil to be seen anywhere except on the cover and on the engine case between the cover and the starter. Starter itself looks bone dry. Could the oil have come out of the hole in the case that the starter is mounted in?
No one to blame but myself.
Parked at home gathering my stuff (tank bag, key, etc.), walk around to the right side to plug in the tender and find I've parked it about an inch short of where I need to be. Being the smart guy that I am I just grab the bars, pull in the clutch, tilt it a bit towards me and roll it forward that inch that I need. No problem....I'm guessing most of you can guess what happened when I tilted the bike back onto the side stand (that I couldn't see, of course, being that I was on the right side of the bike. Never move a bike unless you are on it or from the left side...a rule I apparently forgot.
By the time I noticed that it had gone past the point of where the side stand should have caught it there was no way I was stopping it. Did my best to slow the drop and was successful, for the most part. Had a mirror housing crack a fair bit (interestingly the glass didn't crack or shatter at all, just popped out of the housing), put a few more scratches (lots were already there when I bought it) in the fairing right on the "bump" over the left side engine cover, and the bar end made contact with the ground. Fairly painless in the end. On its side for about 30 seconds total.
A couple minutes after I got it back upright I noticed a few drops of oil underneath. Grabbed some newsprint and laid it under the bike, ended up with maybe 15-20 good size drips it total. After a couple days (not riding it) I pulled the fairing off and found the back half of the engine cover with a nice coating of fresh oil. The inside of the fairing obviously had some oil on it as well, which had run down to the belly pan and out. Wiped down the engine cover and did a quick look: various scratches from just just below the logo to half way to the bottom, maybe 2 inches wide in total. No leaks from that area at all.
My questions are about two areas: Radiating towards the front of the cover from the scratched area is a thin line, maybe 3" long. Can't really tell if it's a deep, sharp angled scratch or a crack. Have the same kind of scratch/crack towards the rear side of the cover, but this one is only an inch long and off on its own. Neither is leaking while on the side stand, nor do they appear to be the source of the oil that did leak.
So, after that long winded explanation two questions remain:
What are the odds of the two areas on the cover actually being cracks?
The only reason I'm even worrying about it is that I'd like to ride it until a gasket gets here, then I'll be replacing it with the NRC cover I've had sitting around for a couple years, waiting for a reason to be installed. I know I could fire it up and see what happens, but....
Where might the oil that did leak out come from? The oil lines are fine, not a spot on them. No oil to be seen anywhere except on the cover and on the engine case between the cover and the starter. Starter itself looks bone dry. Could the oil have come out of the hole in the case that the starter is mounted in?
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