Help with oil leak!
 

Alright so recently I noticed a little puddle of oil forming under my bike where i parked it. I pulled off both side fairings and found that both sides of the crankcase and the top of it were covered in oil. It looks like its running off the top side of the crankcase down the left side where the shift lever comes out of the case and dripping down off of that. There was also a bit of oil over the clutch cover on the right side. The only thing I can think of is that I changed the cct recently but when I looked up in that area it looked dry so I'm not sure that is the problem.

Anyone have any ideas where I should be looking? The bike is an 01 with 17k miles on it. Only thing I have ever done to the engine is replace the cct but like I said it didn't look like there was any oil leaking from that area.

I always keep up with regular maintenance on the bike and its never been raced or abused. I'm extremely disappointed that its leaking oil with only 17k miles on it. Anyone have any ideas where to look for leaks. I don't have the money to take it into the dealer so i'm really hoping i can fix this myself!

just use some brake cleaner and clean everything off
don't ride the bike and check it in a few hours and see if it's leaking anywhere
if not, crank it up and just look it over as it's running

post some pics

Does it look like clean oil or is it really dirty? When I bought my bike used, I was getting black oily stuff all over the bottom of my bike. Turned out that the entire front sprocket area was just full of dirt, chain lube, and whatever else the person put on the chain. It was an icky mess, and when I first saw it, I thought I was actually leaking something.

Its definitely not coming off the chain. Its oil coming from somewhere in the engine. I did wipe off all the excess oil I could find after the first time I noticed it leaking. I then let it run for a while looking for fresh oil spots. The problem is that its a slow leak and you dont notice it until after a long ride, and by that point its all over the case and i cant tell where its coming from.

Im starting to think that maybe its a head gasket? does this sound right?

>>head gasket<<

Maybe, but I'd guess it's the valve/cam cover gasket. That's where I'd check first. But to do that, you may need to take the tank and airbox off and look at it from the top.

How many miles on the bike? Have the valves been done, ever? If the cover hasn't been off, it's less likely to leak than if it has.

If the head gasket were seriously awry, you'll find a little--or maybe a lot--of oil scum in the coolant. Check that. You'll also notice that the coolant level is dropping. Check that. You might also notice a bit of water sputtering out the exhaust at idle. Check that. Any overheating?

--Paul

The bikes got 17k miles on it. I dont see any green stuff mixed in with the oil so maybe its not the head gasket. Ive never had the valves done or opened up the case to do anything before. No overheating, in fact its runs just as smooth as it always does.

One thing I did notice though is that the oil level in the little window was overfull. I drained some out and now its at the right level (well until it leaks out) It was just a little bit overfull. Could just overfilling it a little bit cause the pressure to get too high and leak out somewhere?

it depends on how much extra was in there