Oil on me boots

[Blue Beastie]

Seem to have acquired a spray of oil on my boots this morning after riding the beast into work. Any ideas as to where it may be coming from? No oil puddles under bike when parked. It's mostly on the left one but a wee bit on the right too. Haven't just loobed the chain so don't think it could be that. I sparyed the engine liberally with WD40 so it may be that I suppose.

Also, my neutral light doesn;t work any more. Is there a connector I can check/clean somewhere. Sorry, obvious questions but I'm still learning :confused: :)

[rich]

Hi there Re:-

"neutral light doesn;t work any more. Is there a connector I can check"

If yours is like mine

the switch is located RHS of rear shock area

and the conection fails in side of the boot

follow the cable up and you will find a joint B4 the loom

short it and the light should work if the bulb is ok !

Hope this helps rich

[rich]

Try here ,if it's u/s
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10448&item=7967728334&rd=1

[A Yerbury]

early neutral switches had a pin connetcor slightly larger than your average atom, the newer ones are glued and cost about 12 quid. as for the oil? is it clutch fluid from the slave?

[scrumpster]

I had oil on my boots and it was from my fork seal. It didn't drip at first, so may be worth checking!

[Blue Beastie]

Cheers folks. Fork seals were done 1,500 miles ago so hopefully they are ok but I'll check anyway.

[MikeG]

IMO, spraying the chain with WD 40 is not a good idea. WD40 is a solvent and will cause the O rings to fail, thereby ensuring you have to buy a new chain sooner than anticipated!!!! Use a chain lube or if you are a cheapskate like me, engine oil and a rag. Of course the best solution is a Scott-Oiler!

[Rockhopper]

No, WD40 wont hurt the chain. We have had this discussion before many times.

[MikeG]

Well then, this just shows my ignorance! still I will continue wiv me oily rag technique, seems to work for me :D

[Blue Beastie]

I didn't put WD40 on the chain!!! I put it over the whole engine to protect it though. I've used a spot of WD40 in the past to clean the outside of my chains and it doesn't seem to have done any harm, but haven't put any on the Monster's yet.

[MikeG]

I spray the Monster with WD40, but not sure why, tho it smells nice when I get to work. Costs me a fortune tho!

[scrumpster]

Cheers folks. Fork seals were done 1,500 miles ago so hopefully they are ok but I'll check anyway.

Hee hee mine was done the day before, but didn't stop it leaking!! :o All ok now though, just waiting for the speedo cable!

[Pedro]

Hee hee mine was done the day before, but didn't stop it leaking!! :o All ok now though, just waiting for the speedo cable!

Why you waiting for a speedo cable - they should be available next day at most. If you get stuck, go to Fleabay and search the shops section for "ducatisparesonline" - it's run by Lee who used to be a member on here and is an all round good guy. He had a cable in stocke yesterday...

Ped

[A Yerbury]

I spray the Monster with WD40, but not sure why, tho it smells nice when I get to work. Costs me a fortune tho!

get yourself some halfords water dispersant, okay so the packaging has none of the iconic clout, but it's 2 whole pounds cheaper (I think) comes with a little straw just like the proper stuff and smells identicle.
Alex. because "hey, I care!"
ps is identicle spelt correctly?

[MikeG]

get yourself some halfords water dispersant, okay so the packaging has none of the iconic clout, but it's 2 whole pounds cheaper (I think) comes with a little straw just like the proper stuff and smells identicle.
Alex. because "hey, I care!"
ps is identicle spelt correctly?

Sounds good to me.
Identicle / Identical Your spelling is a little French for me, But hey, I understand :D

[The Kevlar Kid]

Blue - have you still got a leak or is sorted?????

It's not the head gasket on the vertical cylinder is it?. You'll possibly have a small pool of oil in the crevices just in front of it, if it is....

[Blue Beastie]

:( I'll check that out when I leave work tonight, thanks for the warning. Oil seems to be mainly on the right boot now.

At first I thought it was the forks as they are so soft but there is no sign of leakage, and from what I have read on here they are soft anyway.

Is it an easy job to change the head gasket? I'm not scared of it, just have no experience!!!

I'm also just about to change the oil as it looks like **** and has been in for 3 years as far as I know. What's the best oil to chuck in the beast?

Cheers

Neil.

[Pedro]

Rock Oil Guardian Semi-synthetic is just fine.

Ped

[rich]

:( Is it an easy job to change the head gasket? I'm not scared of it, just have no experience!!!

I'm also just about to change the oil as it looks like **** and has been in for 3 years as far as I know. What's the best oil to chuck in the beast?

Cheers

Neil.

Hi there if yours is like my old 600, it had no head gasket just "o" rings

as for the oil i would change mine at least once a year on low miles!

Rich

[Blue Beastie]

Is the o-ring easy to replace? It is an old 600 and should have had the oil changed by now. I've only had the bike about a month and am just starting to find my way around it. I take it an oil change is simple??!! :confused: I've got a filter on order from ducatisparesonline and now just need to get oil and some time!!

[rich]

Is the o-ring easy to replace? It is an old 600 and should have had the oil changed by now. I've only had the bike about a month and am just starting to find my way around it. I take it an oil change is simple??!! :confused: I've got a filter on order from ducatisparesonline and now just need to get oil and some time!!

Neil

The o rings are easy if you are good at this kind of thing !
The same goes for an oil change.

However if you are new to self servicing get some help mate B4 it all goes wrong !

Rich

[The Kevlar Kid]

It's not the head gasket on the vertical cylinder is it?.

I mean barrel gasket not head gasket - sorry I'm in car mode when I'm at work...

Thought somebody would have pulled me up on that ;)

[Blue Beastie]

Now you've got me!! I've got a Haynes manual now so will consult that. I was able to do some servicing on my old fazer using a Haynes manual so hopefully this should be ok. THanks for all the tips.

[spacemonkey]

Ah, the Hayne's Book of lies...

The base gasket is at the joint of the cylinder and the main crankcase. If I'm not mistaken it is a heads/barrell off job, which while not too difficult (these aircooled Ducati things are very basic..) it will also entail setting the belt tension, and to be honest you should change both belts while you are there. These MUST be done religiously every two years or 12000 miles, without fail. Check out the ubiquitous 'ducatisuite' for good instructions. They only cost £20 odd for the pair. Genuine filters aren't exactly dear either. Have you checked the breather on the crancase behind the rear cylinder? This works loose and can spray up a bit. Insert an allen key or similar in the little holes and rotate the whole shebang to tighten.

[gary tompkins]

BB,

Another possibility is a leaky oil pressure switch. These are fitted to the front end of the clutch cover on early 600's, and if they fail/leak (which has been known to happen) will spray oil all over the right side of the engine & your boot. Only cost a few quid to replace - so worth a look before searching for the leak elsewhere.

See photo....

Oh -and as Nick (spacemonkey) pointed out, make sure the belts and other important stuff like the desmo clearances are ok. If (as you said) the oil's been in the bike for 3 YEARS :eek:, the motor could be in dire need of a service and tune.

Out of curiosity - what mileage has the bike got on the clock?

[Blue Beastie]

The bike now has 9,200 miles on it. The valve clearances and a whole pile of other stuff was done around 1,700 miles ago. I got the belts changes pretty much as soon as I got the bike about 200 miles ago. Thanks for the tip on the pressure switch. I'll check that too.

The poor beast only has 1,500 miles put on it in 3 years by the previous owner so any advice on what else I should be looking at would be much appreciated.

Cheers

[gary tompkins]

BB,

If it's had a full service 1,700 miles back then it should be ok for a while, but get fresh oil in and a new filter ASAP.

1994 model 600's need a minor service every 4600 miles and a major every 9300 miles. For 1995 onwards 600's the interval is 6200 & 12400 miles, and all the bits that need doing (and when) are listed on page 1.3 of the Haynes manual, or your handbook if you still have it.

You mentioned that the handling felt a bit weird in another thread. I had the same on my own 600, which when purchased in 1999 had covered barely 1800miles (from new) in 4 years! It turned out the factory fitted Dunlop 205's had gone rock hard with age, giving little grip in the dry & were lethal in the wet :eek:

A new set of Pirelli dragons transformed both the handling and my confidence in the bike, so it may be worth swapping to fresh rubber on yours if the tyres are over 3 years old?