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Thick black grunge covering final drive

3K views 21 replies 16 participants last post by  tamathumper 
#1 · (Edited)
Hello, first post here and I hope someone can point me in the right direction.

I have a 2012 with 27,000 miles on it.
It wasn't that many miles ago that I was under the bike, the final drive looked fine.

Cut to today and I'm going to do my first drive oil change (since I've had the bike), and it is totally covered with thick oily black grunge.
The clear spot in the middle is exposed aluminum after wiping it with my fingertip.

Is this a known issue? My searches haven't turned up anything.

Thanks in advance

Fixed upside down picture

 
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#4 ·
Or, maybe it was over full. The tube at the top is a vent. If over filled, at highway speeds they will sling excess out the vent. Road dust will gather on the mist of oil and make that kind of mess.

If it were me, I would clean it up good, drain and refill and then keep an eye on it. When filling, do not spin the wheel. Fill until it starts to run out of the fill hole and then let the little excess drain off before putting the plug back in.
 
#8 ·
Literally the only spot on the entire final drive case that is free of grime is the breather cap itself, which is shiny aluminum.
Every other part of the undercarriage, brake caliper, brake lines, rim, rotor, and exhaust are unaffected.

I think you're right Ironhorse, it appears to be coming out of the breather. Whoever changed this last time probably overfilled using the gear turn method.

I'll get it cleaned up with some pure dish soap to make sure all residue is off of the case, do the oil change and monitor.

Thanks
 
#5 ·
:agree: EVERYTHING ELSE THERE LOOKS "DRY" CALIPER ETC. IF SEAL WOULD THINK BE WET . LOOKS LIKE MY FRONT WHEEL :surprise::laugh::laugh:
 
#10 ·
The drive and picture are upside down and that’s not a vent at the top in the picture. That’s a drip spout on the bottom. Do you drive on coal covered roads? It looks like coal dust stuck to the drive from a minor leak. You need to wash it really good and check the fluid level. Never seen one so uniformally coated like that. Weird...
 
#12 ·
All you have to do is remove the fill cap. No, or very little fluid should come out. Just be careful removing the cap, they are easy to round off. A six point 17mm box end wrench is the best. Even if you use a lift.
 
#15 · (Edited)
It looks totally bizarre and unrealistic in person too. It is perfectly spread out over every part of the case, even the protruding bolt flanges etc.

This stuff is designed to coat metal, it certainly seems to be doing the job.

edit: As far as some kind of electrostatic process, I really think it's just the properties of oil. It will attempt to form a layer molecules.
 
#21 ·
That is where my paranoid worst case scenario mind went first, but there are no drip points, and garage floor is perfectly clean.
That leads me to believe the problem 1) only happens on the road 2) doesn't happen fast enough to drip.
Seems consistent with 80W making it up the breather and seeping down.

I also rode the bike on extremely hot days here, not sure if that contributed.

I changed the oil and I need to finish cleaning it up really well. If it happens again I'll go to the next level.
 
#20 ·
DogOne? Do you live or ride around AREA 51?
 
#22 ·
If you park indoors and drive on hot / humid days, it looks to me like a thin film of condensation is forming on the cool / heavy mass when you leave the garage, and that's giving the brake dust somewhere to stick.
 
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