[raven105x]

My 2006 Kawasaki EX250 is leaking oil in ludicrous amounts. I have not been able to pinpoint the exact location of the leak, but the bottom section of my bike is just drenched. I'm waiting on a reply to get some help from a friend I recently became acquainted with, but wanted to get your opinion on this and weather it is safe for me to ride to college and back on the freeway (about 30 miles to & from) until i get this fixed. I've collected as much data as possible for the community to work with, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Background: Bought the bike about a month ago, used. Had 6000 miles on it - the oil leak was not significant as I learned the controls, took it slow for the first 2-3 weeks. As of a week or two ago, I have started riding at high revs (Engine is 13K redline, I ride in the 8-12.5k RPM range). After every ride at high revs, there would be literally a puddle of oil under my bike a few minutes after I parked. I recently did an oil change myself (at about 9100 miles) - put in Golden Spectro 4 Synethic Petrolium 10W40 in. Leaks are at about the same intensity, checked the drain plug & the filter screw - both are dry. The leak is occuring on the left side of the motorcycle (I think the gearbox?) - It is circled red in the images;

Here is a video I uploaded, of my motorcycle's internals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJoRrueVUL8

Here is the album of pictures:
SBN pictures by Raven105X - Photobucket

At this point I'm just looking to find out if it is safe to ride my bike to college and back without the potential of damaging the engine or transmission, etc. Engine revs fine, but when I rapidly stop the oil light comes on for 1-2 seconds and then turns off again. If there is any other information I can get for you that would be useful, please reply and i'll try to get it for you.

Did lots of searching as to what it could be - everything from an overfill, to oil in the air box, to pressure buildups somewhere doing something, but still not sure as to what this is. And forgive me for the improper use of terms, still a newbie.

 

[Veefer97]

My 2006 Kawasaki EX250 is leaking oil in ludicrous amounts. I have not been able to pinpoint the exact location of the leak, but the bottom section of my bike is just drenched. I'm waiting on a reply to get some help from a friend I recently became acquainted with, but wanted to get your opinion on this and weather it is safe for me to ride to college and back on the freeway (about 30 miles to & from) until i get this fixed. I've collected as much data as possible for the community to work with, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Background: Bought the bike about a month ago, used. Had 6000 miles on it - the oil leak was not significant as I learned the controls, took it slow for the first 2-3 weeks. As of a week or two ago, I have started riding at high revs (Engine is 13K redline, I ride in the 8-12.5k RPM range). After every ride at high revs, there would be literally a puddle of oil under my bike a few minutes after I parked. I recently did an oil change myself (at about 9100 miles) - put in Golden Spectro 4 Synethic Petrolium 10W40 in. Leaks are at about the same intensity, checked the drain plug & the filter screw - both are dry. The leak is occuring on the left side of the motorcycle (I think the gearbox?) - It is circled red in the images;

Here is a video I uploaded, of my motorcycle's internals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJoRrueVUL8

Here is the album of pictures:
SBN pictures by Raven105X - Photobucket

At this point I'm just looking to find out if it is safe to ride my bike to college and back without the potential of damaging the engine or transmission, etc. Engine revs fine, but when I rapidly stop the oil light comes on for 1-2 seconds and then turns off again. If there is any other information I can get for you that would be useful, please reply and i'll try to get it for you.

Did lots of searching as to what it could be - everything from an overfill, to oil in the air box, to pressure buildups somewhere doing something, but still not sure as to what this is. And forgive me for the improper use of terms, still a newbie.

Take the front sprocket cover off. It does look like the tranny output seal is leaking on to the chain. As far as the oil light not sure if that is an indication or real pressure problem. The only way to check is to put a pressure gauge on the motor. Golden Spectro is way too expensive oil for a college student. Shell Rotella 5-40 full synthetic is the way to go

 

[raven105x]

Thank you for the reply. I was told to not go full synthetic because of a wet clutch and I don't want to skimp on oil because if this engine dies, I am SO fucked. Also read that Golden Spectro had high quality materials or something like that, anyways be right back popping the cover off right now.

Edit/Update: Got it off, you were right. The oil is coming from the gearbox, seeping out through the axis of the sprocket or the gear shift lever thing... either way, here are the updated pictures:
SBN2 pictures by Raven105X - Photobucket

Getting back to my primary concern, is it safe to ride on this? And my secondary concern, what parts (gaskets, etc - not sure what I would need) do I have to order/replace to fix this issue?

 

[Veefer97]

You will have to remove the chain and sprocket to get to that seal. On some engines the cases have to be split to replace the seal. You have do search to find out if your bike requires that or not. If not it is a simple task to remove the seal and replace it. Seal should not be more than $10. As far as the safety goes you need to monitor oil loss and it could wind up on your tire and you could be injured. Your call. BTW the oil that I recommended has been used in all of my track bikes that see far harsher usage than most any street bike

 

[raven105x]

Hrm, alright. I'll do reading on the oil you mentioned & maybe go full synth my next change if no one tells me it's a stupid idea with a wet clutch until then, thank you for the help! Trying to find instructions for this seal in the meantime. So is this the oil that I fill into the engine leaking out? Is the same oil used for the gearbox? Or am I somehow losing engine oil in a different way? Apologies for the simple questions, but I could not find the answers elsewhere.

 

[enos]

You have the same oil in the engine, gearbox, and clutch. If that's where the leak is coming from, yes, it's that oil. The only ways to lose engine oil is to leak it or burn it. Since you didn't say anything about smoke, sounds like that's your leak.
As long as your oil level stays within spec, the leak won't hurt your engine or tranny. As Veefer said, though, it's possible for it to get on your rear tire and contribute to a crash. This is unlikely, but you never know.

BTW, synthetic oil poses no problems for wet clutches. Some bikes (like mine) even require (recommend?) it. The only issue with wet clutches and oil is that some new car oils include extra "anti-friction" additives. These can make your clutch slip. Oils with these will be labeled as such, and the API logo will include the text. Never use these oils. A regular oil might include these additives too.

The most important thing with bikes is that you do change it at the recommended interval, 3k miles. As long as you do that you can use whatever you want. Some oils can make your tranny shift smoother, if you find one that does that then you might as well stick to it. I read a thing from a London bike courier who changed his oil religiously every 3k miles with the cheapest stuff he could find. He got about 400k miles out of his engines.

(I use that Rotella as well)

BTW, see if you find something here: Main Page - Ninja250Wiki

 

[LDS]

Just don't use oil labeled as "Energy Conserving" in the little API logo.

Make sure your chain isn't overtightened. That can cause premature wear on the seal in question as well as the countershaft bearings.