My bike is leaking something

[Harvey]

Hello friends. My 2012 NC700SA has started making a strange scraping kind of sound. I only hear it when decelarating or braking. (Fortunately I forgot to put the ear plugs in!)

On Tuesday I was checking the nuts and bolts in case something had come loose, but everything seemed in order. I certainly didn't see any evidence of this leak. The noise was worse today so I wondered if it was an oil issue. Went to check the oil (which seems ok) and found some black sticky stuff leaking.

I'm hoping the pictures might explain things a bit clearer.

I have a visit to the country this weekend and planned to take the bike, but obviously want to clear this up first.

Any idea what could be leaking here? (be nice. I'm not good with engines.)

Thanks.

 

[GORAN]

Hi,
don't worry, it's from the sprocket. The lubricant.

 

[Harvey]

Hi,
don't worry, it's from the sprocket. The lubricant.

So you don't think the noise and mess are connected? Very happy if it's just from the sprocket, though intrigued that I didn't see anything on Tuesday. Had a long ride on Monday.

Thanks Goran

 

[GORAN]

So you don't think the noise and mess are connected? Very happy if it's just from the sprocket, though intrigued that I didn't see anything on Tuesday. Had a long ride on Monday.

I am not sure if these two things are connected.

Definitely, the lick is the lubricant. The noise may be caused by a lot of factors. Even by the dirty chain.

 

[670cc]

As already suggested, the goo is excess chain lube.

Something to consider is that when decelerating with engine braking, the chain goes slack on the top of the run, as opposed to it normally being slack on the bottom. You might want to check the condition of the chain slider on the top of the front of the swingarm.

 

[davidc83]

Check the chain for kinks. Kinks can make a sound behind the front sprocket cover-if kinks in chain, replace chain.

 

[potter0o]

Like others have said start with chain maintenance. If you lift the back end and spin the wheel listen for the sound. A chain with kinks can get kind of crunchy sounding when it engages with the rear sprocket. See if lubing the chain fixes it. Then check your chain slack. I find it works best at the long half of the range versus the short half. Good luck

 

[b_rubenstein]

It could be chain lube, or it could be the countershaft seal weeping. Unless you put a lot of chain lube on right before you noticed the goo, I would take the front sprocket cover off to see what it looks like. It only takes a few minutes to remove the cover. When you go to put the shift linkage back on the shift shaft, look for the punch mark on the end of the shaft; it's supposed to line up the the open slot of the shift linkage.

 

[SergeantChuck]

I like 670cc mention of the loose chain idea. The noise starts out soft but the looser the chain gets, the better you will be able to hear it. I'm betting you chain is just loose enough that it is barely making contact so the noise is only slightly noticeable.

 

[GunNut37086]

The first time my chain got out of adjustment enough for me to hear it, it worried me too.

I don't recall ever over-lubing the chain enough to have that much gunk all over the place though. Did you use a whole bottle of baby oil on it or what? Just kidding

 

[Harvey]

Thanks for your answers. Last time I lubed the chain I was a bit generous, perhaps more than I realised. So I'll start with cleaning the chain and the front sprocket in particular. Hopefully I'll notice if there is anything wrong with the chain while doing that.

I hadn't thought about the chain being a bit loose. I'll look for that matter too.

The idea of it being the countershaft seal is a bit more worrying, maybe because I don't know what that is.

 

[b_rubenstein]

The engine oil also lubricates the transmission. A lip seal keeps the oil from leaking out from where the countershaft passes through the case. It would be better if the seal wasn't leaking.
Too bad we don't live in the same Melbourne, I could come by to take a look at it

 

[Harvey]

The engine oil also lubricates the transmission. A lip seal keeps the oil from leaking out from where the countershaft passes through the case. It would be better if the seal wasn't leaking.
Too bad we don't live in the same Melbourne, I could come by to take a look at it

It's probably much warmer in your Melbourne too.

 

[rmezei]

Melbourne Australia - you lucky dudes, you have the all time riding weather

 

[b_rubenstein]

It's also pretty much year round riding in Melbourne Florida. The big difference is that the Aussie one is one of their premier cities, and the one here is known locally as Melboring.

 

[Harvey]

I think I've found the problem, at least as far as noise goes. My chain, in centre stand, has well over 2 inches of slack! Might need to fix that.

 

[b_rubenstein]

Is the bike up on the center stand with 2" of slack? It should be on the side stand with a slack of 1 3/8" slack. The swingarm pivot point is in a different place than the countershaft sprocket so the chain tension changes as the rear wheel goes up and down.

 

[Harvey]

Is the bike up on the center stand with 2" of slack? It should be on the side stand with a slack of 1 3/8" slack. The swingarm pivot point is in a different place than the countershaft sprocket so the chain tension changes as the rear wheel goes up and down.

There will be little to no difference between slack adjusted on the side stand versus the center stand; it will be fine.
Use your center stand.

I've got a centre stand, so I might as well use it. I'm meeting with a friend tomorrow who's more experienced with chains. That should help me know if I actually need a new one.

 

[b_rubenstein]

Hopefully, your friend also knows something about geometry, and understands why Honda specifies setting the slack with the suspension partially compressed with the bike on the side stand.

 

[670cc]

Hopefully, your friend also knows something about geometry, and understands why Honda specifies setting the slack with the suspension partially compressed with the bike on the side stand.

Honda specs the chain slack to be checked on the side stand because the NC700X is not sold with a center stand as standard equipment.

We've discussed this in the past and I seem to recall that if you set the slack 5mm looser than spec with the bike on the centerstand, you will be in spec on the side stand.