Cams leaking oil

[MarylandMagnav45]

I'm going to attach a picture soon so everyone can see the "leaK".  I'm not much of a mechanic...so when the weather gets warmer...I'll try to document my process on the forum so everyone can pitch in

[MarylandMagnav45]

Maryland...I'm taking a guess that your bike is a 1st Gen..??  The dealer told you there was an oil leak?  Is oil leaking out from underneath the Covers?  The cover gaskets can get old and hard, particularly if the bike sat for a long time and is now being regularly ridden.  It make take a bit for the leak to develop, but it just seems to get progressively worse running down the heads and causing smoke to pour off your bike when you ride it.  (Kinda embarrassing...lol)  Replacing these gaskets is not difficult.  Remove the tank, take out the air breather, drop the radiator and you have access to both the front and rear heads.  Note that the Rear Cover is 2 pieces and requires 2 gaskets.

Next question(s).  Where is the leak?  Front or Back?  Is it coming from the Front ONLY?  If so, I am becoming suspicious of the little screw that the dealer didn't think came from the bike.  The 1st Gen V4's have a little drain plug just under the Front Valve Cover to drain the bit of residual oil that always stays in the front head because of the "front head forward" position of the engine.

Just a few comments.  If you had an oil leak large enough to loose a quart of oil in 2000- mile riding 3 times a week, your engine and garage floor would be covered in sticky, icky oil.  If your bike was burning enough oil to consume a quart of oil in that time, you'd notice smoke coming from the exhaust when you rode it.

I hope yours turns out to be a really minor issue.  My experience....so far.....is that the cost of fixing up the older Magnas is a WHOLE lot less that making payments on a new bike that will probably require repairs anyway...lol

Trapper

Thanks for the detailed response trapper.  I'm going to post pictures and try to follow your steps when the weather warms up a bit.

I forgot who said it above but I agree with who posted it.

I remember when I was traveling up North for about 500 miles that the dealer...i mean stealer told me that if I don't fix the leaking fork seals and tire rot, it could cause the brakes to fail, and cause an accident.

When I talked to a stealer in NY, he said that was horse shit.

[hootmon]

Non-Synthetic.  Should I use Synthetic?  What are the advantages vs. disadvantages?

You will get very widely different opinions on this one..
Here is my opinion..
If you don't ride much, go conventional..
IF you forget to change your oil on time, drive more than 5K miles a year, want your motor to be better lubricated because you plan to keep your bike for a long time, etc.. then consider synthetic..
Synthetic is a better lubricant which reduces wear. Good Synthetics like Royal Purple, Amsoil, or Mobile one also have better rust and corrosion inhibitors and better suspend the particulates.
I have a technical write up comparing many of the oils available for both 20-50 and 10w40. It lists all of the standard test to determine the qualities of oils and shows the results for each.. Most people do not want to get this deep into the study, but it is pretty well written and provides an explaination of what each test means..

Down side of synthetics is the cost and it will leak more if a space is available...

[roboto65]

Good Synthetics like Royal Purple, Amsoil, or Mobile one also have better rust and corrosion inhibitors and better suspend the particulates.

Notice who Hoot put first my plans are working 

[hootmon]

Good Synthetics like Royal Purple, Amsoil, or Mobile one also have better rust and corrosion inhibitors and better suspend the particulates.

Notice who Hoot put first my plans are working 

I was thinking of you when I wrote it.. Also notice that Hoot doesn't use the 1st item listed.. I think the purple would clash with my yellow bike!!!

[TLRam1]

I think the purple would clash with my yellow bike!!!

Hoot's yellow bike meets Royal Purple.

[L J VFR]

I use Rotella synthetic in my bike.  Not real expensive and have read good reviews.