Oil leaking at the near the telltail

cheers for all the input guys

I have owned 2 of these BMW/Rotax based engines and I have had to remove excess oil in both now.
The check process seems to throw even seasoned mechanics and many fill/check it when cold or worse on the side stand and cold.

Most dry sump engines I have had are pretty forgiving of a little overfilling.
My BMW had a much larger reservoir tank and even when over full by about 1/2L it wasn’t even close to coming out the fill tube.

I will say the TR’s configuration is worrisome.
The TR's will overflow out the fill tube when it has been over filled by as little as 1/8L.
I was shocked when I did my first true “hot” check to find the oil come out when I opened the oil cap.

I have to admit I don’t know exactly how this works but I worry that the TR’s configuration could cause pressure back into the engine when over filled.

This was my BMW after I got it at the correct level.

Up, This was top priority for me as well to get my track stand to work.

For me it has been easier to check the oil while sitting on the bike.. I have trouble lining up the threads when putting the cap back on while standing in front or next to the bike.. For some reason I can line up the threads pretty easily from the saddle...

Looks like the seal for the shaft that drives the water pump has failed in my Strada with only 600 miles on the bike.

you can see the oil coming out of the water pump weep hole. the left side cover has to come off to replace the seal, it doesn't look like an awful job, and should be waranteed, but i'm just worried about parts availability. I don't want to be down all summer without a bike because of a $2 seal.



EDIT: I just called the dealer, got an appt for the 30th. He confirmed that he will have to order parts.

Food for thought: A lot of you folks have bash plates that cover this up. it's only weeping oil out slowly, so you might not notice it with the bash plate in place.

--Chris

So, maybe I need to pull up a diagram on this.

That spot with the weeping, is that an open chamber in the case, in between two seals on the water pump shaft?

Something like ]=|===|=[ (with ] being the water pump, [ being the gear, | being seals, = being the shaft)?

I'm used to bikes with a single seal, which basically means if you drain the oil and it's white, then the seal is bad.

I'll have to check mine tonight. The oil overfill thing is real easy to do if you don't warm it up as in the manual. Keep thinking it needs more, but once it expands, it's right on.

you've got the gist of it. there's a chamber between the oil seal and the coolant seal, both let out into the weep hole, or 'telltale' I'm thinking my oil seal is failing, it's not leaking much, but i'm not a big fan of oil leaks.

--Chris

You should be able to get parts from BMW off the shelf for that.....

So, i get caught in a monsoon on the way to my gf's house today, and now there's no sign of oil leaking from the waterpump weephole. I guess i'll take it for a nice long ride tomorrow and see if more comes out. i suppose there may have been something caught in the seal that is no longer there?

Maybe it was sitting for a long time, and needed you to "seal" it by driving.

I've only had the bike 2 months, the longest it's sat still has been 3 days. I'm sure the rain washed away the residual oil that can be seen in the above pics. perhaps some low speed, around town riding will make it leak again. If it stays dry until the weekend, i won't take it to the dealer.

Time will tell.

goodluck on getting parts ive been waiting over a month now for the waterpump seal kit

Just picked up a new Strada and have only 250 miles so far and this morning I was shocked to see oil puddled under bike. I checked and either oil is coming from seal on shifter shaft or the left crankcase gasket. I whiped off all the oil and will go for ride to see where exactly it's coming from but either way it sucks as the only dealer and the one I got bike from is 400+ miles away. Does anyone know if KTM dealers are now handling warranty issues?

Well you have had it 2 months, but how long did it sit at the dealer? Also, could it have been oil that overflowed, then drained down the frame (ask me how I know) when you did the 600 mile service?

Sorry to hear that, KTM is not handling warranty yet, at least not the KTM in my area.

Went for a quick ride to get engine up to temp and came home to find the leak is from the shifter shaft. Probably cheaper and easier to just get seal and either replace myself or have local shop do work rather then haul bike 400 miles to get fixed. Does anyone know if the BMW seal can be used as a replacement?

I noticed it before the 600 mi service. In fact, after changing the oil, it seems to have stopped.

I sprayed some Tinactin(tm) on the area, and ran the bike. it looks like there was some coolant escaping from the water pump gasket. not enough to worry about though.



you can also see a slight stain around where the weephole is (left of the picture) but again, not enough to make me lose sleep.

This being my first non-japanese bike, I suppose i should get used to liquid retention being somewhat optional.

--Chris