OIl leaking on pipes

HI 1969 S . I only start once a month or so and usually drain sump and replace oil back into the tank before trying to start, Thought i would try starting without doing it this time, Started ok but then i noticed it had sprayed oil onto the pipes ( i imagine from between the head and cylinder but cant tell, Have I "blown the head gasket" do you think? bike runs fine and cant see oil leaking now after the first lot has been cleaned off. Also seemed to be a lot of oil presuure (i have a guage) which rose markedly if revved mildly ,dont really want to pull it apart if i havent done damage as such .
Thanks for your replies in advance

Absolute worse thing to do to an engine, especially Cdo's is start up and not FULLY heat up for a while to from the zn-phod nano pad protection layer that gets wiped off on each cold start. There is so little fuel burnt to rev w/o load on it takes a long time to heat engine parts even thought the exhaust will smoke oil on it. A normal characteristic is oil tank drains through pump to fill sump so crank/rods splash it around hard till pumped back to tank. Just need enough oil in tank for a 20 sec runing then tank tops off again. Also must drain sump or run a min. before checking oil level as over fill won't hurt nothing but the floor as excess floods out from vent tube. There are tales of destroyed engines on first start up because they turned rear wheel by hand or by rolling till oil shows up in head, but too late to save the cam lobes on lifter surfaces. Start it and let it rev to over 2000 till warm is only way to go with least wear caused. If sat a month can be worth while to open exhaust rocker covers and squirt oil down them to flow onto cam for a bit less wear risk w/o actually riding around. Head gasket is a weak point in all Cdo's and very common to leak out so needs constant re-check of torque over heat cycles and then too often popping head to re-seal copper or composite gasket with your favorite goop. Another too common leak is rocker covers so good to get the silly-con thick soft type. If cam lobe wiped off only thing noticed is lack of full power at higher throttle and rpm but not that much if just tooling around legal like to 5000 rpm.

Hey Rocky,
Where exactly on the pipes was the oil.
If it was at the front up by the Head and it's not leaking now, then perhaps
check the Exhaust flange nuts, sometimes a bit of biuld up in the pipe,
like condensation and carbon, can be spat out of a loose pipe.
If the Head or Base gasket were leaking you would notice it come back once wiped off.
We all should check nuts and bolts for tightness occasionally.
If the oil was down by the Timing cover, R/H side where the pipe starts to straighten out,
then check the bottom of the points cover for a weep which might mean a Cam shaft seal.
Left side,... Crankshaft seal, dripping down the inside of the Chain case, or Chain case seal (O ring).
If you can't ride your bike, and like to start it occasionally, make sure you get it hot.
I always put mine into gear and let things turn a bit, use the clutch and brake etc.
It's more fun to ride it even if just around the block.
AC.

Hi AC It seemed to be at the level of the head gasket, Checked the flanges the week before actually so its probably not them, Pipes are only on LHS as its an S model and where the oil was seemed too high for primary area leak, will torque up the head, clean it all off and give it a run this coming weekend see if it repeats the leak. It has never really blown smoke and didnt this time i started but i thought it could be oil from the sump was blown/ sucked up past the rings and then forced out of the head gasket area.
I usually start it ,let it idle for ten minutes then a 15/30 minute ride then its parked up for another month or six weeks.Have always drained sunp and refilled tank except this once. Ride a Harley in between, (not cause its better lol its actually slower and doesnt handle as good but it has an E start and my 56 yold knees in winter cringe at the thought of the old girl kicking back at me ( not that it has since i went pazon) but its a painful memory. I have actually toyed with the option of finding /rebuilding a later commando to replace the S so that i get an E Start

Sorry, should have paid more attention, you did say it was an S.
Rocky as in Rockhampton ?, my daughter was born in Rocky, lovely spot, 24 years ago.
AC.

Yes Rocky as in Rockvegas Queensland

Hey, Rocky, would you share your S serial number and date with me? I have a list of about 21 S types that I've gleaned off this forum. And what colour?

BTW, I'm still pushing mine over at 68 with the Pazon.

Dave
69S
Apr 69 132031

Will check it out on the weekend and post a pic if i can for you DogT

Well done at 68 , I blame my bad knees on football and a misspent youth , Have been trying to source the longer kickstart i have heard about which gives better leverage locally here in Australia to give me an advantage, also you might be able to tell me I have tried several new kick start rubbers but they all seem to start to slide off after a while which compounds the fear of kicking somewhat, is there a way to fix the rubber to the lever to solve this problem. ( i feel the lever may have bent slightly over its life making the action of kicking tend to also be a push out towards the end no matter how upright i try to get)

Cheers

Dunnow Rob, I'm using my original kickstart lever. It used to chew up the rubbers pretty good with the AAU, but with the rebuild and the Pazon, it's an easy one kicker. When it's warm, it's a pushover. I do tickle pretty stiff and get it over compression and then give it a solid kick through the whole stroke. I don't mess around with it, I get up on the pegs and give it all my weight, 190 lbs. But I don't ride every day.

Dave
69S

Hi DogT thanks for the reply, I might look at adjusting the timing a little to see if that helps the kicking , mine is mostly a two kick , both petcocks on tickle until it drips, find tdc kick through with key off , then kick with key on, usually kicks back a little at bottom oftravel first time which prevents it kicking right through , then mostly kicks right through second time and starts , I use half choke when cold , when hot it is harder to start , altho i think i tend to flood it as i dont get a lot of practice hot starting as its mostly start cold>ride>park up for a month

cheers
Rob

I tickle until I just see fuel on each carb, I use RS as main and tickle RS first, uphill on side stand. Full choke (mostly out of habit), throttle doesn't seem to matter, usually don't clear the clutch, just turn on the key and whack it. I did strobe the Pazon to 28° at 3K. Never had a kick back and it's running like never before, but it always ran good before on the AAU. I did start it first after rebuild with AAU and it came right up and ran good, but wouldn't hold idle or come down off throttle smoothly. New anodozed slides and Pazon helped a lot, not perfect yet, but much better than when I bought it in 72. It still dies once in a while. I'm thinking if I'd done the complete slide rebuild and the Pazon Altair or Power Arc, it would be perfect. But I was going for stock setup. Even the Pazon was hard for me, I'm still using the Lucas rectifier and zener and my original harness with a few new connectors.

I'm also using avgas, 110LL, and I think that helps, about US$5.50/G here but I don't have to worry about the fiberglass and I don't make trips over about 60 miles. Here's where I ride.



Dave
69S

NIce BIke and location for it Dave , I got home early from work and couldnt resist tinkering , found the oil leak problem, Bung i fitted to rocker cover to block off hole (directly above spark plug after fitting pressure gauge was leaking ,onto fins running forward and dripping down to next fin gap (head gasket) then onto pipes and frame simple fix , new copper washer and all good
Serial number for you 136533 (makes it a 1970 according to the internet) with matching engine 20M3S XXX and gear box




Had to throw a pic of the harley in ,Had a new 2011 but went back to an 2001 just so i could get a carby and not fuel injection to play with lol

Lookin good. Glad you found the leak, they can be exasperating. I've installed the oil filter with rebuild, and just a few weeks ago I put on a ball valve in the oil feed so I don't have to drain the sump. Keeps me from making excuses not to ride and makes it easier to change oil. I'm still working on a switch to cut off ignition if valve isn't open. Mine is mostly stock setup except I did put real seals in the gearbox, tach drive, superblends in the crank, new pistons/rings/big ends, isolastics and Hemmings adjusters. Total rebuild of head. Next project is the home made rose joint head steady. Oh, I also put a catch bottle in the oil breather into the air box, so no oil drips out of there.

Thanks for the info. Yours is the youngest on my list, closest other one is mfremlin, Mark, 135791 April 1970

Dave
69S