99 R1100GS oil drip

[Grasseater]

Oilhead noob, but have 5 bikes and do my own fluids, tires, brakes, etc.

 

Recently picked up a 99 GS , 34k miles. Have done new tires, clutch cable, alternator belt, oil, gearbox lube, final drive lube, have speedo cable coming from Bob’s and have fork seals to install. 
 

No leaks except this little drip from bottom of the motor - pics attached. Any ideas? I see the hole has threads but I’m stumped (which isn’t saying much).

 

Anyway, a neat little thing - when I started researching (after I bought it, of course), I found Chris Harris’s videos. The bike has all maintenance records & was serviced several times at his shop :). Big respect to him - what a great speaker, teacher and producer. He’s made the world a better place.

[The Fabricator]

Looks like an oil leak.  Very fresh oil.

The basic detective work is to clean that area and all around it thoroughly.

As an aid, you can dust the area with talcum powder.  When the powder becomes wet, it darkens.

Only your eye and a strong flashlight also works well.

And be aware oil drips down, so suspect sources higher up.

Could  be from one of those holes.

[Grasseater]

2 hours ago, The Fabricator said:

Looks like an oil leak.  Very fresh oil.

The basic detective work is to clean that area and all around it thoroughly.

As an aid, you can dust the area with talcum powder.  When the powder becomes wet, it darkens.

Only your eye and a strong flashlight also works well.

And be aware oil drips down, so suspect sources higher up.

Could  be from one of those holes.

Thanks! Definitely from that hole (detective work and gravity, check)! Question is why? Why is it threaded (skid plate is the hole behind that one), why dripping from there? Rest of the bike is dry. Maybe someone put a screw in there for some reason & cracked the case.

[dirtrider]

5 hours ago, Grasseater said:

Thanks! Definitely from that hole (detective work and gravity, check)! Question is why? Why is it threaded (skid plate is the hole behind that one), why dripping from there? Rest of the bike is dry. Maybe someone put a screw in there for some reason & cracked the case.

Morning Grasseater

 

If you are SURE that the oil leak isn't coming from higher up (it almost always is) but if it is in fact coming from that threaded hole then just put a very short bolt in that hole with thread sealer on it. 

 

That hole is used for the BMW engine support fixture (for specific engine service work), it is also used for a skid plate attachment in some installations. 

 

If the oil is leaking from that hole (for sure) then possibly someone at one time ran a bolt into that hole that was too long & fractured the case at the top of the hole casting.