Double head gasket leak and lots of transmission noise on r1100rt?

[MattStLouis]

Just got the bike on Friday and today started looking a little closer and noticed lots of oil and dirt buildup. It is all around both head gaskets with thick oil/dirt on both sides. I removed the entire fairing. On the left side it is much worse than the right with visible wet oil on the bottom of the head and running down the case and about an eigth inch buildup in the fairing. Head gasskets look easy to replace at least.

 

Transmssion --

 

I don't know what these are supposed to sound like but, it sounds pretty noisy. When you let off the cluth it makes a clunching sound and the transmission gets louder. Is that the way it is supposed to be?

 

The bike rides/handles great and is very roomy. I love the brakes and the windshield. The bike is a 97 with 24,000 miles and I got it for $4500. The prior owner claims to have been very proficient about the maintainence but??? I have an 03 harley softail with 40,000 on it and it is less noisy(stock exhaust no really stock) and has no oil leaks and has never been back to the dealer for anything. It even vibrates less. I did have a 93 st1100 for a while(extreamly hot and cramped but great bike). So those are all I have to compare it to.

 

Thanks for any input,

 

Matt

[GordonB]

Get yourself some simple green and do a good clean-up of all that oil residue, then after a few rides check to to confirm where it is leaking. Could it be leaking from the valve cover gasgets, rather than the head gasgets?

Yes, the trannies are a bit noisey while shifting.

[MattStLouis]

It is the head gaskets area. The dirty goo makes a ring all around them.

 

Thanks,

 

Matt

[notacop]

My 2000RTP makes a lot of trans noise, has since I got it 60K miles ago. Not quite scary noises but kinda grindy. It's the German soul of the thing. Like the ABS light that goes wonky once in awhile.

Some folks call it CHARACTER.

[Ken H.]

The valve cover has a two gaskets, the large outer one and a small inner one around the spark plug. This inner one is easy to install wrong and can make a dramatic looking mess. I'd pull the valve covers and take a look there before hitting the panic button. True head gasket failures are pretty rare on the oilhead. But if it is indeed a head gasket (down very close to the block), I'd try a one-time re-torque of the head to see what happens. If that doesn't do it, you are about to get real familiar with your new boxer motor!