Found Oil on the Engine - Need Advice

[music man]

I just developed this same substance on my bike about a month or so ago, with the exception you have a little more of it on your engine fins, I would swear you took a picture of my engine, I haven't cleaned it completely off, but since I got most of it off, I haven't seen any new spots of it on there, so I am going to keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

[rexolio]

Thanks, Music Man. Feeling better already!

Easy Rider... yeah, I deserve the eye roll bit! And I've done it 3 times, so you're probably right - it's most likely done for. Still going to charge it overnight and see.

And I'll start using the key to turn it off.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by rexolio

Easy Rider... yeah, I deserve the eye roll bit!

Gonna be in your neighborhood last 2 weeks of April......hopefully on the bike.
Maybe we can meet up somewhere nearby.
I have one other GZ contact from Kennesaw that I met last year ......but he stopped posting right after that. Hope that isn't an omen! :biggrin:

[rexolio]

That would be awesome! Just let me know!

I think I know who you were talking about (in Kennesaw). He and I were going to meet up for lunch one day, but he stopped posting. Hope the guy's alright!

[patrick_777]

Mine's exactly the same way.

[mrlmd1]

I tried to post this way up top before but maybe it hit the wrong button and it didn't go through, so here it is again

If you use the oven spray, be real careful - don't leave it sit on too long, and make sure you wash it off well. It's basically hydrochloric acid and will eat up the aluminum. There's another post somewhere on here about this same topic, also with a video of HCL dissolving a piece of aluminum foil in quite dramatic fashion.

[rexolio]

Thanks everybody... feeling better and better.

mrlmd1, thanks for the caution. I'll be very careful.

And yes, the battery is dead!!! Took it on a very nice, long ride (man, was a GREAT day for a ride... first time I've rode without freezing my butt off this year) and she's deader than a doorknob. New battery on the way!

[alanmcorcoran]

You are probably right Roxolio, but, without any attempt to charge your battery (with a charger or tender), you can't rule out a problem in your charging system. A new battery is probably a good investment regardless, but be aware that a battery tender (or a charger) is also pretty cheap. There's a number of things in the charging food chain that apparently can (and have) gone poopy for others, but the battery remains the likely suspect. You may have covered this already, but the charging system on the GZ is not very robust - if you have any after market stuff (or even the wrong headlight bulb) riding the bike actually might DISCHARGE your battery. Again, not the most likely scenario, but a possibility.

(From someone that has drained the battery on both his GZ and Strat, re-charged them, and lived to tell about it [and still has both original batteries])

(Oh, and BTW, yesterday I confirmed you CAN push start the Strat [but it wasn't on a dead battery.])

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by patrick_777

Mine's exactly the same way.

Wow, that looks pretty nasty. Are you sure your plug isn't loose ??
I would definitely recommend a good cleaning to see if anything comes back.
Not sure that is just "assembly lube".

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by mrlmd1

It's basically hydrochloric acid and will eat up the aluminum.

Three things you can do to minimize that, two I mentioned and one I missed.
Use a Q-tip or something similar to apply; prevents overspray.
As you mentioned, rinse good; a little soda in the water wouldn't hurt.
And the one I missed: Look for the newer, gentler oven cleaner. One that says "less fumes and safer to use" or something similar. It is formulated differently and has much less acid.......if any at all.

I used what I already had and was careful. I suspect it was the "old" stuff because it worked pretty fast.