aerated and milky brown in color.?.? My transmission fluid looked like a very light colored chocolate milk but it was full of bubbles that did not go away. I'm assuming that this probably isn't a good thing.?.? Does anyone know what might have caused it to be like that?

All of my fluids are changed out (except for the front forks). The clutch and clutch cable are supposedly adjusted (although I'm not real sure if they are done correctly). Tomorrow, I need to try to find all my grease fittings so I can get her greased and I should be about done with my preseason maintenance...about $175 in parts later. I'm really hoping you guys don't tell me to mess with that damn cluth cable/clutch pack again!

 

Water in your oil will make some oils go milky, more than likely someone has been over zealous with high pressure water blaster and water has got in the tranny through the breather. Spanners had this happen to one of the bikes he worked on and the gearbox bearings were toast.

 

OK...First of all, where the hell is the breather (which would allow water into the transmission) so I don't do this! Last but not least, how do I know if my gear box bearings are toast??? Damnit....

 

Hockey stick shaped rubber hose on the left of the top of the tranny, just in front of the starter....plug it if you hose your bike down.

 

Thanks!

 

We had a thread on this very subject recently, somewhere on HDF. I had just changed all the fluids in my Buell, which for most of it's life to date has only done decent runs, commuting 50-70 miles each way. The nature of the trans is that the oil gets churned up by all the gears, so is naturally aerated in use and probably never looks like it did when first poured in. Recent oils, with all their additives, are a bit like treacle and probably trap air quite readily. The challenge I reckon is distinguishing between trapped air and trapped water. The water will make the oil look milky, rather than frothy, if that is an adequate distinction!

 

i thought i read you had some issues with the clutch adjustment - center bolt not correct and wire tyes spacing thngs - if that was the case then the oil being burnt is not a stretch for me - plus the PO might have used dollar store ATF trans fluid

use a quality ATF fluid and start over with the Machine every place it has fluid

Just as a side note - in jersey we see lots of bikes that are kept in tin sheds or in cold garages and often the trans fluid is milky from the metal sweat (and condensation ) just drain it out over night and re fill it will let you know if the bearings are damaged -

i only use Bel ray 85 / 140 hypoid gear oil in the gear boxes if the customer wants something else we put back in what he had and he can change it - johnjzjz

 

Condensation is big enemy of the transmission, more so if the bike has sat for a while. When you ride the bike on a consistent basis the fluid gets warm enough to burn off the condensation.

 

Well, this is on a '97 RK with supposedly only 13.5K miles on it...so that is a possibility. I don't think it has been ridden all that much.

 

It's even possible you're taking out the original oil!