Oily fluid, everywhere...
Thread Starter
|
Novice
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: Earth
Oily fluid, everywhere...
Here is how it went down. I was riding my 03 injected Fatboy today and realized that I was getting hit with drops of oily fluid. A splatter of oil is on the front right side of my tank, and has also covered the back of the forks, blowing up to my right arm, on my face, my right leg from the knee down is splattered as well. As I rode towards the shop (less than a mile away, luckily) the bike ran fine. Breaks operated seemingly normally. The oily drops being blown back on me were NOT hot. As I went over a few bumps I heard unfamiliar clunky sounds in the front end. I rolled into the shop, parked it, and surveyed the damage. Fluid was all over the right side of the bike, but we couldn't immediately tell where it was coming from. As luck would have it, the mechanic had shut down for the easter weekend and will not return until Tuesday - so much for my riding plans this weekend! 
So now I'm now trying to understand what happened and am thinking it might be the front shocks, or hydraulic something or other in the front end.
Any ideas/thoughts? And yeah, I know that asking y'all for diagnostics from a distance with a rambling description of what happened is silly. I just want some ideas on what it could be and to confirm or not if I'm on the right track in thinking it's likely the shocks or something.
Thanks in advance!
~Karla
So now I'm now trying to understand what happened and am thinking it might be the front shocks, or hydraulic something or other in the front end.
Any ideas/thoughts? And yeah, I know that asking y'all for diagnostics from a distance with a rambling description of what happened is silly. I just want some ideas on what it could be and to confirm or not if I'm on the right track in thinking it's likely the shocks or something.
Thanks in advance!
~Karla
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,661
Likes: 0
From: East Northport, NY
1st thing I would do is try and clean up as much as you can. Its hard to find a leak when everything is covered with oil. 2nd, check all of your fluid levels. something has to be low is you lost that much oil.... Start there.
Thread Starter
|
Novice
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: Earth
Thanks guys. The bike is at the shop now so I can't clean it or do any diagnostics myself. I'm thinking it's likely the fork oil, given the new clunk that happened around the same time as the leak.
Tourer
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 250
Likes: 0
From: Seattle
Trending Topics
Former Sponsor
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 19,364
Likes: 40
From: Los Angeles, CA
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 5,257
Likes: 6
From: Leander Texas
dito, had the same thing and said oh no but if it was fork it would be on one side only. mine was extra head grease and i had to live with for a few hundred miles
Thread Starter
|
Novice
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
From: Earth
It was only on the right side. I doubt it was the grease melting, it wasn't that hot (only about 70 degrees out yesterday) and I'd only been riding about 2 minutes when it happened. I'm pretty sure it was the fork, but will have to wait until next week to confirm when the mechanic has a chance to look at it. I imagine I could fix it myself, but would rather have confidence in the fix - I'll pay the man. 
Cheers!
Cheers!