Not sure if this is a coincidence or not but I changed my spark plugs today on my XL1200S and after riding around town for about an hour, I noticed a slight oil leak from the bolt in the pictures attached. Also, there was oil on the bottom of the air filter. The reason I mentioned spark plugs was that the old plugs only had a .20 gap where as I gaped the new plugs .40. Would that cause increase pressure and cause the slight leak? Also am I able to take that bolt out? Any help would be appreciated!

 

That plug covers your timing marks. Are you sure it's not dripped from your air filter? I guess you can check if it's tight, but there is no oil under pressure there to cause more than a weep.

John

 

The oil is coming from your breather bolts. And from your air filter. Run your fingers underneath behind your air cover. You'll find oil. Very common in sportsters. Check your oil level. Should be halfway between the add and full lines. If it's at the full line it will leak like that.

 

Always check your oil when engine is fully up to temperature. If it has not been ridden for a while, oil will drain back into the crankcase. So, if you top it up at that time, you could overfill.

The plug gap change should have nothing to do with it. Someone probably installed them without checking the gap. Never assume it's set properly. It may even run better now you set it correctly.

John