Oil change -> leak

I was facing 12 hours of riding over three days, so I decided to some simple maintenance. Bought some oil, a filter, and some Seafoam. Did an incomplete oil change (only pulled the sump and filter, not the hidden bolt), and put about a third can of Seafoam in a full tank.

On the third day of my back-and-forth saga, I noticed a small pool of oil under the front of the engine. It looks like I have a leak around the filter housing. I did not replace the o-ring. The bike has over 41k on it, 6 of them by me. I have no idea when the o-ring might have been changed, so I'm willing to do this. Also, since this was my first oil change, I'm planning on doing another shortly to make sure I haven't gunked up the inside. Could this leak be caused by anything other than the o-ring needing replacement?

On a positive note, performance has improved considerably. I haven't noticed a significant gas mileage improvement, but I do see quicker response when I twist the throttle.

I bought my filter at the local shop. It was a KNS that ran me $6 and change. I'm thinking about the Fram, which will cost about $3.50, for the next change. Any reason I should really stick with the KNS over the Fram? Also, I put in 10W30 since it's summer. I do ride the bike year-round, so I'm thinking I'll use 20W40 next time to get through winter.

Thoughts on my leak?

TIA!!!
kip

 

Unless you've impacted the engine on a rock, it is the o-ring, replace it. I tend to re-use it too but the manufacturer recommends replacement each and every time. The Fram kit includes the new o-rings and at 3.50 it is cheap insurance. CH6003 as I recall.

 

I got 3 oil changes out of my o-ring... after 3 it dripped badly.

Almost certainly you have the same drip I had this spring.

 

Sorry for my ignorance, but I haven't seen any 10W-30 oil for motorcycles. Maybe it is because I live in Texas and it is so hot here.

You are not using car oil, are you?

 

I'm using a non-synth oil. Don't have the bottles left and can't recall what the SAE cert was, but I went looking for one without additives for autos. I'm considering going with mobile1 synth for the next change, tho'.

Kip

 

Not sure what the issues are regarding additives (or multi-weight oils) on the motorcycles given the cluch/transmission. Normally though, you would use a heavier lubricant (20w40) at high temperatures and a lighter oil (10w30) for lower temperature service.

BTW, can anyone tell me what oil should I be using in my '82 xj650 maxin (when I get it)?

 

Mobil makes some bike specific synth oils with no wet clutch problems. Good shear rating and even their V twin oil shoud work well in our engines.

 

I like and use Castrol Syntec 0-50W it's good down to the coldest weather I'll run my bike in and up till it's to hot for it to be fun (-10 to 115)
Yes there are 2 o-rings that you need to change, the one on the filter housing and the one on the bolt too.
That should take care of your leak.

 

I use 10W-40 Amsoil motorcycle oil in mine. They use a 10W base for their oil, so it takes away less horsepower from the motorcycle, and it is synthetic, so I don't worry about it not being a 20W base. Actually, this oil is better for starting too - lighter is better. Also, if you do a lot of research about the actual properties of oil, you will notice that not everyones 20W-50 or 10W-40 is the same! Amsoil makes a good product that seems to fit all of my criteria.