Noticed a drop of oil last weekend while out with MarkCBXX and slvr(Roy). Lots of ideas on the causes, but I believe it is the oil being pushed through the wiring insulation. This could very easily go unnoticed if it does not drip. What I would like for you guys to do is check your 12's and see if you have an oily residue in this spot. Even on my 02, with only 1900 miles there is a oily film. Sitting at the back of the bike, just behind and above the passenger peg on the left side, you can pull down on the plastic and expose this area. Go check your bikes, you will need a flashlight, and let me know what you find.
Here's the pics of where to look........
I encountered that same problem 2 different times on my 01...being I have a mirrored undertail I to have noticed the oil weeping spot.......I have completely dissasembled the machine...several times but to no avail.......who knows maybe our bikes have an auto chain lube option we don't kow about.... lol....Brian
a short???did u encounter a short because of this...one other question ...where is it coming from????if your believe it is being pushed through....from where????
"Be Nice to the Police Officer.......Ya Never Know When He Owns 12!!!!</p>
comes from the stator. The wiring harness is not sealed off from the oil it's in and can follow it right up to the connectors. The 12 makes quite a bit of positive crank case preasure. The oil then gets onto the conectors and causes a short and eventualy will melt and cause a voltage regulator malfunction.
This all happened to me last year.
Living life on two wheels
and living wild
on one</p>
& that makes me wonder..could this problem be caused by too much oil in the crankcase? I'm kinda picky about the amount of oil in my ride & never over fill it.
Just a theory
& if it's the CrankCase pressure? Then that's one more reason to do the CrankCase mod. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT="">
"Green Mamba" - Feeds mostly on Birds, almost flourescent green in color, can strike violently with extrodinary speed.
</p>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub56.ezboard.com/bkawasakizx12r.showLocalUserPublicProfile?login=greenmamba>GreenMamba</A> at: 7/10/02 7:02:02 pm
Blitz, the foam piece I am pulling down on fits around a round connector, I am guessing to prevent vibration, but it is that connector and the wires leading from it with the oil residue.
I did not have time to disassemble it tonight, but I will check it out on Saturday. You can see in the second pic to the right of my hand is where it seeped down and let a drop fall on the chain guard. If not for that one drop that fell I probally still would not know this was going on.
Green Mamba, I changed the oil and filter about 200 miles ago, I always change the filter when changing the oil. I always let it drain completely and put in 3 qts. It is 2/3 up on the sight window, which is perfect....
I'll check mine tonight. Hey Roy, my thoughts exactly about wheelies. They may have sometime to do with it. When folks respond, let's fess up to wheelies or not.
Green Mamba - I did not have any plans to do the crankcase mod, but that does not mean I will not sometime later on...
I rode in to work this morning. It is not leaking as you may think. Just a light film like the picture shows. I don't believe it would use any oil, but it very well could cause problems with the connections as previously stated......
I doubt wheelies would cause this, but I do sometimes let the engine slow the bike when riding hard, which I think may build a lot of pressure....Just throwing ideas around.....
Even though I'm under warranty, I'd rather fix it myself than take it to a dealer...
Here's the deal...when mine happened, I assumed it was from wheelies. How else could it get that high up the wires.... but when I dropped the bike off to get all the probs fixed, my mechanic was already aware of the problem. Said he heard someone talking about it at a tech class he went to.
He said wheelies would speed the transfer of oil but would eventualy end up at the connector anyways. He described to me just how much preasure that crankcase makes in the 12. No PCV mod would cure it but it wouldn't hurt.
I know this guy is a good mechanic, but I also know they can bullshit their way through anything. I just had him go ahead and fix the problem with silicon. He even went a step further and put the kind that is fuel/oil proof. Other wise...regular silicon would break down after a short time. He also replaced the whole wiring harness, stator, and voltage regulator.
Living life on two wheels
and living wild
on one</p>
actually I was trying to edit my half brain response...lol.....If you fill the wire insulation with silicone you then "cap off the leak".....My concern is the silicone working its way lose in your engine case and then ultimately clogging up something else......Who Knows if oil can get in connectors on this machine....anything is possible.......Brian
"Be Nice to the Police Officer.......Ya Never Know When He Owns 12!!!!</p>
If this is that big an issue -- might be something Kawasaki shoul be handling as a recall or under warranty. This is the type of things that you have no control over and it could easily leave you stranded.
I hope there is no fire risk here? Oil and electricity? not likely but any opinions are welcome?
T, I'm sure they would cover it under warranty. My main concern was this was happening on more 12's and not being noticed. I think the most serious thing that could happen would be shorting out the wiring.......
About the oil and fire/electrical.....damn right it can burn and burn quick. My bike was real close to catching on fire. After looking at the wiring harness and connectors, I don't know why the bike didn't burn to the ground.
Living life on two wheels
and living wild
on one</p>
Hoping someone can help. I know zx12s run hot and have issues with heating up but what mine is doing can’t be normal.
on a run at any speed the temp is fine, either half way or just below it, if I’m stopped in traffic for 30 seconds, it’s up into the red and boiling the coolant out the over...
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Hello there
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