Suzuki Oil Leak

My wife has a 1983 Suzuki GS650G that has started leaking oil like a seive.
It seems to be coming from around the cover on the overhead valves. We
purchased this bike for her about 6 weeks ago, & it was as clean & dry as
I've seen for an older bike. I was just wondering if anyone has any
experience with this type of bike, so I could start troubleshooting before
my Clymer manual arrives in a couple of days. She drives it about 50 miles
per day, & doesn't want to go back to driving a car to & from work. This is
#1 for Saturday's "honey do" list. I'm fairly new to working on bikes, but
have owned my own lawnmower repair shop for several years, so I should be
able to catch on pretty quickly. Any help getting me jump started on solving
this issue is greatly appreciated!!!!

Thanks
Brian

 

The tachometer cable feedthrough is the first place I would look at
as well.

Be very careful with the cam cover bolts, they are not to
be torqued very tight at all. The cam cover and the cylinder head
are very precisely machined, and the gasket is a precision molded
affair that fits into a groove in the cam cover. Not a lot of force
is needed to make this joint seal.

If there is a leak between the cylinder head and the cam cover, do
not overtighten the cover bolts in an attempt to stop it. The only
place you should use any sealant is on the half round plugs in the
sides of the cam cover that fit in the cutouts where the cams line
up to. Otherwise, the cam cover gasket should be totally clean,
just apply a light coating of engine oil to it before installing it.

 

When did they switch to a groove in the cam cover? My '81 GS650E used a
flat paper gasket between two flat surfaces.

--
Later,
John



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