Topic: oil leak on 550

[BruceA cb550]

just recently thoroughly cleaned and painted the engine, now I notice a small smearing of oil which appears to be coming from between the head and cylinder on #1.  Engine runs good, compression is good, and plugs are clean.  This leak may have been there before cleaning but wasnt as noticable due to other crud.  Engine has 22,000 on it.  Is this common to have a tiny leak or is this something to investigate further.   

[cleveland]

Mine has the same.  I just deal with it.

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Bruce,

Yep! very common.  I take a rolled up paper towel and cram it between the fins to catch the oil and therefore save my pants.  Change the wadding when saturated.  I've also heard that a short length of cotton clothes line works great for this "fix" too.

[nickjtc]

A very common problem, found throughout the range, I believe. My 650 does it too. The rubber O-rings inside the head around the oil feed galleries dry up with time/heat, and Roberts your mothers brother, the oil starts making an appearance outside.

The fix is to wait until your next top end tear down, then replace the pesky items.