water in the transmission

[blackie]

So the other day i was tinkering around a little bit on my bike and i took one of the primary access panels off (the smaller one) and noticed white, not light brown but white "oil" on my primary chain. In my state of panic i immediately drained the vanilla milkshake from my bike and replaced the oil. The bike definitely shifted better and rode smoother. Well i checked the oil about 25miles later and it was still white! So i changed it again. When i called the Buell dealership about it he said its not uncommon for water to get in there. Should I have my transmission flushed and is it true that these transmissions get water in them?

 

[LeFox]

if water is getting in, there's a gasket leaking.

get the primairycover off, give everything inside a good cleaning and also clean off the edge of the cover.
get some liquid sealer and putt the cover back, add oil, and check again after a ride...

 

[blackie]

I will give that a try. So thats not a common thing to happen?

 

[06xb9r]

I had some of the white froth on the clutch inspection cover last time I changed the oil.
Why would it not be uncommon for water to get in your transmission?

LeFox, Is there no breather in the primary case?

 

[LeFox]

oil is not ment to be in contact with water, so it should not be a common thing...

if it is, there is a leak somewhere. hopefully it's just a gasket.
try the inspection & clutch-cover gaskets 1st, but since it's already a mess in there, i would remove the primary cover, clean the inside and change all gaskets.

 

[blackie]

Im tryin to order all the stuff i need to do this (gaskets, oil...) anything you recommend?

 

[LeFox]

nothing special, just the gaskets and some good oil.

now, if water is still getting in, it could be the bushings, but that is not likely since the water seems to be getting in pretty fast.

 

[blackie]

Sorry it took me so long, been busy. Got it all changed. Took the primary cover off and sprayed brake cleaner all inside. Changed the gaskets and put it all back together. Runs great! Heres the thing, I believe there is mor water contaminated oil in the actual transmission (sprayed a lil brake clean in that small hole under the clutch) and a lot of that frothy oil came out. And my gaskets were fine so I have no idea where the water came from!

 

[Bordsnbikes]

From the boot covering your adjuster. There's a bunch of posts about this.

 

[Strada]

The condensation on the inside of the cover is due to the cover being an aluminium casting, which cools more rapidly than the main trans casing which in term causes condensation to form on the inside.
Don't worry about oil contamination or leaks unless the main volume of oil is milky.

 

[maybebuell]

short rides not getting tranny motor up to full temp causes water in oil..when it turns creamy white the oil additives are doing there job to fight moisture....but the additives do get used up over time