[Spockster]

See if the vacuum port and it's hose on the petcock is wet after a ride.

Touch the bottom of the shifter shaft, along the bottom of the side case and stator cover, check for oil. Check around the oil filter and oil switch. A full bottle of baby powder can puff clouds of powder and it will stick to oil. Check the drain plug and the oil screen cap .

It takes a bit for the sight glass to fill up, but hot oil runs quicker. It can take a while to be low on oil if it's only leaking a couple of drops.

You can also dab around with a paper towel.

Thought you were going to say you dropped the bike.

 

[Spockster]

Side stand could make a difference.

Sounds like you've got it right for getting the center stand down. It's definitely about weight on the pedal, a little steadying with the right hand, and a little rearward momentum if you need it. But it is possible to just stand it up without moving the bike backwards much. On smooth concrete it usually just slides anyway.

 

[Spockster]

Try a Pig Mat, they do work. Probably cheaper online somewhere like Amazon or eBay.

Advance Auto Parts - Down for Maintenance

shop.advanceautoparts.com

 

[Spockster]

My brother had a AMF 1200 Super glide. It spent more time in the shop for warranty repairs than on the road. But, it would be worth done serious cash in today's market if he would've kept it.

Earlier HDs had a drip system to keep the rear chain oiled. Designed to drip oil! ...and mark it's territory.

Back in the day people really cussed about the AMFs.

 

[Spockster]

Frame looks oily there under the shifter. Looks freshly wet just under the shifter shaft.

 

[Spockster]

I knew I probably shouldn't have read this thread. I go back and forth between acceptance and frustration when it comes to my oil leaks which sound basically identical to yours mmart.

I park my bike right next to my MG so between the two of them, I've got oil-dri mats pretty much covering my entire garage floor!

I've at least made a valiant attempt to chase down the VN's leaks (the MG would be futile). I've replaced the spark plug sleeve o-ring, replaced the oil filter and drain plug o-rings and pressure washed that whole part of the engine to see where the newest drips are coming from. It seems they're generally coming coming through the RTV sealant around the stator case (applied by PO). And like mmart's, mine only drips after it's been ridden.

I like your idea, Dirtrack, about the AT-205. Do you know if it'll help re-seal red RTV?

Oh yeah, and about dropping the bike when deploying the center stand: I experienced my first drop a couple of weeks ago while changing my oil. (Hey, better than at a stop light right?) In my case, it was the reverse procedure. With nice oily hands, I grabbed the bars to lower it from the center stand to the side stand to drain that last bit of oil. Wobble, wobble, oh %$#! And down it went. Thankfully it landed away from the MG. Also thankfully, all that got damaged was the rear turn signal. And it screwed the right-hand mirror in really tight.

Speaking of which, is there any adjustment in that lower part of the mirror mount. At the mirror end, there's a stop nut which allows some adjusting of the mirror. At the perch end, there's a similar spot to slide a wrench onto but there doesn't seem to be any equivalent nut to make adjustment for the position of the arm relative to the perch. How would I go about adjusting that position?

About the mirror... I think you can loosen the nut then pivot the mirror stem to the desired position, hold it in place while you tighten the nut.

 

[Spockster]

Ok, makes sense. That's how it's been with the mirrors on other bikes I've owned too. I just wanted to make sure before I put these in a vise and try to free that nut up. Both are so stuck that it's going to take some significant force to free them up. I didn't want to break them in the course of trying to budge something that wasn't meant to budge.

Try some lube or cleaner down beside the stem, road dust and grit can collect in there. Even soapy water can help.

 

[Spockster]

Well, I’m halfway there, I finally picked up the AT-205, I went to Autozone and walked the isle for 10min. Finally I stopped a guy in the store and showed him my phone and said where do you guys keep this? His response “well according to your phone it’s at “Advanced Auto Parts”. Oops, wrong store! But at least they are only a block away from each other. Now I just need to wait for this seemingly endless rain to stop.

Rained all weekend here, so good luck with that! quack quack