4RT oil leak at water pump hole

[markg]

Hi all,

has anyone had any problems with oil leaking out of the small hole in the case at the bottom of water pump?

I had a new 2015 that leaked after a few hours and  now a 2017 that is leaking after about 15 minutes. I replaced associated seals and washers in the 2015 and had no more problems. 

Wondering if this is a common problem?

[section swept]

You have an oil leak from the water pump drive shaft. Either been installed incorrectly or damaged through age etc. The hole is the tell tale to prevent oil and coolant mixing.

[markg]

Yes you are correct that the seal

is leaking. Both bikes I have had this happen to were brand new. One had about an hours use the other had about 5 minutes. 

Question is: has anyone else had this seal fail causing oil to come out of the water pump hole. 

[section swept]

Had the self same thing happen to an Aprilia Mille, although a vee- twin superbike the water pump operates the same on a shaft driven from the engine. The usual cause is the bike has been left a reasonably long time ( stored) in its case/box whatever, the seal dries out and sticks to the shaft; hey presto the first time the engines turned over the seal gets damaged and leaks either coolant or oil or both. If the seal lets oil through then the tell tale should prevent it getting into the coolant and vice versa. You can bet that this is quite common, no manufacturer knows exactly how long a bike is going to sit unused. If the bike is on display in a showroom for a while this can sometimes attribute to the cause. A decent pre-delivery test and inspection by the selling dealer is what should really happen! When the dealer repaired my Aprilia Mille they managed to cure the oil leak, but on the return journey home I stopped halfway about 20 miles and discovered that the tell tale was now dripping coolant?so returned to dealer for more work☹️And a different mechanic to fix it.