Oil Leak, Charging problem

[bcampos]

Hey guys, let me run this one by you,

I purchased a 91 Vulcan 1500A. I've had it for a few weeks, and put about 500 miles on it. Everything was going good until a small incident in a parking lot. Some lady came out from behind a building, turns into me, causing me to put the bike down on its left side, at approximately 3-5 miles per hour.

Now, there is minor cosmetic damage, but nothing more than a few scratches. However I have since noticed two things. There is a small oil leak (definately not there prior to incident) from the left side, under the engine cover (rotor/stator area). This leak is not from the bottom of the motor, but from under the cover, ultimately leaking down onto the kickstand spring.

Also, the charging system seems to be acting up subsequent to this incident. The other day on a long ride to phili (and after much slow city driving), the horn would not work, and after stopping and re-starting, the engine cranked very very slow. Later that day I needed a jump start after it sat for a while.

I ordered a fresh battery, as I dont truly know how old this battery is, so that is on the way. But it is the oil leak that worries me. Is there a seal near the Stator/Rotor that may have been damaged in a low speed lie-down? I've heard that hits to the left side of the motor can cause damage to the magnet of the charging system (ouch$$?)I'm thinking that maybe i banged up the charging system which is leaking now.

What do you guys think? Any help would be great.

-Camp

[sdm74]

i have the same leak on my 900 in the same spot

[bcampos]

Do you have a charging problem too? Did you locate the source of the leak and or correct the problem yet? Any info would be awesome.

-Camp

[RichLockyer]

For the oil leak, I would suspect that the clutch pushrod oil seal has become unseated.

Remove the left floorboard, remove the shifters, and pull the side cover (nothing but already spilled oil will leak out).
Pull the clutch lever in and zip-tie it to hold it. Do not release the clutch lever while the slave cylinder is removed.

Now on the side of the engine, you'll see the clutch slave cylinder (hose bolted to the bottom of it). It's held in by 3 bolts.
Remove those bolts and swing the cylinder to the side and support it so it doesn't hang by the hose.

You'll see a rubber donut on the pushrod. If it's not seated in the case, gently position it and using a fender washer to keep it square, tap it back in.
If it's already seated in the case, then it's likely gone bad. It's only a $5 or $10 part... you can use the clutch pushrod to pop it out.