Riding beyond maintenance schedule...how dangerous?

[MichaelJ]

The odometer is past 600 miles, but my local dealership had to move my maintenance appointment back two weeks.  How dangerous is it to continue to ride beyond the maintenance deadline?  I've seen another Empulse in for maintenance one thousand miles late for its 6000-mile appointment, but it did not have any obvious damage.

What am I risking by continuing to ride (potentially being 200-300 miles late for its scheduled maintenance)?  I am seeing one or two new oil drops under the bike after a ride.

--
Thanks,
Michael

[kingcharles]

Oil drops should never be seen! Are you sure they are from the Empulse?
If it is from the Empulse I would stop riding immediately and find out what the cause is!

[Richard230]

The oil drops could be from the chain, especially if it is coming from the area of the counter shaft sprocket (where radial movement will tend to fling oil off of the chain and on to the area in front of the sprocket) and you have been oiling the chain (as you should) lately.  If the oil leak is not coming from the transmission, I don't think riding the bike for an additional 100 miles or so beyond the 600 mile check-up will hurt anything.

[MichaelJ]

I saw two oil droplets formed on the bottom of the gearbox, more than once.  One droplet was hanging from what looks like the drain plug.  The other droplet was a couple inches away in the direction of the chain, but on the same piece of metal (the gearbox) and will need to remember to take a photograph to illustrate.

RE oiling the chain: my dealership oiled the chain at 300 miles, and I saw the tech wipe the excess with a cloth.

[Shinysideup]

There have been oil leaks reported here. As long as it's just a few drops, it shouldn't matter to the integrity of the gearbox, just a nuisance on the garage floor. Heck, I've had vehicles (ahem, British and Italian) that have leaked constantly! Point it out to your dealer who should fix it under warranty. You can always check the level of the oil in the tranny by using the oil level plug on the the right side of the bike. See your owner's manual for technique.

I'd think the main reason to do the initial service is to get the metal shavings out of the transmission. Most of us have seen fairly large amounts of fluff on the magnet of the drain plug for the first few oil changes. But another couple of hundred miles is unlikely to ruin anything, as long as you have sufficient oil in the box.

OTOH, this could be a great opportunity to learn how to change the oil yourself:

http://www.brammoforum.com/wiki/index.php?title=Empulse_Oil_Change

Also, you should be lubricating the chain every couple of hundred miles, mainly to keep the o-ring's lubricated. Many of us like Dupont's Chain-Saver with Teflon. At the end of a riding day, when the chain is warm, wipe the chain clean, spray the Chain-Saver on, and let it dry before riding again. Don't use a brush on an o-ring chain except against the side plates, because the stiff bristles can damage the o-rings. The Dupont product doesn't collect a lot of grime, so using a brush isn't necessary. When the chain looks gnarly, just spray on some chain cleaner and wipe with old rags until it's clean; then lubricate.

Having rear spools and a track stand is a big help for chain chores. I found this one at a local shop:

http://www.pit-bull.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PBMSA&Product_Code=F0003-000&Category_Code=rear_stands

[Adan]

Those drops may mean a gasket needs to be replaced, which will be a warranty job.  I had a leak at about the same rate, maybe 10 drops a day at first, increasing to 2-3 times that much before it got fixed, but even at that rate there's nothing to be concerned about over the course of a couple weeks.  You can always try adding oil if you're worried (with the spill valve open, of course). 

The oil change is easy stuff, but if you're absolutely new to twisting a wrench, the main thing to be careful of is not overtorquing the drain bolt, so you either want to use a torque wrench or have a reasonably good feel of how tight it should be.  You should have a torque wrench for the tightening the axle nut after adjusting chain tension anyway.  I think a wrench with something like a 5-80 ft lb range is best for the routine maintenance.

[MichaelJ]

Please find attached a photo of the gearbox and oil from below.

Arrow #1: you can see a drop of oil under the drain plug.
Arrow #2: this is where the 2nd drop I saw had been (not seen in photo).

[MichaelJ]

Oil drops should never be seen! Are you sure they are from the Empulse?

Pretty sure that the drops are from the Empulse.  They are directly below where I park the Empulse.  Nothing else is parked in that location.  I even saw new drops of oil hanging from the bike, ready to drop onto the floor.  See the photo I attached earlier today in this thread.

[Virtually Yours]

Mine looks like that but no oil seems to leak on the ground where I park the bike. I change my own oil, clean up the bottom real good, take it for a short test ride and nothing. A few hundred miles later a drop just like that one. I'll clean it up check the drain plug with a torque wrench and nothing for a few hundred miles, then repeat... I've gone as far as to measure the old oil when I change it and the difference was pretty insignificant. Maybe a new washer would help but I don't know if that's it...

[MichaelJ]

Those drops may mean a gasket needs to be replaced, which will be a warranty job.

Thanks, Adan.  I'll bring it to the attention of the dealer when I bring it in for service.  The dealership, Seattle E-Bike, is visiting Las Vegas to attend Interbike, which is pretty important to them because they are mainly an e-bicycle shop.

[MichaelJ]

Mine looks like that but no oil seems to leak on the ground where I park the bike.

I've never been there to watch the drops hit the ground, but I've seen the drops built up to where it was ready to drop, and there are multiple oil stains on the ground where only the Empulse has ever been parked, so there is no mistaking what caused them.

Oh, I found the photos I was looking for earlier, with the larger drop sizes.

[MichaelJ]

Yikes.  The leak is back with a vengeance.  Pics and videos.  This happened after a 35-mile ride with one instance of...heavy acceleration.  Seeing the radial streaks on the tire suggests that the leak started during the ride.

Oil Change Method A in the wiki makes me think that tightening the hose clamp around the breather plug will help.  Does that seem like a reasonable remedy, given the symptoms?  I'll try it, but how I will know when the clamp is tight, but not too tight?  Is there a risk that the breather plug will be squeezed out?

[MichaelJ]

I tightened the hose clamp about a half-turn.  Will wash the bike and monitor for continued leakage.  Fingers crossed.

[MichaelJ]

Looks like the tightening helped a little overnight; no new oil droplets this morning.  However, when I returned to my bike after another 15-20 mile ride this morning, I found a few drops on the ground in the parking lot, and oil on the lower surface of the breather tube cap.

[+progress-]

Sorry that you are having these issues!  When my bike is sick it effects my mood

Has your bike had any oil changes yet?

With the amount of oil that was on your bike after your Oct. 8 post I am thinking that the transmission was overfilled.  The oil seeping out of the breather tube is another symptom I am connecting to overfilling.  (I have only preformed a few oil changes on my Empulse R so this is just speculation  )