I've always had a oil leak problem on the left side of the bike. I took that little bottle out and it was full all the way up the drain tube and there wasn't just a little puddle in the airbox, it was a lake in there. With it on it's stand, I vacuumed it out, then used throttle body/intake cleaner to remove the film and let that drain into a rag under the drain hose with the bottle off so it cleaned out the tube, too.
For the bottle, again it's never been emptied while the bike was in my possession, so it's likely to have always been full, but aside from that, the contents of the bottle were not just oil, it was def an oil/water combo. there was mold in the bottle. I cleaned it out entirely with Brakleen, and it's sparkly new right now. I'll keep an eye on it. I never have to touch the antifreeze, the oil always comes out clear on changes, I've never overheated, and I never blow steam so I don't consider it a potential head gasket leak. Probably just "ridden in the rain" runoff over so many years.
I know the 2014's had a real problem with oil in the airbox at higher RPM's and I really push this bike. My ride into work is only 13 miles and I rarely leave 4th gear and RPM's are up around and above 9k the whole time. Last riding season, I thought the oil leak was the head cover gasket and plug seals so I replaced them. It obviously didn't solve the problem, but it at least let me adjust the valves. I have 36k on this bike, so it was time. Only one needed adjusting though.
I changed the oil and filter yesterday. I checked the level this morning while holding it straight up on it's tires with the bike completely cold and to me it looks perfect:
I suppose the bike could be adjusted so it's on an angle, but I always check it in the same spot in my garage. I just don't know what consitutes "level" (maybe a bubble level between the axles?) and I suppose it could be overserviced every time by me, but I can't believe the oil level would be that sensitive.
Last year I did empty the oil out of the airbox before I serviced the head cover gasket and valves and there was a lot in it, I just felt that it was just the 2013/2014 and the oil issue they have and my riding style. I guess going forward if that is the case, I can keep it under control by servicing the overflow bottle. Just... man, I wish that servicing that bottle was part of the oil change instructions in the manual, because it's super easy to overlook that and has never been part of any other bike I've ever worked on.
Thanks for your input on all this. Helps a lot to have someone to get other ideas from.
* Last updated by: DeadCow on 7/1/2022 @ 8:46 AM *