Could Have Been Catastrophic

[Ray916MN]

Put a new front tire on. Needed to do something downtown so I took the 916 to get a little scrub on the tire and qualify for the HOV lane on the way back. Stopped in Long Lake to get some hardware and noticed a little slip making a left from a stop. Got some good spin up on the final right from a stop before getting to my driveway.

Either the oil filter failed or the filter seal failed as it looks like the oil is coming from the filter...

[Jared]

Guess you found where that bit of misting was coming from last weekend, yikes!  Glad you made it home safe and your motor didn't self destruct.

[jleosnow]

Ray,
OEM filter/parts?

-John

[Deplorable, thank you!]

 It is an oem Ducati filter. Last weekends ride it was a minimal drip onto the ground and some misting was getting onto the tire while riding, we had taken apart enough of the bike to figure it was from the filter or the filter area, wiped it clean and proceded on-I am sure am glad this didn't happen 200 miles from home or mid turn somewhere-that could have been real ugly real fast.

Glad you got to a stop safely.

[Ray916MN]

Lloyd's first comment when we stopped in Durand during the Twisty Way to Pie Ride was spot on "did you leave the seal from the other filter on, when you put the new filter on". 

  I'm an idiot, albeit a lucky one....

[Deplorable, thank you!]

Sometimes being lucky is enough. Glad it was an easy fix, I bet the washing took longer.

[Elk]

Good call, Lloyd. 

Oil is scary.  Great that it worked out in all respects.

[vince]

I have seen this many times and I wonder how you do this when you are suppose to put oil on the engine case and then on the filter before you put the new filter on.

[Deplorable, thank you!]

 On a ducati, the oil filter sits up in a "recess" so only about 1/2" of the 3" filter is actually sticking out the bottom. so unless you stand on your head-you likely aren't going to see it up there. (of course when removing the old filter one should see that the big fat oring is missing, unlike the tiny oring on jap bike filters, the duc has a big oring like car filters)

I never put oil on the case mating surface, I actually wipe that area completely clean, prefill the filter, smear a little of that fresh oil on the oring and spin it on. Perhaps my technique is all wrong???

It was a mistake and he knows it. I am sure he won't do it again.

I have had lost of customers bikes come in missing drain plug washers, or have a few of them on there all curled over the bolt head, some spin on filters with a couple filter orings on them and some of the cartridge filters with no spring and no washer or the rubber "seals" that the bolt pushes through pushed right out of the filter, then of course there are all the Joe Heman ones that the bolts are stripped out....Already have had to lay 3 bikes on their side to drill and tap and time sert.....oh those are so much fun!
 Oh and I almost forgot about the gsxr guy who rode it here with no oil cap.....yea-he was covered in oil and so was the bike.

[Elk]

I never put oil on the case mating surface, I actually wipe that area completely clean, prefill the filter, smear a little of that fresh oil on the oring and spin it on.

I do the same, figuring it is good to clean away all the grub on the case so it doesn't get onto the o-ring or drop into the filter.

[flyinlow]

I never put oil on the case mating surface, I actually wipe that area completely clean, prefill the filter, smear a little of that fresh oil on the oring and spin it on.

I do the same, figuring it is good to clean away all the grub on the case so it doesn't get onto the o-ring or drop into the filter.

Same process for me

[vince]

Well I have done both surfaces because I read it somewhere. But looking it up in the shop manual it says to lube the O-ring and the threads of the oil filter. Something else it says is to measure the length of the - I didn't know it had a name - oil filter boss to see if it is coming out. On my bike this is .61-.65 of an inch. I also clean the area where the filter goes on the engine case. It looks like I have been waisting a finger tip of fresh oil for many many years.

[Elk]

It looks like I have been waisting a finger tip of fresh oil for many many years.

Damn.  By now this could amount to a couple of tablespoons.

[Deplorable, thank you!]

 On a positive note, Ray shows up for todays ride with the cleanest rear wheel on the ride.

[pkpk]

On a positive note, Ray shows up for todays ride with the cleanest rear.

Fixed it for ya.