Motorcycle Repair: Honda CT110, drip oil, first excursion

Question
Hi Rich. I'm a 47 year old newspaper reporter who just bought his first motorcycle, a 1981 CT110. It has about 5,000 miles on it. It runs beautifully, and looks great, too. No damage that I can see. It does not burn oil -- but leaks a lot of it. Every morning, there's a little puddle of oil beneath the engine. What would you guess is the problem? And how hard/expensive it is to fix?
Thanks,
Paul

Answer
Congratulations Paul on your first excursion into the biker fraternity.  I think you'll find it's a lot of fun.  First of all, nothing about that little bike is very difficult or expensive to repair if you are willing to do it yourself.  There are only a few places for oil to come from, the shifter shaft seal, the countershaft seal behind the front sprocket and one of the crankcase cover gaskets.  However, I'd check the oil level in the crankcase first before tearing into the engine.  If the crankcase is overfilled, it will drip oil out of the breather.  Sometimes if you leave the fuel on when you park it, fuel will drip into the cylinder through the carb and fill the crank case with gas.  Pull the dipstick out and smell it and see if it smells like gas.  Be sure to check the oil with the bike upright or on the center stand, if it has one, to make sure the oil register correctly on the dipstick. Also make sure there's a aluminum washer under the drain plug.  Many times that washer will stick to the case when someone drains the oil but it will drop off when the oil starts to drain out so the plug gets put back in without the sealing washer. You should be able to tell quickly if it the plug by just checking to see if there's a drip forming on the drain plug.   

Regards
Rich