Motorcycle leaking brownish stuff that smells like gas?

2000 Suzuki Bandit is dripping brownish stuff (oil I assume) that smells like gas after I stop riding. It was dripping off of the engine guard and I couldn't tell where it was coming from. What is wrong with my bike? Approx how much will it cost to get it fixed? Is it ok if I wait until Saturday to take it to the shop?|||When I've had gasoline dripping out of my motorcycles in the past, it's come from these locations:





a) rust hole in the gas tank!


b) the carburetor


c) the petc-ck|||Sounds like a rocker gasket is blown. Should only be a few hundred bucks to fix if that is it. If it is brownish it is most likely oil that has been tainted with gas or water. Is it a little foamy? Also some detergents added by certain companies in their oil can cause wierd stuff to happen. Read your owners manual and find out what they reccomend to use. You can;t go wring following thier reccomendations especially when there may be warranty issues. They do tests if suspected and a large amount of money is on the line.|||I wouldn't ride it until I found out where its coming from - and what it is.





It sounds as though it may be oil and gas - you should be able to detect oil by feel and gas by smell.





Losing either can be dangerous - falling off on oil or catching fire from gas.





You can probably tell where its coming from by cleaning everything above it - and then running the motor and looking for more.





You say its dripping off the "engine guard" - which isn't a very clear term.





Most bikes have a couple of rubber hoses to direct overflowing liquids to the ground behind the motor. It maybe coming from one of these. Some come from the airbox - and you could be getting oil gas and water from there.





You didn't say how far you'd ridden or in what weather - either or both of which may be factors.|||Either fluid (oil or gas) could make road conditions hazardous (catching fire from gas or bust'n your butt from oil). Take it to a shop to see if they can give you any idea where the leak is coming from and an estame on the repairs.|||All engines will have some blow-by. This is vented from the egine via a hose from the valve cover gasket to the airbox. Sometimes enough collects in the airbox to leak out. If you have the time(not much for you) check the filter to see if it's saturated with oil. This also gets worse when your bike is running hotter. It's not that big a deal if this is your problem.|||See if you can easily remove the cover. Wait till the engine is cool, then take it off.





After it's removed, just get down on the ground and look up under the engine. See if there's any place that has alot of road grime and 'soot' stuck to it. Touch that spot with your finger. Sniff. Does it smell like the same thing?





Keep doing this with any spot on the engine that looks 'dirty'.





If you can't find anything on the engine, look at the underside of the fuel tank, look at the bottom of the exhaust pipes, look at the bottom of the airbox (above the back wheel, behind the engine, under the seat).





If it's coming from the bottom of the airbox, then remove the seat and airbox lid and check the filter and the inside of the box. If they really stink like gas, then it's a problem for the shop. Also, the crankcase vent tube (engines breathe) goes from the cases and sometimes vents into the airbox - when it's really hot, the engine can spit oil up into the airbox.





Also check the drive chain and sprockets - touch the grease on the chain and sniff. Similar? You are waxing or oiling the chain regularly, right?





Once you determine where the drip is originating - update the question and we'll help you figure out what needs to be done.





In any case, because you're riding in extreme conditions, be sure you're using the proper engine oil and that it's changed really frequently, and that you clean and oil the air filter, and oil (or wax) the chain frequently.