Jim,
There should not be oil leaking from the bell housing, but that may be due to the sump being full of oil.
These engines are dry sump engines, in that the oil scavenge pump keeps the crankcase clear of excess oil while running by pumping it back up to the tank under the bonnet. If this header tank is empty, perhaps the engine has been 'wet sumped', i.e. all the oil draining back through the pump into the crankcase and overwhelming the seals. This can happen when the machine is left to sit for long periods.
Before cranking over, I would recommend you first drain the sump completely (female hex head plug dead center under engine) then refill the header tank with 5qts of fresh air cooled motorcycle oil. After running a couple of minutes, you can check the oil level and add more if required. Capacity is a nominal 6qts with filter change and the hoses fully drained. Note that the engine, including drain plug, has SAE sized fasteners, while the rest of the machine is pretty much metric.
I would not recommend starting the engine if the sump is truly full of oil as you risk blowing out a crank seal. At a minimum you will likely be greeted by a large burp of oil into the intake manifold and out the air cleaner.
To get it started, turn on the key and listen for the fuel pump pressurizing the fuel system. Then turn the key all the way off and do it again. This gives an extra rich mixture which may aid the starting process. And make sure the battery is fully charged as these big twins take a bit of grunt to get them going.
Last edited by Bitsobrits; 19/08/19 03:25 PM.
