[72sl350k2]

Hello,

I have a 1972 sl350 that I’ve been restoring to running condition. It runs and starts first kick, but there is still a lot of work to do. One of which, being that when I opened up the stator cover to set the timing, oil drained out. Not just a little bit, but the entire oil resovoir (or at least close). Is this normal on an SL? I’ve heard CBs don’t have this happen, and I assume this isn’t supposed to happen in an SL. Is there a seal that’s gone bad?

 

[66Sprint]

Is the bike being held vertical or is it leaning left on the jiffy stand ???

IF vertical (upright and level) and you get more than a few ounces of oil out, you are either overfilled or have fuel-thinned oil (smell it for gas smell).....
IF it smells of gasoline, drain and change for fresh clean oil.....DO NOT run the engine until you do.....

 

[ancientdad]

^^^and to add to above, since the oil pump is on the right side of the engine, it's always best to have the bike vertical on a prop under the sidestand or leaning to the right a bit by blocking the rear wheel and letting the handlebars prop the bike against a wall so the oil stays toward the middle to right side of the engine. The engine holds roughly 2 quarts of oil so it's highly unlikely that much ran out of the stator cover. You can also pick up an old damaged stator cover, drill a hole in it over the timing mark area and use it to check the timing with a strobe through the hole, eliminating virtually all oil loss while doing so