Oil coming from cylinder weep hole on no.1 cylinder

[xz550uk]

Hi All.

Just bought an 82 550 ( me second one )which hasn't been on the road for a while. Managed to get her started and sounds good with no leaks.... apart from oil dipping out on the weep hole o the front cylinder. Can anyone tell me what this might be. ?.. plug is tight and no other visable head leaks.

Thanks.

[lexx790]

Hi and welcome to the forum, nice to see a fellow UK person here.
Check your cam cover seal, its the one with the black ears around the top.

[vintage bikeworks]

Yes, if lexx790 and I are talking about the same hole, it serves as a drain to the spark plug well.  Mostly meant to keep water from accumulating in the spark plug hole but if the valve cover gasket is leaking, oil could show up from this drain hole. 

[xz550uk]

Thanks for the reply chaps. The r c gasket looks ok but ill investigate further. I originally bought a one of these 18 months ago... a real shed find.. had been repainted... no front end due to a smash and a seized engine.... but the frame and swinging arm are in good nick. This second one is mostly complete and starts and runs well but the frame is toast...so rotten.... these even a massive hole in the bottom of the swinging arm.  So im going to pth the 2 together and hopefully have a sorted bike that's in pretty good condition... apart from the original colour tank... this has many holes and has been repaired badly....so.... if anyone knows where I can get a grey tank for a reasonable price then please let me know.  Its important to keep these bikes on the road... too many ive seen are left to rot.  They look good.... sound good... and hopefully one day ill see that they ride good.. fingers crossed. I also have 2 other bikes... a 98 Kawaki ZRX1100 which ive had since new and is my baby... I also have a 89 Kawaki GPZ600R which im selling if anyone in the south of England is interested in.  So the intention is to have 2 bikes , The ZRX and the XZ... 2 completely different bikes but that's how it should be .... 2 legends in their own right.  Anyway just a bit of history. Thanks for reading........ so to all on this site   ....... KEEP YAMAHAS VISION GOING..............

[vintage bikeworks]

xz550uk - 2 thumbs up to keeping these bikes on the road!  You have to enjoy working on them but to me that's part of the attraction and hobby.  Best wishes on your project.  btw...Yes, the ZRX is a great bike with a loyal following.  Do you have the Kawasaki racing green? 

[xz550uk]

Hi vintage. The ZRX is a 98 midnight purple not the Lawson replica colours. Prefer the single colour as it looks great in purple. Yes it's great working on the XZ. Really fun and quite straight forward. Lots of things to do on them but great when it works out. Can't wait for the first ride. Did have a XZ400 Jap import last year. Very rare. That was in really good nick and didn't take to long to put back on the road but was not quick enough as it was always the 550 I wanted to have on the road. Eventually sold it to a guy in France who came over especially to pick it up.  When the 550 is on the road she will be a keeper. Wish me luck !