Thought it was about time to change the oil as its been about 6 months. having undone the plug a grey coloured oil came out, which after a while tuned galaxy chocolate brown. my clutch does drag a bit, but is ok when warm, but isnt that common for Shercos? the oil that went in was Ipone 100% synthetic and was normal oil colour. any ideas on why such an odd colour - is it normal for synthetic oil. when i last changed it in November it came out a deep red colour. (i bought it in October so i dont know what it was that went in before October this is only my second change.)

thoughts gratefully received.

cheers all - Caddabs

There's a bit of water getting into that oil and emulsifying mate. I'm sure the Sherco riders will give you some advice on that

My guess would be water pump seal has gone bad.

This guide that Wayne Thais made should help

Thanks guys - just went out and checked the coolant and its as dry as a bone. oh dear. very glad i decided to change the oil now! hope no damage done as i had a quick ride last weekend and who knows how long its been like that. lesson learnt. many thanks for the link - not sure i'm that handy with the spanners but will think on how to sort it.

thanks for your help.

caddabs

clutch will be knackered as the water may have swell the plates. You need to keep a better eye on youre bike as things unmissed become major failures and bid bucks.

Hope you just get away with the pump seal.

Normally when the pump seal goes there is a telltale dribble from the hole between the seals on the lower side of the casing, if the hole looks clear & dry then its possible your gasket is had it.

Changing the seals is probably 1 of the easiest jobs you'll come across & Wayne's manual walks you through it well, will pay to have a good look at the shaft at the same time as quite often the leak is caused by the seals wearing a groove in it

Normally when the pump seal goes there is a telltale dribble from the hole between the seals on the lower side of the casing, if the hole looks clear & dry then its possible your gasket is had it.

Changing the seals is probably 1 of the easiest jobs you'll come across & Wayne's manual walks you through it well, will pay to have a good look at the shaft at the same time as quite often the leak is caused by the seals wearing a groove in it

Looking at his bike listed in the posting profile. He has a 2000 2.9 same as mine, the 2000's have a 1 seal design with no "weep hole". So still best chance it is the water pump seal.

I do agree about the ease of changing the seal, Wayne's manuals are all well written and illustrated, and yep shaft getting groovy would be bad.

Thanks all for the input. Yup its a 2000, so i guess no weeper. hopefully i'll get away with just the seal - fingers crossed !

Its a bit of a pain that the coolant filler cap is so tucked away with no easy way to see whether its dropped without taking everything off and moving the electrics - but i have learnt my lesson and will check it more frequently

Thanks again all - Caddabs