There's gold in that there oil pan!

BTW, it's a Honda 750 (spirit?).

Dingo.

wild guess..on a new bike maybe a shim or something dropped in during manufacture..if the flakes were very soft maybe plastic or foil cap from the oil container.. could be anything or nothing..

John.

My guess would be minute pieces of the clutch discs as it wears. Seems like someone else had this issue a while back after putting in a new clutch.

Fairly new I too would go with clutch material.

My very first oil changes on new bikes show some metal flake, usually not much after that.

Other places I've seen wear is in on gear forks and gear dogs and lands from bad shifting.

Those are the only user input areas I can think of...

Is this a bad bad thing or a normal bad thing? Is he looking at a new clutch? Is there a fix? Or should he drive it till it fails and then fix it?

Dingo.

Are they magnetic, how much and size/thickness? clutches will shed smaller particles, more like dust. flakes might be at the end of the clutch or something else.

If it runs and sounds good I'd just do a premature oil change and check again, and then send for analysis if a lot, large flake, or magnetic.

Oh yeah, if you can get the filter, I'd cut it open and collect the stuff...

"farely new bike" may be under warranty still?

My new then 76 Kawi KZ900Z1 had a magnet built into the threaded end of the oil drain plug to collect any metal particles from the engine break in. The dealer did the first oil change so I never saw or was told if there were any shavings. I did the second oil change and happened to see some small shavings attached to the end of the oil plug. After that I never saw any more shavings.

If the flecks are pieces of the clutch they're non-ferrous which would make them anti magnetic. Nothing to be concerned about. The first thing downstream of the oil pump pick-up is your oil filter and that will remove them from the system.

I did look at his plug and it was clean (other than oil) but I don't know if it was magnetic-I don't even know if mine is? They looked almost like gold confetti. Quite a bit of it. Maybe I'll tell him to spend the money to get it looked at, he won't enjoy that at $200/1/2hr. Monopolies suck.

Dingo.

It's a new bike & they didn't give him a service plan for an oil change???

It's nothing to worry about if it's the first oil change & the first time he's seen it. If it happens again in 4000 miles, maybe take it in and have it looked at.

Dingo. said:

I did look at his plug and it was clean (other than oil) but I don't know if it was magnetic-I don't even know if mine is? They looked almost like gold confetti. Quite a bit of it. Maybe I'll tell him to spend the money to get it looked at, he won't enjoy that at $200/1/2hr. Monopolies suck.

Dingo.

Click to expand...

If the bike is still under warranty it shouldn't cost him a penny. That's why he should take it to the dealer he purchased the bike from for the initial oil change and check up/adjustments if the bike was purchased new per the OM maintenance schedule. If the bike was purchased used from a dealer he may have a short term used bike warranty.

He can spend the money if he chooses, but it's normal clutch plate wear. JMHO

Stock oil plugs are not magnetic.

I just can't picture anything in the engine that should be gold,, and lots of confetti sized pieces sounds strange..maybe if you look at the oil filter, saw it in half and look closely it will give you more clues, I don't think my clutch plates are gold in color..usually just steel..no..I really can't think of anything in there that is made from brass..anyone done a recent engine rebuild that can tell me..

John.

If you were to look at the friction plates in a new clutch, you'll see small gold colored flecks in the frictions pads. This is what is falling to the bottom of the case as the clutch wears.

In that case I would say it is no problem..Unless one or more of the pads has fallen off the plate.. bit late now but straining the oil through a kitchen strainer would have shown more debris from the dislodged pad...If the flakes are the size of confetti it sounds a bit big for just the normal wear..

John.

I told him to ride it next summer and keep an eye on it. It still sounds good not missing, runs through gears alright with no binding or strange feel. He bought it in edmonton (18 hour car ride) this summer and rode it all summer into early fall so no warranty here. The local shop charges outrageous prices and will bump you down if you didn't buy the bike from them. I don't know how they get away with it but the car dealerships do the same.

Dingo.