Honda-SOHC

Throttle cables have not been oiled and gear shaft seal is new.

Breather pipe is fine.

This possibly sounds far fetched, but could oil get past the valve stem oil seals. Then down the valve and back all the way into the carb bowl. Then leaking out of the carb bowl seal?

The rest of the carb is clean, it’s just the bowl that has oil on it.

That's one of those 'Anti gravity side stand oil leaks' 😁😁😁😁How bloody peculiar. Its not a loose tappet cap is it, that's the only thing higher than carb #1 which is in a vertical line with the sprocket cover below? Or is it the cam end cap leaking and tracking , they are very prone.

Tappet caps and cam cover are bone dry.

Obviously haven't used the 550 for the last few weeks.
When I last rode her I turned the fuel tap off about 1/4 mile from home so the carbs are empty just as I get home.
In the garage on the center stand there is no sign of leaks. I took the bike out the garage the other day and left it on its side stand for a few hours, as I needed the space in the garage to rebuild a 1963 Vespa engine.

Came to put the 550 back in the garage and noticed there is a tiny trickle of oil running down the left hand side of the engine, down the middle of the cover that covers the front sprocket. Had a look and can see that the oil is dripping down from the bottom of #1 carb float bowl. The outside of the float bowl is covered in it??

Its definitely oil, no smell of petrol and the carbs are empty of fuel anyway. I cleaned it up, put it on the centre stand, checked yesterday and no oil leak, only does it on side stand.

Any ideas? Bike runs fine by the way.

I spent the day washing and polishing this, but when I finished I went out on the 550.

 

Reading that has given me a Haddock 

£35