Oil Contaminant Separator (OCS) Orientation: The Official Word

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by RX3James

I've been reading a lot about the orientation of the OCS lately. So today I decided to take a look at mine. As you can see it's not in the correct position. Only one time did I ever notice any fluid build up in the tube and it was when I was doing the break in oil change. It is pretty obvious with the discoloration of the tube that there has been fluid going through the tube for some time. I suspect its not building up in the tube because the plug isn't exactly water tight....

You are correct. My RX3 was delivered with the OCS in the same position as yours. I did not collect any fluid in the tube last year, because the seal was not tight. Over the winter the tube shrunk a bit, which tightened the seal with the plug. Therefore, I am now starting to collect fluid in the tube.

Originally Posted by RX3James

...So here's the real question..... I have not noticed any real issue with the bike. It runs and rides just fine. I think now that I've finally broken 2000 miles on it that I've worked out most of the bugs. So should I even worry about he orientation? Should I even spend the 5 minutes to flip it? What is it going to hurt if I just let it roll like it is? If there is no real benefit then I think I'm going to just leave it be. What do you guys and gals think?

Ride safe friends!

I have ridden my bike over 14,000 miles with the OCS in the 'unofficial' position. My bike also runs well, without any problems whatsoever. Indeed, at least some, if not all the bikes on the Western States ride also had the OCS oriented in the 'unofficial' position. Those bikes didn't have any problems, either.

Obviously, you don't have anything to worry about by keeping the OCS in the current, 'unofficial' orientation. Indeed, I would't waste five minutes to flip it, unless you want to experiment. If you do decide to flip the OCS, you will probably bend the tubing more acutely, which will probably cause the tubing to crack and fail more quickly. I can't see any benefit resulting from flipping the OCS to the 'official' position.