GEN COVER

1981 KZ 440 LTD BELT
Generator cover has a cut out on the rear lip, how come it doesn't loose oil, is it above the oil level & not pressurised ?

The generator wire harness should have a rubber grommet to seal the recess where the wires go thru; the grommet also keeps water out. I don't know if the 440 should have any oil inside the generator housing. Some models are wet, others are dry >> my 81 KZ650-CSR alternator is dry. The models I know of that are wet don't have an oil seal on the end of the crankshaft & there's a small hole at the bottom for the oil to drain back into the engine. on those models I don't think there's very much oil there.

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If you look at the wires coming from the stator in the diagram below, you can see the rubber grommet about mid-way.

www.partzilla.com/catalog/kawasaki/motor...lator-81-83-a2-a3-a4

I think any motor with a starter clutch behind the alternator rotor will have oil in the alternator housing (to lube the starter clutch with incidental oil). The 440 is one of those.

The cover has a gasket and a grommet-seal (like Texas linked to) so it shouldn't lose oil. The case should not be pressurized much ,if at all, since it is vented and/or evacuated slightly via the airbox. If it has no airbox, then it is likely vented to the atmosphere, or should be, otherwise it will start leaking oil at many different seals and gaskets.

My 440 sprays a little bit of oil through the inside of the generator cover when the engine spins. It's not bathed in oil and there isn't normally pooling oil behind the cover. With the bike on the centre stand you can actually take the cover off without draining the oil or losing much (if any). So it's wet, but not like full of oil all the time.

Great answers guys, that's cleared it up.