oil leaking from cylinder

hello, my Dad and I are currently rebuilding our old CB500

its running a bit naff on one cylinder (n/s - left leg as you sit on the bike), have cleaned carbs changed sparks, rebuilt fuel tap etc..

we notice that there is a hole on the side of the cylinder barrel.. some sticky oily gunk has weeped out of this..

i cant see that hole being a drain.. so basically im asking what is it for.. and seeing as its leaking crap out of it, is it worth continuing?
our thoughts are it may be terminal

there is no oil in water etc..
ill try and upload a picture

Hi,

The hole in the side of the cylinder head is a drain hole and your cam cover gaskit maybe leaking around the spark plug and the oil is coming out through the drain hole (this would not affect running).

Your running problem could be a number of things .... have the valve clearances been done on that cylinder..? if not this maybe the issue because CB500's dont suffer much otherwise unless its been neglected all its life...

Thanks,
the bike has been neglected for a fair few years and only used sporadically..

the clutch is knocking and banging, forks are leaking etc.
also it wouldn't rev past 8k to begin with and it certainly won't idle very well..
its revving more freely the more its run.. but still jerking and hesitating a bit

Hello, glad to hear you are getting one of these back on the road!

Does the clutch noise go away when you pull the lever in? If so, it is common on these bikes and isn't a problem (apart from the noise!)

Given what kwackboy was saying about the hole and the valve cover gasket, I would suggest that you remove the valve cover, clean it up and re-seal around it using instant gasket or similar - while you are there you might as well check the valve clearances.

Good Luck!

Well hopefully I have just bought myself more time to work on the bike as I just managed to pick up a complete cb500 with tax & mot a box of spares and a spare engine for just £200 it needs a bit of work so I'll be borrowing some bits off the other one to get it on the road before I replace them with new parts but very happy here indeed