1974 Norton 850 Commando. There is an oil leak in front of the engine someplace that I can't track down. I tried to replace the seal on the tach cable but the problem got worse. It doesn't leak running on the stand but on the road my shoes and sox get sprayed with oil. It is mostly on the right side. Anybody else seen this. The bike is running well but I can't ride it in this condition. djs

Very difficult to diagnose at a distance. It sounds like a lot of oil for a tacho drive. Is it definitely coming from the front of the motor ? Does it begin higher up? It might sound daft but fork seals can send a lot of oil back. Unfortunately, a running Commando can send an oil mist in all directions and air flow at speed can suck or blow oil where you would never expect it. I think that the best option is to thoroughly de-grease the motor and take it for progressively longer distances to see where it begins. Points oil seal is a candidate. Oil pipes if it is at the back. I recently had a hairline crack in the oil junction block that only opened when it was hot - Took me ages to find but easy to fix.