Got-er runnin

[audijunky]

Hey all, Well I got the carbs back together, put them on, Checked the plugs for spark and she is runnin. A little background for ya got the bike for 50 bucks. Pulled the carbs, airbox, gas tank. PO said it stopped runnin cause of the Igniter unit. Some fellas on the site said they rarely go bad so I proceeded to try and get it runnin. Hooked up the battery cables to my jeep battery(I know I know shouldn't do that but I couldnt see dropping 75 bucks on a battery to find out its not going to run), cranked her over a few times and she fired up.(of course this is after gettin all the gunk out of the carbs, and cleanin out the rusted to sh_t gas tank). Now the big question is she is runnin rough and pretty much bellowing white smoke. I have not adjusted the carbs at all or synced them, I know that I need to , but anybody got any I deas about the smoke? It is probably oil, but not sure. I checked the plugs they didn,t look black, but I had only run it for about 10 minutes total. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Beside that I am as happy as a clam. I really didnt expect it to run yet.

[John]

On the smoke...did you put some oil into the cylinders to lube the top end? That oil may have gotten into the ehaust port in the head or into the pipes and is burning there, creating the smoke. If the smoke was black, it would be a fuel problem, and if it is burning oil in the combustion chamber, the smoke would be blue-ish. White smoke is usually a sign of coolant being burned, but these bikes are air cooled, so that leaves out coolant. I would go for the oil in the pipes option. Your plugs are clean because the the hot exhaust gasses are burning the oil in the pipes. Don't worry about using your vehicle to jump start the bike. So long as the car is not running, it won't damage anything. The voltage is only 12.6 on a fully charged battery. The bike will use only what it needs for amperage to crank it over, so you will not overload the cranking circiut with xssive amprage. I have used a car battery many times to jump a bike off, with no problems at all. I have made jumper cables from 8 gauge wire, and they work great. Never have overloaded the jumpers.

[audijunky]

Thanks John. I did not put any oil in the top end. so I am still stumped as to where the smoke is coming from. Should I take off the exhaust and try to clean it out? ANd if there is oil in the pipes I have no Idea where it came from. I have had cars that burn oil and the smoke did not look or smell the same. I am stumpeed as to what it could be burnin but it is definetly burnin something. I kept the misquitos away last night if you know what I mean. Anybody have any more suggestions? Pistons rings maybe, head gasket. I am stumped.

[John]

Another possibility could be worn valve seals on the exhaust side. It could be leaking past the seals and being burned in the exhaust port, and pipes.

[81XS1100-2006]

Congrats on getting her started!

I'm with John, you prob need to do a valve adjustment to clear up the white smoke.

How many miles on it?

[trbig]

Just a shot in the dark.... but possibly.... There is a product that comes in a can and sprays kind of foamy liquid. I think Johnson or Evinrude makes it. You squirt it directly into the carbs while a motor is running. It's made for outboards, but works on many combustion engines (Don't know if safe for catalytic converters) It's supposed to clean the cylinders, piston, valves, etc. You start the engine.... spray the whole can in.... and then kill the motor and let it sit. Maybe PO might have used this trying to clean it up?? When I restart my outboard motor after using this, it will completely smoke up the neighborhood for about 20 minutes after the re-start. It doesn't smell anything like oil... like you said.

Anyway, as stated... just a shot in the dark, but maybe? Try runnning it for a little while more and see if it clears up. As long as you don't hear any clangin' and bangin' in the motor. If it smokes as bad as this stuff I use, might be something to use for that James Bond smoke screen getaway!

Good Luck.

Tod

[mason79]

i did put too much oil in my cylinders and choke on it, but ran the bike hard and the smoke was completely gone in a few hundred miles...ymmv

[audijunky]

PO tells me about 27,000 on it, I dont know for sure. Do these things have a miles counter(for lack of better word). Any way probably gonna remove some of the exhaust and see if it still smokes, then probably change the valve seals. Ill let ya know what I find out. Thanks fellas

[John]

Removing the valves seals on these engines requires removing the head to enable you to use the big 'C' type of valve spring compressor. Then you will need a special adaptor to allow you to get to the keepers, and to reinstall them. There is not enough room in the head to allow the use of any other type of spring compressor. Maybe you should wait and see if the smoke does clear up before tearing it apart needlessly.

[trbig]

I agree with John. If it doesn't smell like oil burning... see if it clears up. Heck... you may even be burning out an old mouse nest or some other critter home out of the pipe?? Just keep an ear on the motor... it will tell you if it's sick.

Tod

[trbig]

Also.... no. There is no miles counter or hour meter on the actual motor... just the odometer up on the speedometer gauge.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Steve,

Congrats on getting it fired up! I reviewed your other threads, but aside from saying that it was parked, you didn't say for how long it was stowed, or where, outside, in a garage??

If it had been stored for many years, could have gotten the rings stuck!? What are the compression values? Get a fan to keep the engine cool, and run it for a while longer to see IF the smoke will start to thin out? There could also have been some fine rust in the cylinder walls, and until you are able to run the engine for a while to reseat the rings, you may get more oil slipping by past the rings? Is it firing on ALL 4? Did you spritz some water on the pipes and check for sizzle, any cold pipes? You had stated that the TCI was suspect, would be nice to rule it out as a problem point!
T.C.

[audijunky]

The bike was stored outdoors under a cover for some ten odd years. I didnt check to see if all four were firing, It sounded a little rough but I think I just need to sync the carbs. Next time I start it (this afternoon) I'll check to see if all four pipes get hot. Another thing I noticed while it was running It has an exhaust leak right by where the side stand rests in the up position. I noticed water(or some type of fluid) bubbling out with the exhaust gas. Do you guys think that the smoke could just be something in the exhaust getting burned off? How hard is it to pull the pipes but leave the header? Probably burnin off some dead mouse carcass or something. But both sides of the exhaust are smoking. Hey topcat Can't remember, what is the TCI? Thanks for all the feedback fellas.

[LoserShoes]

Ya got a muffler full of water! It'll go away when everything gets hot enough.

Steve

[Fredjohny]

yes...it sounds like water in the exhaust system......white smoke
unless the exhaust headers are welded to the mufflers....they should just pull apart, with some wiggling......10 years of outside storage will definently rust at least one cylinder....have you dumped the oil and filtre?
and good luck.....glad to hear it is running!