cam chain adjstmnt then white smoke!

[DiverRay]

BLACK smoke is too much gas, BLUE smoke is oil, and white is everything else! Just ride the heII out of it and see what happens!!

[DGXSER]

Having been involved in pulling the head and a complete valve lapping project on one of these. I would say that if you have the tools and the gaskets, its a one weekend project. Replacing the bent valve if there is one while your in there, only takes longer of you do not have the replacement on hand already.

[wa407mpp]

White smoke is an indication that you have a blown head gasket and are sucking coolant into one of the cylinders. However these bikes are air cooled so that probably isn't the cause, so what you see as white smoke is most likely oil smoke. How long has it been setting without being run? If just over night it is probably just some oil that leaked down from one of the valve seals. If it has set for two weeks or longer it might be a ring problem. Try running it at idle until it warms up good then shut it off and let it cool down all the way and then restart it and see if the smoke goes away.

[trbig]

I had a cylinder that wasn't hitting once and had to ride home on 3 cylinders. (Pilot jet was in bottom of float bowl on one carb) WHen I fixed the carb and fired it up, all that raw fuel that had gone into the exhaust blew enough white smoke to piss off the neighbors for a while.

Maybe not helping with your problem.. but I did create a lot of white smoke that way...


Tod

[Bigfoot]

when I first fired up mine after it had been sitting for years, blew lots of white smoke. Cleared up after awhile and hs been running great since. I agree with the other guys, if it sounds ok, ride it awhile and see if it clears up.

[wa407mpp]

I think trbig just nailed it, except it is probably something less dramatic then a loose pilot valve, causing an over rich condition, like a stuck float valve or a leaking octopus, causing one of the cylinders to run overly rich, and not showing up until you replaced a weak or fouled plug. I had a similar problem for years, every time I parked the bike for over two weeks it would smoke until I went through the steps I described earlier, then one day it mysteriously went away, but thinking back on it, it went away about the same time I rebuilt the petcocks, which were seeping gas into the air filter box. So all I was doing was burning off most the extra gas, then letting the warn engine evaporate off the rest. Thanks trbig, some times my brain has to be kick started.

[TopCatGr58]

So I just found this forum and this is clearly where I can find out the answers I need, finally! Yesterday I did new plugs and a cam chain adjustment but now when I run the bike it pukes white smoke out of the left exhaust pipe. I was scared I had messed it up so I only rode it around the block to see if it was just carbon burning off but it clearly isn't going to. What did I do? I am so scared I screwed it up bad but I followed the directions to a 't'! Oh, I am not hearing any unusual noise now either.

Hey there Tenonry,

Welcome, glad you found US!

More info about the bike would also help. IS this a new to you bike or have you had it for years? What did the old plugs look like?

I would also be a bit concerned about what caused the plug to foul, either poor ignition strength, or poor carb tuning?

The plug caps unscrew from the wires, do this and inspect for green corrosion between wire/at end of wire and plug cap, if found snip off 1/4" of wire to get to good copper wire. Clean up screw in cap, while off, check resistance thru cap, usually 5-7 kohms, if lots higher, internal resistor bad or badly corroded inside cap. Can take cap apart, unscrews from inside plug side, resistor and stuff comes out, measure resistor resistance, clean contacts, put together if within spec. IF resistor still way out of spec, get new cap(s) from several sources. Your using non-resistor plugs, resistor caps are ok...mostly for radio frequency interference cut down, but if you don't ride with radio, then you can use resistorless caps as well. Also, check resistance from both paired spark plug wire ends, should see about 15K ohms +/- 10%.

SeaFoam, B-12 Chemtool, are good friends, put several ounces in the gastank to help clean carbs. Do you have inline fuel filters on the fuel lines, or just stock? Have you ever taken the carbs off/apart and given a thorough cleaning? Running Stock airbox/filter or PODs...filter dirty??
T.C.

[Silent]

Check your oil level on the center stand. If the bike is over full on oil, the bike will smoke. Don't ask me how I know this

[tenonry]

Good news!

I have good compression on all four cylinders! Popped my thumb off of all of them so I am guessing I just have crap in that cylinder that needs to burn off. The bike is running like a demon now so I doubt it is a bent valve. It wouldn't run so well if I had a bent valve correct?

[tenonry]

Man you guys know a lot about these bikes! I think I am gonna ride the sh1t out of it now that I know I have good compression on all four. I will keep you updated!. Sincerely, thank you for all the info guys, made me a lot more confident in my diagnosing abilities!

[wa407mpp]

Your next step should be to find out if we are right and fix the problem. If you have a cylinder loading up with gas you could have gas in your oil too and that will cost you an engine.

[bikerphil]

Glad to know it isn't anything serious.

[Larrym]

Watch List

"Positive performance should never be viewed as the entire lack of problems." I'm pleased your special and you are now doing those necessary "road tests." I assume that after a 10 mile steady "cruise" that there is no more smoke clearing out the local mosquito population?

Like TC said, the next concern is to find out if anything in the ignition or fuel systems caused the cylinder/plug to foul out in the first place. (Road tests will tell you if it stays fixed or not.) I would strongly suggest that the oil be checked for gas to see if there is a leaking petcock or float needle. This problem doesn't give any symptoms until its way too late: engine seizure or bearing failure. Plus it's a simple check.

Till then we here at mission control will stand by as you do your two-wheeled impression of Chuck Yeager in the X-15.

We copy your "Joy" on the Burn.

[Ivan]

If you did have a miss on one cylinder, the fuel can build up and "wash" (or warsh if your in the midwest ) the cylinder walls causing the oil rings to skip on the walls instead of slide. Once the fuel gets burned out, and the rings settle in a bit, it will usually go away. If not, you need to look at the cylinder walls for scoring. Usually it takes some time before scoring occurs though.

[tenonry]

New Bad News

So I took it for a longer ride today with absolutely no problems. The smoking stopped and I thought all was good in the world. Then I got home and parked the bike, did a few things with my girl and went to fire it up again, this time I could hear a wicked rattle in the top end and shut it down right quick. I stood there in shock for a few minutes while I minimized the sound I had heard and then decided to start it again to see if I was just having a nightmare. I started it and there was no denying there is something metal making a god-awful racket in the top end. No smoke but I am sure I have at least a bent valve or a stuck/broken lifter. Unless you experts have any better ideas looks like I will be learning how to replace a bent valve in the near future! I am going to call my local old-bike-mechanic here in Sioux Falls and see if he has any ideas, till then she is gonna sit.