K1200RS (,SMOKING )

[jrlunsford]

O. K. folks I have a friend who has a K1200RS and he always keeps it on the centerstand and when he cranks her up she always has white smoke coming out her rear end. I know that my K bikes have done that in the past when on the sidestand but never on the center stand. I watched it for 3 or 4 minutes yesterday and it was still smoking. His bike is still in WARRANTY until July 16, 2006. Can someone here please tell me what's going with his bike?

 

Really would appreciate some good sound advice.

 

J. R.

[allikanbe]

I haven't seen or heard of smoke like that when on the centerstand. Is the oil overfull? If it smells like oil, I would take it in to the dealer.

My 04 only smoked once in the year (11,000 miles) I have owned it and that was after leaving it on the side stand.

Post this on the www.k-bikes.com site. More K bikes there, of course.

[Shaun]

Admittedly based on very little information ... I go by the rule; white smoke is water, blue is oil, and black is gas. So I'd say water. Hold your hand in the exhaust and see if any liquid gets deposited. Condensate shouldn't take 3-4 minutes to burn off (your climate may vary) so next possibility is rain or wash water getting down the exhaust (sorry for the obvious). I wonder, is the smoke persistent (stops appearing after warmup not)? Check inside the oil filler cap for grey sludge (water/oil). Check the water reservoir for oil contamination. Could be a gasket has failed. Then you say the bike has always done this. Hmmm ... since new? dealer serviced?

 

Now if the smoke has a blue tinge to it and the above doesn't fly let's go with oil. Can you smell it? How's the consumption? Again, does the smoke disappear after a few minutes or not? Yes ... probably badly seated or gummed rings. Try an Italian tune-up (or several, easy for me to suggest for someone else's bike). Check the plugs for oil residue. No ... worn rings or valve seals. Engine braking will really show this to advantage. Might be blow-by induced from blocked/restricted crankcase ventilation. Could be excess (overfilling?) recycled to air filter (check filter and inside of airbox for oil contamination). Serious overfilling would let oil seep down the cylinder bores, with results as per sidestand.

 

All I can think of right now. Dealer should have caught any of the serious stuff during regular maintenance but it would never hurt to ask for an explanation.

[AlexB]

I find that the sump is really easy to over fill and the engine will smoke at start up until the oil burns off, especially if the bike is left on the sidestand. If memory serves, the difference in volume from top to bottom of the sight glass is only 250 ml. I find it best to fill the oil so that the level is at the red dot in the middle of the glass.

[GTman]

My GT always smokes a lot this time of year. I always figured it's because of the catalytic converter. Isn't that what they do, convert exhaust gases to water? Anyway after it warms up and the exhaust system is good and hot it stops just like my car does. I never figured it was oil because it dissipates in such a short distance from the pipe. Any time I've seen a vehicle burning oil the cloud always seem to hang around for a while.

 

Mine is always on the center stand in the garage.

[Calvin (no socks)]

JR, I taste the exhaust by opening my mouth and sinus and smelling at the same time.... Sweet is coolant, no specific odor is moisture produced by the cat, oil has a unique aroma.

NOTE: Disclaimer;....Do not practice around Diesel vehicles as the consequences can lead to "Black Lung".

[Bobmws]

How many miles on the bike? How is the oil consumption? It's quite possible it has not seated the rings and is getting some oil blowby. Meybe he need to take it out and run it hard. Look here: http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

[tallman]

Here is Calvin in training.