I smell coolant

[pacowboy78]

Have the girl in the garage anyway for a new petcock and desmog among other things.  I changed the oil and antifreeze.  Here's where it gets interesting.  All the plugs were a little wet and smelled of gas.  #6 though also smelled of coolant, and when I pulled the spark plug boot, there is white powdery stuff on it.  There is no sign of oil in the antifreeze or water/antifreeze in the oil.  I the last of several previous owners on this valk, and have no idea if the head gasket might have been replaced previously.  39k miles on her, so I kind of doubt it.  Question is, keep riding until something worse happens or hit the panic button and ask for help from someone who knows way more than me?  As always, I defer to your more experienced opinions and most definitely appreciate it.  FWIW I also pulled the valve covers and retorqued the head bolts after I smelled the coolant.  When i changed out the coolant it was a little bit low.

[pacowboy78]

i'm also getting this (it won't let me post pictures today, the link is the best I can do.  It looks like water coming from the pipes, more so on the right side than the left, so cylinders 1,3 and 5.  It doesn't smell like fuel.  (It's a paper bag that I put in front of the pipes to see what, if anything, was coming out.
https://picasaweb.google.com/110547340070639058099/Bikestuff#5778446824564491266

[bentwrench]

Hey cowboy,

                       Go around and check all of your hose clamps, the one on the t-stat housing is hard to get at but you'll find thats where most coolant leaks are found.
bw

[Ricky-D]

It's doubtful anything is wrong with the motor.

They're pretty much bulletproof.

I seem to recall only one post ever about a head gasket leaking or going bad.

Pretty sure there is a simple explanation for what you observe, pictures sure would help.

My recommendation would be to avoid deep inspections that involve more tearing into the motor and simply ride the bike until such time where a problem will become more easily identified.

Moisture in the exhaust is proper since combustion produces water.

There are drain holes in the heads to allow water to drain from the spark plug recesses. Make sure they are all open, allowing flow.

***

[pacowboy78]

It's doubtful anything is wrong with the motor.

They're pretty much bulletproof.

I seem to recall only one post ever about a head gasket leaking or going bad.

Pretty sure there is a simple explanation for what you observe, pictures sure would help.

My recommendation would be to avoid deep inspections that involve more tearing into the motor and simply ride the bike until such time where a problem will become more easily identified.

Moisture in the exhaust is proper since combustion produces water.

There are drain holes in the heads to allow water to drain from the spark plug recesses. Make sure they are all open, allowing flow.

***

This is the way I'm going with it.  I put a hotter plug in to match it back to OEM and thats the end of it.  From here, I just need to get the radiator cap to seat right.  I made the mistake of not removing the set screw.  Really, who puts a set screw on a radiator?  I'm playing with the tabs and carefully reshaping the neck of the radiator.  My pingle is on back order, so aside from that, ready to go.  Thanks again for all of the help.