White smoke

[Valkgirl98]

I inherited a '98 1500C Valkyrie when my dad passed. It has 4100 original miles on it. He had rode it recently before we got it with no problems. We took it on our first poker run and after the first stop white smoke started coming out of the exhaust. The engine was still running and we actually didn't know till a rider behind us let us know.  We did have an issue where the bike started running hot on the freeway a couple weeks before that. Once we were down onto the back roads it seemed to cool off okay. Any suggestions on what this would be and how to check for it?  I should mention the bike has been in storage for awhile now at a friends shop as we didn't have the $ to fix it, but now that we can, would like to see the old man's bike back up & running.

Ok, I apparently did not remember this but my husband said the bike backfired before the white smoke came out. We still were not aware of the smoke until a few minutes later. Smoke was coming out of both exhausts.

[Hook#3287]

Hi Valkgirl98, welcome to the best site on the web.

Sorry to hear about losing your Dad.

White smoke usually means moisture and usually is just moisture in the pipes at start up.  If your getting white smoke after warm up and while going down the road, somethings up.

I would check the level of coolant in both the radiator (when cool) and the reserve tank.  Make sure level is correct in both and take her for a ride.  After cooling down, check the levels again.

If your losing coolant thru the motor, not good, but it would be the first time I've heard of it.

[Former BMW Guy]

I would guess head gasket.
But if you're getting smoke from both exhausts then its unlikely that its both heads....so, I dunno.   

JP

[Valker]

Does it 'creep' when you shift to first? Hard to shift (clutch dragging?)?
Valkyries are pretty known for the clutch plate shearing off the rivets. The pieces then block the oil pickup screen and cause tremendous amounts of oil smoke. This is not just a little smoke though, it's like fogging for mosquitoes.

[john]

                                   It has 4100 original miles on it.              
             before you start "work'in " on it ....          
                                              put some miles on it ...
                                see if things don't improve
            it's still new ........               break it in       

[LoBug504]

I recently put stock exhaust back on mine and noticed that untill ole girl gets warmed up the exhaust smokes white for a few minutes. Its just water vapor, like the previous have stated, if it does not go away in a short while, you have problems.

Cold, damp morning, South Louisiana, smoked like I was doing a burnout.

Lo

[jimmytee]

Don't know whether you did this or not,just a thought, if it's been sitting awhile I'd replace the oil if you haven't already.

[pancho]

CHeck and make sure the coolant overflow hose that runs from under the radiator cap to the overflow tank is not pinched between the radiator and frame. If it is blocked, when the engine heats and the coolant expands, it is going to go somewhere,,, if not back to the tank, maybe into the engine through the head gaskets.  Check a bit of your coolant out of the radiator and see if it is still clear and not nasty looking.