White exhaust smoke when hot

k, guys I've done a search already but so far no help, I've got an '02 with 20k miles, no PC3, doesn't burn oil or use coolant, after a short ride (6 miles or so) I stop at a stoplight and a good bit of white smokle comes out of both exhaust pipes when idling and more when I blip throttle at rest, don't really notice it when I'm moving though, doesn't smoke on start up or after a little sprint around the block. Already tightened up all the coolant hoses not sure what else to try, could the lack of a PC be the cause?

A bad head gasket?

Check the head gaskets. Any discoloration or slick on the surface of the coolant in the overflow bottle?

Well, it apears that is uses coolant now. Head gasket, or something of that nature. White smoke is steam, my brother.

if you are still running coolant in the water... the white smoke will have a sweet, almost tasty smell.... tell tail sign of headgasket

Could be oil. Motorcycles tend to smoke white not blue when they burn oil for some reason. Do a leak down test.

I just got my bike back together from the same problem "head gasket". Blows white smoke after riding for awhile. Mine was more like a puff around 3000 rpm or so coming off idle and noticed it slightly in 2nd gear in the same spot. It started off where there was a little smoke and it progressively worsened. Double check the end of your pipes after a ride and see if there is coolant residue and also pull your plugs and see if any coolant, then you'll know.

Thanks guys I thought it smelled a little sweet like it might be coolant but I've kept a close eye on the coolant level and it doesn't seem to be dropping but I'll look a little closer at it this weekend.

It doesn't take much coolant leaking into the combustion chamber to create the white vapor/smoke that you're noticing. If you know a good tech it might be a really good idea to have them take a look. A stitch in time and all that, right?

Unfortunately I don't really know many people that ride here yet so I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and take it to a stealership.

Take off the fairing on the radiator cap side, with the engine cool, open the cap. top off the coolant if needed then get the bike running. If you see bubbles rising....head gasket.
...sorry, forgot to mention to gently give it a couple thousand RPM while watching the coolant.


Modified by RCLinc at 10:42 PM 6/11/2005

If you are getting exhaust gases in the coolant a easy way to ck is with a block checker you can get them at napa autoparts kregan whomever parts store cost around $20 its hard to describe how it works but you heat the bike up with the rad cap off put this tube thing over the coolant filler hole and suck the air up throught a fluid if the fluid turns blue to yellow you have a problem. Just go and buy one they are self explanitory and easy I use them all the time on cars.
Hope it's just condensation, good luck

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RCLinc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> top off the coolant if needed then get the bike running. If you see bubbles rising....head gasket.

Modified by RCLinc at 10:42 PM 6/11/2005</TD></TR></TABLE>

Took off the front fairing, opened up the radiator cap it was full right up to the bottom of the cap, turned on DaRCy and instant bubbles, no throttle required, so from what I gather its a blown head gasket, called the local stealership and they gave me an estimate of $900.

Just out of curiousity could this be caused in any way by not having exhaust gaskets? Long story but lets just say the local Honda dealer doesn't get parts very quickly.

I sent you an email earlier, don't know if you got it, but...
out of curiosity have you ridden the bike for any length of time and had it over heat on you?
i doubt exhaust gaskets would affect the head gasket, and if it's the honda dealer on Rancho, i know what you mean...been waiting 1 month for a part....should've used Ron Ayers.
as for replacing the head gasket, it is not that much work, just time invested and the hardest part is dealing with the gas tank and it's contents when removing it.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RCLinc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I sent you an email earlier, don't know if you got it, but...
out of curiosity have you ridden the bike for any length of time and had it over heat on you?
i doubt exhaust gaskets would affect the head gasket, and if it's the honda dealer on Rancho, i know what you mean...been waiting 1 month for a part....should've used Ron Ayers.
as for replacing the head gasket, it is not that much work, just time invested and the hardest part is dealing with the gas tank and it's contents when removing it. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That's the funny thing I've never had it overheat even when sitting in traffic it never got over 205. The dealer I went to was on Trop and they are just as bad as any dealer I've ever dealt with. The bad thing is I don't have a garage so I'll probably have to rent a storage unit for a month to get it done. Glad to hear it's not too bad.