do you think I'm burning coolant

[killerbanshee]

Okay so I got my banshee out a few weeks ago and changed the plugs and tranny oil to get it ready for summer. I took it to the lake and rode it for a few minutes and it started smoking and bogging. I barely made it back to my truck. It was bad gas, I didn't even think about changing the gas it was a few months old. I drained the tank and put fresh premix in at 32:1. Now it smokes more than it did before the problem. It will kind of clear up when it gets good and warmed up but still smokes. It smokes out of both tailpipes with a little more out of the right (not much more though). It's more than just a little puff of smoke. If I have it in the garage and rev on it a little bit it will get a little smoky in there with the door open. It acts like it is mixed really thick with oil, but it's at 32:1. I've been running quaker state 2-cycle motorcycle oil and I was running it before with no problems. The bike runs just fine no power loss or anything. It just smokes. I haven't done a compression test jet but will. It feels like it has good compression when I kick it though. When it had the bad gas in it it was smoking like crazy and bogging. It backfired quite a bit too. I didn't try to ride the shit out of it, but did rev it a little bit trying to figure out what was wrong. It also seems to be losing a little bit of coolant but not very much at all. Maybe like an 1/8 of an inch on the reservoir under the seat after riding. It did that before too. When I run it really hard it will sometimes push a little out the radiator overflow. The smoke is kind of a greyish-white color. The bike has no trouble starting cold or hot and runs strong and smooth still. Also I pulled the plugs yesterday to see what they looked like and the left one was chocolate brown on the porcelin, but the right one was black.

[Woolfman]

maybe crank seal on right side.

[killerbanshee]

maybe crank seal on right side.

 

I'm not loosing any trans oil and it doesn't smell like I'm burning it either. I'm going to get some Klotz today and try it. Also the gas I'm running is 91 octane, but at the place where I bought it had those stickers on the pumps that said the gas contains 10% ethanol. I'm wondering if that could have something to do with it???

 

Anybody have any issues with that?? More and more stations are going to the 10% percent ethanol mix.

[Woolfman]

Well I don't think your burning coolant you would have a huge white cloud of smoke and you would smell it and should run crappy. 32:1 smokes quite a bit could switch to klotz and run 40:1 also if it was sitting long enough could be richer than 32:1 because the gas vaporizes. About the plugs I would put two new ones in with the new gas and try again. Also if you ran it real rich even after you put new fuel in expect alot of smoke till you burn excess oil out of pipes.

 

Oh and the ethanol don't know they aren't doing that around here.

Edited April 22, 2009 by Woolfman

[killerbanshee]

Well I don't think your burning coolant you would have a huge white cloud of smoke and you would smell it and should run crappy. 32:1 smokes quite a bit could switch to klotz and run 40:1 also if it was sitting long enough could be richer than 32:1 because the gas vaporizes. About the plugs I would put two new ones in with the new gas and try again. Also if you ran it real rich even after you put new fuel in expect alot of smoke till you burn excess oil out of pipes.

 

Oh and the ethanol don't know they aren't doing that around here.

 

I would say from the way it smoked before there is definitely a good coating of oil in the pipes. There is a station here that says it is 100 percent gas no ethanol. I'm going to use it from now on. Also, I'm going to try the Klotz but it's expensize. Are there any cheaper alternatives that anybody uses that still work good??

 

Like I said it runs good. It's not smoking like an insect fogger or anything just like it's got too much oil in it. Looking at plugs left side is good maybe slightly rich and right side just looks really rich to me. Both cylinders hit good and run pretty even. I already know I need to rebuild and clean my carbs, but they aren't giving me any real problems so I probly won't mess with it for a while.

 

Oh and the bike is pretty much stock except for pipes, jets, and a pro design filter and manifold (not the k&n one)

[matt350]

I would say from the way it smoked before there is definitely a good coating of oil in the pipes. There is a station here that says it is 100 percent gas no ethanol. I'm going to use it from now on. Also, I'm going to try the Klotz but it's expensize. Are there any cheaper alternatives that anybody uses that still work good??

 

Like I said it runs good. It's not smoking like an insect fogger or anything just like it's got too much oil in it. Looking at plugs left side is good maybe slightly rich and right side just looks really rich to me. Both cylinders hit good and run pretty even. I already know I need to rebuild and clean my carbs, but they aren't giving me any real problems so I probly won't mess with it for a while.

 

Oh and the bike is pretty much stock except for pipes, jets, and a pro design filter and manifold (not the k&n one)

castor 927 is good stuff but you will need to drain the tank and rinse it before using it. it likes to gum up when bean oil and regular oil mix, oh and did i mention it smells sooo sooo sooo sweet.

[killerbanshee]

I did a compression test yesterday and it was about 112 on left side and 110 on right.

[patrickkomar]

32:1 is fairly thick mix...... klotz may be spendy but trust me it's worth the money you pay for it! At 40:1 you should get about 40 gallons of gas mixed to 1 gallon of klotz. How are you measuring your oil? If you don't have a ratio right or the klotz version (witch I like a lot better) pick one up there fairly cheap and have a screw on lid. 112/110 is fairly even but low, your about due for a top end my friend.....and don't forget to check the play on the big end of the rods why your in there.

Edited April 24, 2009 by patrickkomar