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1K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  proelky 
#1 ·
I've worked on bikes in the past, but mainly motocross. A buddy wants me to work on his 95' Honda 600cc F3. The issue is that it smokes..... My thought would be valve seals, and or thicker oil. The bike has 36k on the odometer.....

Any input?
 
#7 · (Edited)
It's white, and smokes pretty bad. Same color as a car gives upon startup, if it has valve seal issues. The guy said he purchased the bike, rode it for 4-5hrs and took it in for service the next day. They had it for a week, and when he picked it up it was smoking.

My thoughts are to change the oil, and run seafoam. If that doesn't work take the head off and see what's shakin!

I mean, the bike has 36,000 on it and I'm sure it hasn't had an easy life. I would like to think changing the oil will fix it, but nothing is ever that easy.
 
#8 ·
could be so many things. Did you look at the plugs? you can gather a lot of infor from the plugs. Could be rings if its oil. Could be a head gaskit and burning coolant.... Start with the plugs and post a pic of the plugs
 
#9 ·
Check the dumb stuff first. Make sure the crankcase vent hose isn't blocked or kinked. If the bike was "in for service" it's possible that something was put back together wrongly, and it's easy for something like this to happen.

If the bike has a history of abuse or neglect, who knows what could have happened. It could have been run low on oil, or wheelied for blocks on end, which will have the same effect.

If there is nothing simple that seems wrong then it's got to come apart.

And supposedly it was okay before the bike was taken in for service? Another argument for do-it-yourself. Keep in mind one other thing ... if the bike was on its side for any length of time, oil could have seeped past the piston rings and gotten into the exhaust system, and it can take quite a while for that to sort itself out.
 
#10 ·
I will get a battery on it tomorrow, and check the plugs. If the plug looks descent I will seafoam the engine, change the oil, and check all the exterior stuff first. Thanks for everyone's input! I'll try and post a plug pic tomorrow.
 
#13 ·
Checking the oil doesn't have anything to do with checking the coolant! A blown head gasket will not necessarily contaminate the oil with coolant. In fact, with the way most bike engines are laid out, it's almost guaranteed not to cause cross-contamination.

If the head gasket is blown to the point of coolant causing a lot of exhaust smoke, there should be plenty of other symptoms: Overheating, low coolant level in the radiator (don't just rely on the level in the reservoir - remove the rad cap), cooling system pumping coolant into the overflow reservoir when the engine is hot but not drawing it back into the engine when the engine cools off, etc.
 
#14 ·
Thank you! My expertise is in automobiles, obviously not bikes. I'm waiting on parts to arrive, and I will post pics. There is an abnormal amount of oil build up behind the right fairing.
 
#16 ·
That would be too EASY! He moved to TX. from Cali several years ago. The service was completed atleast two years ago, and the bike has been parked since then.
 
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