Total Motorcycle Community Forums

MrGompers wrote: Couldn't it be possible that the breather is partially blocked ? As I understand it an engine won't run if the breather is completely blocked.

These carbs are annoying. Next time its fuel injection for me.

It's possible that a partially blocked breather could increase crankcase pressure. I've not seen that one yet (that sent oil up the breather), but it's worth a look. I'm a big proponent of trying the inexpensive tests first. Most of the clogged breather problems I've seen made themselves known when gaskets would fail and oil would drip.

I think if you find the source of the oil in the airbox, you'll find your smoking gun (OK, (bad)pun intended).

I ran the bike 130 miles on the highway which included some wide open throttle. Checked the air cleaner again and there wasn't a single drop of oil in there.

The oil I saw before must've built up over the last 6 months.

From what I've been reading in this thread, a lot of good suggestions have been given.
I was thinking that:
1. If you are losing coolant, it can go to one of the following.
A. onto the ground through a leak from a line/fitting. This you would see after the bike has sat for a while.
B. into the crank case if you have a cracked/worn piston ring. In which case the oil level would go up and your coolant level would drop.
C. out the exhaust as white smoke. Again if you have a cracked/worn piston ring, leaking head gasket or cracked head.

But you say there is no smell of coolant? I know it's kind of gross, but hold your hand in the exhaust to collect a sample, then use the tip of your tongue to tast it. If it's sweet, you have coolant in the exhaust. Or you never washed your hands after eating a doughnut. hahaha

ok.
2. If your coolant level remains the same, yu are not loosing coolant and the white smoke is not coolant. So:
A. The only other thing that causes white smoke would be good old H2O (water).
B. source has to be in the fuel system/tank/carburetor or condensation in the crank case. Condensation is caused by running the bike for too short a period for the condensation to be cleaned out of the crank case and it eventually builds up to where you can get quite a bit of it in your crank case. Is your garage very cool when you park your bike?

To check for water in the fuel tank you can get "water sticks" from a fuel delivery company. When you dip this "stick" into the tank, it will turn a certain colour, indicating water present. If you don't want to do this, just drain the tank, pour a small bottle of auto gasline antifreeze in, swish around and drain. Then refill the tank with clean fuel. To make sure it's clean, use a portable container (I suggest 1 gallon clear plastic or glass) so that you can see if there are any impurities or water settling out to the bottom before you pour it into your tank. Which makes me ask, do you fuel up at the same station all the time? If so, try a different station. Maybe they haven't treated their tanks properly, or maybe they just got a bad batch of gas. Also, if you have experienced a drop in mileage, then I would certainly suspect the fuel quality.

Well, I hope you get the problem fixed as this is about all I have to offer.

Thanks for the suggestions harleyman. I've put almost 3,000 miles on the bike since the problem showed up. And haven't been able to figure it out.

There hasn't been any change in performance or gas mileage. Oil consumption is the same. I lose about .5 quart every 1,000 miles. The dealer said that is normal. Coolant level has remained constant as well.
I pulled both spark plugs and they look normal. They have a slight brown color. Absolutely, no oil build up.

Searching the internet the best answer I've found was on the alt.motorcycle.harley newsgroup. According to the harley owners this problem is caused by the breather being plugged up. They also indicated that it only happened after high speed riding. Which is exaclty what's happening to me. I can ride the bike all day in the city and won't see a single puff of smoke.

I guess I need to disassemble the air cleaner and check for blockages. I really didn't want to do that since I'll have to remove the gas tank. Oh well the riding season here is practically over anyways.

Just rebuild you top end. Make sure to replace your valve seals and your rings. Check your cylinder. I have seen bikes that were 1 year old and burn up the rings. Usually the oil ring. You may want to go through your carbs just to be on the safe side. That will fix your problem.