Total Motorcycle Community Forums

hehe I stole that fig. of speech from buzz.

so I get plenty of smoke from my exhausts when I start up my bike, settles down after a while. i dont believe Im burning any oil, but the smell of gas is very high.

I was convinced my carbs were getting flooded. but then I decided to run a small test. I kept the fuel line disconnected overnight after going out for a long ride. When I started 'er up the next morning, I noticed that the smoke was still noticeable (though not as bad) What could be wrong here. if it is flooding will, simply changing the float level setting change things??

'78 xs 400 btw

If it's only smoking on startup, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

What color is the smoke? White means leaking valve stem seals. If it's black, it means you are running ruch, but you want that during the warmup phase anyway. If it's running fineexcept for a little smoke on startup, I wouldn't worry about it (enough to tear into the carbs again anyway)

Oh if it was your floats, it would more likely be smoking through the rev range all the time.

Well it isnt soot black, but I would call it dark in any case. thx for the tip anyway. I think its due for a valve adjustment. But I will do that in a month, after I move.

My old bike always has smoked for a couple minutes on cold startup. When I first got it I was really worried about it. After 4 years of tolerating it's smoking (not using any oil just smoking) I have quit worrying about it and accepted it as part of the personality of the old bike.