Smoke... oh no

northwestparider

Joined
Feb 2, 2022
Messages
126
Age
49
Location
Venango County, PA
This may not be the proper place for this question, but I need to ask it.

I've got a 2008 ST1300 with just over 22k on it, I've only put about 1100 miles on it.

This morning I started it in the garage and rolled it outside. When I went to get on it there was smoke coming up through the fairing on the right side and from the bottom area of the bike. I've never had this happen before. I shut it down and put it back in the garage. One thing different is that it's been on the side stand for several days. I have a friend that used to have a BMW that would smoke after being on the side stand for an extended period of time, but I think that was out through the exhaust.

Is this something that happens with these bikes after being on the side stand? I almost always park on the center stand.

Is there something specific I should look for.

Thanks
 
northwestparider said:
This may not be the proper place for this question, but I need to ask it.

I've got a 2008 ST1300 with just over 22k on it, I've only put about 1100 miles on it.

This morning I started it in the garage and rolled it outside. When I went to get on it there was smoke coming up through the fairing on the right side and from the bottom area of the bike. I've never had this happen before. I shut it down and put it back in the garage. One thing different is that it's been on the side stand for several days. I have a friend that used to have a BMW that would smoke after being on the side stand for an extended period of time, but I think that was out through the exhaust.

Is this something that happens with these bikes after being on the side stand? I almost always park on the center stand.

Is there something specific I should look for.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Oil on the exhaust manifold?

It isn’t normal.
 
Did you have the valve cover off by chance (valve clearance check, etc.)? It's very easy to get the rubber mat that covers the vee area of the engine pinched in the valve cover and oil will seep out and then burn when it drips down to the exhaust pipes.
 
I had done nothing to it since I last rode it on Sunday. It was fine then. I didn't spend a great deal of time analyzing the smoke. Off the top it smelled like oil. I'll have to look at it tomorrow morning some more.
 
I keep my bike on the side stand 99% of the time ... I only use center stand when checking fluids - never seen smoke.

Was the smoke white or a bluish color ?
 
There is a plastic 3 way tee in the cooling system that has some history of cracking. It is located on the right side between the radiator and the cylinder head.
 
Try pulling the spark plugs and seeing if any of the spark plug wells have oil in them. There is a seal around the spark plug well between the cylinder head and the valve cover. If that seal leaks, oil goes into the spark plug hole/well. I could be wrong but I believe there is a drain hole that allows the excess oil to escape out the side of the cylinder head
 
My mate's BMW would do that, was due to the boxer style engine.
Oil would pool in the left hand cylinder and it would smoke badly on start up through the exhaust.
Always a good idea to take the lead when riding with him as it really smelt bad if you were stuck behind him.
O.K. when it got hot & burnt the excess oil off.
Never heard of an issue with ST's along these lines, My 1100 is usually on the side stand, never had a problem.
 
Well, my plans for Saturday got flushed by another project that should've taken less than an hour took most of the day.

In the evening when I got back I did start it up and let it warm up to the second bar. Not a sign of smoke anywhere. It still merits some investigating though. That will have to happen in a week or so though. We leave Thursday for a long weekend at a car show.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom