White smoke

[I-AM-THOR]

Is white smoke always connected to head gasket?

Bike is overheating and getting white smoke. Not all the time,just for the first 5 mins or so.

Reservoir is also bubling. Will start with usual checks soon. Oil ect.

Exhaust also has a small leak.

[eastanglianbiker]

sounding like head gasket does the expansion bottle have used gas smell to it from the bubbling as it is likely to be leaking from cylinder to waterway on the gasket somewhere if it is leaking at all,im sure there is something you can buy to do gas test as well but i might be wrong.water might be getting into the oil as well but its not normall for tank to bubble up

[Guest]

Where is your white smoke comin from? Engine or exhaust?

[mealexme]

yup, that's a blown engine. Due to the amount of work that will need to be done to the engine, you'll be talking around £1200 just for labor, let alone parts.

Na, I'm just kidding. Couldn't help myself.

Your description could be taken a few different ways, so lets break it down.

Is white smoke always connected to head gasket? no

Bike is overheating how do you know its overheating? Just a feeling you get, or is there a readout somewhere on the dash? and getting white smokefrom where?. Not all the time,just for the first 5 mins or so. first 5 minutes after it overheating or first 5 mins after starting up?

Reservoir is also bublingbrake reservoir? the paint on the outer surface is bubbling? the liquid inside is bubbling? . Will start with usual checks soon. Oil ect.

Exhaust also has a small leak.

 

The way I read it at first, you are getting white smoke from the exhaust for 5 mins after start up and presume its overheating. The liquid in the brake reservoir is also bubbling.

If this is the case, there is probably no need to worry. Due to the recent cold weather, and the fact that the exhaust system is both large and made of metal, condensation can build up in the system whilst it warms up. This condensation is turned into steam and blasted out of the exhaust port, so the white smoke you are seeing is likely to be steam, especially if it goes after 5 minutes or so.

The same has happened to me over the past few days.

As for the bubbling in the reservoir, it is possible it is just vibrations from the engine, being sent through the bars making it look as though it is boiling, but it is actually just jumping around. I think the best way to test this would be to watch it, then keep your eye on it as you turn the engine off. If it stops immediately, then it should just be vibrations. If it doesnt stop straight away, you may have other issues.

I know when something goes wrong with my bike, I find a million other things that don't look right, simply because I'm looking for them. The bubbling thing may be the same. It may have always happened, its just something you've never noticed before.

[Adam]

Alex I believe he's on about the coolant reservoir, usual if the head gasket has gone the coolant bubbles.

[Fozzie]

A head gasket doesn't blow for 5 minutes then stop usually, unless the engine is heating up and sealing the gap I suppose

Need a picture, i can tell the difference between white smoke and condensation!

Could be a stuck thermostat and the engine heats up whilst chucking out lots of condensation from the exhaust. Not going to suggest head gasket until we know for definite.

[mealexme]

Alex I believe he's on about the coolant reservoir, usual if the head gasket has gone the coolant bubbles.

 

Fair enough then. On all the bikes I've had, the coolant reservoir has been hidden behind fairings, so I presumed he hadn't gone as far as taking them off yet. That's based more on presumptions than fact though.

[Fozzie]

Alex I believe he's on about the coolant reservoir, usual if the head gasket has gone the coolant bubbles.

 

Fair enough then. On all the bikes I've had, the coolant reservoir has been hidden behind fairings, so I presumed he hadn't gone as far as taking them off yet. That's based more on presumptions than fact though.

 

Even on presumptions, you would presume if talking about a head gasket that if a reservoir was referred to it would be the coolant

That's like being told "your low on oil" and presuming your bike was lowered and literally sat on oil because you'd assumed the guy couldn't have seen your sight glass

Let's blame the wee small hours of the morning and not being woken up yet, as I've made some right corkers before

[I-AM-THOR]

I will try and clear a few things up. I will also add what vids I can sat.

White smoke is from the exhaust only. Might be condensation or an issue.

It bubbles after my ride and not at the beginning. And yes it's the coolant reservoir tank.sounds like a kettle boiling.

I know because my temp gauge goes right to the red H line.

Bike is a 2001 honda hornet. Been a major pain since I bought it 3 weeks ago.

Changing oil and coolant this weekend.

[Mr Fro]

I'd be ordering up a thermostat if I were you, just like Fozzie said.

[G-TT600]

compression test isn't the hardest thing in the world, providing the plugs are easily accessible...

simply remove plug, turn the engine over with a compression tester in the hole it came from, repeat for all 4 cylinders..

you are checking for all similar readings, if one is significantly lower than the rest then it looks like head gasket issues.

also, as stated above water in the oil is an easy spot, but not foolproof: just because the oil is ok doesn't mean that the head gasket is sound, and vice versa, just because your oil is emulsified not definitely a blown gasket

[eastanglianbiker]

better off taking thermostat out and testing it before paying out for a new one take it out put it into a saucepan of water and heat it up the hotter the water gets the more you should see the stat open if it doesnt open at all then its dead,also if the stat has been removed then that can cause same syptoms of over heating as the water flow is unrestricted and flowsthrough rad to quick to cool