NOW WHAT?

ok guys, i'm really confused now, my '80 maxim 650 i pushes white smoke through the air intake box while idling, i've had people tell me its just that i need to adjust the idle air mixture screws, and other people telling me that i'm running too high a grade of fuel through it. i don't think it's the fuel grade because i'm running 91 octane through it like the side cover says to, this is my first bike and i'm lost. where are the idle air mixture screws and how much of a pain in the @ss are they to get to? :?: please help me
Lee

 

It could be the fuel. The 91 octane rating is the Euro/Asia rating which is 87 here in North America. I run 89 in my bike and haven't had a problem so I don't really see 91 being any different. I'd start there, just to be safe, and then move onto your air mixture screws.

 

see, that's where i'm confused, my old autoshop teacher always told us that anything higher than 91, unless the engine and carbs are built for it, it will cause smoking and excess heat in the engine, the PO said he always ran 87 in it, but it always stumbled and pinged, i put 91 in it and it purrs like a kitten. the smoke is the only thing wrong with it now

 

The smoke is coming through the breather. Is it smoke, or could it be water vapor (steam) combined with a little oil smoke? If you do a lot of short trips you could just be burning off some condensation.

-OR-

You may simply have a slightly overfilled crankcase, or you're starting to get fuel in the oil...

-OR-

you might have a worn ring or two and be gettng some blow-by. Do a compression test.

 

I run 91 O with no probs.

 

i haven't done an oil change to her yet, i think the PO said something about leaving the gas on prime for a couple days, so its probably the gas in the oil, how much is an oil filter regularly

 

Oil filter less than 10 USD. Order from XJBIKESFOREVER or get at your local Yamaha emporium.

Look at the HOW TO section in this forum on how to do the oil change. Easy to do but there are a couple gotchas if you aren't careful.

 

Hiflo filters-$4.95.
Most shops carry this and other inexpensive after
market filters.
As long as you change the oil every 2k/2.5k they will do just fine.

 

FRAM CH6003, comes with the o-rings; sells for as little as $3.99 at some auto parts stores (Murrays/O'Reilly in the Detroit area unless they're out) while my local Yammery gets $14.95 for them (in the Fram packaging no less.)

 

And Wix filter 24934 $7.49 (I'm not a Fram fan), ordered it from O'Reilly, got it the next day.

Also you don't have to use Yamaha oil or NGK plugs.
I'm using (Diesel) Rotella T 15w40 WalMart and Autolite #63 sparkplugs O'Reilly.

ab

 

If it smells like raw unburned fuel, it probably is.

My best guess with this additional info would be that you have one or more floats that are either out of adjustment or full of crud, and after riding a few miles the carb(s) are beginning to dump gas into the crankcase.

It's not filling the motor up with gas because the petcock is working correctly, only flowing when bike is on, but the floats aren't shutting off flow when they should.

 

ok, so a good cleaning and possible rebuild is in order for the carbs as well as the oil change. i also need to find front and rear brakes and decent tires for cheap as mine are all weather checked and i'm afraid to ride it further than around the block and to the store a couple times.