New rider

So I'm new to bikes and I just bought an 83 xj750 and when on throttle the exhaust smokes it's been sitting for awhile so I didn't know if that could be why it's smoking so much any and all info would be appreciated

 

Has it warmed up when you see this? I tend to see more white vapor when mine's just been started. Try putting your hand in the exhaust (the cloud, not the actual pipe). Smell it and see if you detect an oily smell. Also, oily exhaust tends to be slightly bluish (not white like water vapor).

 

Its an oil smell with blue smoke kinda smells like a boat

And yes both before and after it has warmed up

 

How's the oil level in the sight glass? Couple of options seem to be oil getting into intake via crank-case or gasket leaking into cylinder. I guess leaking in the valve stems could be another. ok, so that's 3. I'm sure there are more, but easy to check oil level and determine if you're also getting gas into the crank case via leaky carbs.

 

I just did an oil change on it put 3.3 quarts in it guy at the shop told me that's what I want for it

 

That may be total capacity if it were bone dry to start with. You should still be able to see the oil level in sight glass on the side of the engine (clutch cover). It's down low. Grab a flashlight and you should be able to see the oil level there. If it's all dark, oil is too high. God forbid, you don't see any, but that's a different problem. There's a shiny metal part behind the sight glass that lets you see the level more easily because it reflects back above the oil. Make sense?

 

Read this:
http://xjbikes.com/forums/threads/the-information-overload-hour.27544/
And be very cautious about what the 'guy at the shop' tells you.

 

3.3 quarts is overfill. 2.9 quarts will put the oil near the top of the sight glass, and that's the amount to use with a filter change.

 

total oil 3.7 qts
oil and filter change 2.96 qts
oil change only 2.64 qts

have you looked into the oil sight to check oil level?

seca or maxim?

you need to drain a little oil out.

then if oil burning continues do a compression test.
you could have bad rings or stuck rings
you could have bad leaking valve seals
or a bad head gasket

check your inbox

 

It's maxim how sound I drain just a little out? And I looked at the oil sight I poured it in then ran it for a little then let it sit and checked again

 

remove filter and pour out the oil in the filter housing you may have to do this a couple of times you are about .4qts over 13 ozs of oil


edit quanity over

 

Ok thank you!! Also I'm looking to remove the exhaust trying to do some cleaning On The bike the studs are rusty and I already know they are gonna break how hard is it to replace the broken studs

 

if the stud brakes off clean and flush you can use alum to dissolve the bolt. treat the bolts with pb blaster before you attempt to remove studs

or a mixture of atf and acetone 2parts atf to 1 part acetone it makes a good de ruster for bolts

 

Awesome thank you

 

I'd be inclined to not touch that exhaust unless there was a good reason, unless you want "one more thing" to fix on this bike. There are plenty of things you should look after for safety and reliability. Don't get yourself in over your head. That's not a slight on you, but I want you to be successful with this bike.

 

Well there is oil on the under side of the exhaust and I wanted to check for the leak and clean it up but I'm also currently looking at the master cylinder brake lines and front calipers. Also my rear brakes arnt engaging or something when I press the pedal it just go to the floor

 

You won't find an oil leak coming from the exhaust ports. It's somewhere else. Leave the exhaust be for now.
Degrease the engine, let it dry, Dust the area where you see the evidence of a leak with talcum powder. Run the engine and watch for where the talc begins to darken from oil.

Odds oare it's coming from the valve cover gasket, or the cam chain tensioner gasket. A slow leak can cause the oil to weep around and show up quite far from where the leak actually is.

 

+! on comments above, have you headed in the correct direction. As for the exhaust, there are little weep holes in the bottom side of the pipes, this allows moisture (and if there is excess oil) to drip out. I too had the little dark oil leak on mine and think it was a valve seat. Still waiting to find out.

One step at a time will get you there, work from simple to hardest just to keep focused on the fix. How many miles on your new toy?

I almost forgot, if you have a MSF class around you sign up. That is great for any rider but for a new rider I highly recommend it.

 

My bike has 32755 on it and yes it does I'm signed up for it

 

Before I painted the tank

 

Here is a picture of the leak it's goes further back too

 

Oh ya, need to de grease that engine and then work from there. Really glad to hear that you have a class in your area. Really good class, I have taken it more then once, as time marches on things change. That class changes with it and brings all the good riding stills with it.

 

Should I leave the headers on and take the rest of the exhaust off? Would that be easier?

 

That would, probably, be less painful. The risk w/ the headers is stud breakage. Taking the rest apart should be simpler. Just be ready to replace gaskets between the sections.

 

Now back to the oil level here is a pic of the peep hole

 

Just for a future thing, hit those header bolts with some solvent. Down the road you may want them off. At least that will give the solvent lots of time to work. If you have time get some de greaser and get her all nice and clean. Then start her up with some powder on her and see if you can find the oil leak. With all that older leaked oil, it will be really hard to find the leak. Keep working on her, you will find it.

 

Question can I run something like sea foam through the bike to clean any oil or old build up out of the bike

 

yes just follow the directions for quanity

 

Would it be better to run an octane booster instead?

 

NO. NO need. Waste of your money, and it does a very different job. You will be putting the Seafoam in the oil, not the gas.

 

Use Seafoam in the oil per k-moe to help clean things up in the oil system.

Once running, wouldn't hurt to run Seafoam or Mercury Quickleen in the gas for a couple of tanks to clean things up in the fuel system. I would beware of some fuel additives as these old bikes don't seem to like ethanol alcohol products in the carbs.

As for the build up of oil on the outside - use an engine desgreaser per the instructions on the package. You can use a garden hose to wash it off, I would resist a pressure sprayer, it may force water into seals. A couple of doses of a good degreaser should help clean it off so you can see where the oil is coming from.

Every time I wash my bike, I use a gentle degreaser to keep things nice and clean. That way I don't smell like oil/gas after riding, and I can spot leaks quickly if they occur.

 

will that get rid of the clouds of smoke when I rid

 

No way to know, but it will help you see better what is going on.

Have you done a compression check? If rings are bad, oil may be getting past into the ignition chamber.

 

how lone was the bike sitting before you got it?

you could have stuck rings which can be treated but the bike will have to sit for about a week.
you may also need to replace the valve seals.

seafoam in the gas will make smoke too but it cleans the carbon off the tops of the pistons

 

I'm pretty sure that the smoke is from all that oil leaking onto the exhaust system.
I suspect that the crush washer on the sump drain plug is no longer doing its job.

 

So I started working on some of the safety things on my bike
M/C before


After



Front left

 

New seals as well as the cleaning?

 

Yes all new seals and everything now just need to bleed them

 

Alright need some help!
So I reverse bled the brakes after the rebuild but the calipers arnt clamping down the are close but seem to have stopped what do I do

 

Is the piston moving out when you squeeze the handle? Are you doing this with the caliper on the wheel and brakes installed or just trying to see if it is moving? How does the handle feel when you compress it to the bar?

 

I can't tell if piston is moving caliper is on the wheel and brakes are installed and the handle doesn't feel bad it's not loose but it's not lock the wheels up tight

 

When I squeeze the handle the cylinder moves out but when I let go it comes back in

Is there a vent that might be clogged?

 

It's supposed to do that.


When you had the caliper apart, did you clean and polish the sliding pins (these get grease) and the brake pad retaining pin (no grease), along with the steel shims that the two caliper halves ride on?

 

Haha yea that was a dumb thing to say yes I did lube those pins
What I meant was unlike a car where you pump the pedal until it gets to the rotor this is just like stuck it won't continue to go any more

 

There's still air in the lines. Tie the brake lever back against the bar and do the following.

9. You aren't done yet. There will still be some air in the system. The next step cures that, no matter what method you use to fill and bleed the system.

10. Use a vibratory sander (no sanding pad) and slowly run it along the brake lines, calipers, and distribution block from bottom to top. This will move any remaining air bubbles up into the master cylinder. Tap (or vibrate) the master cylinder to get the air bubbles to come out of the return hole. This process can also be done with a box-end wrench or other simmilar tool, and tapping the calipers and lines (it just takes longer).

11. Do one final bleed normally, just to be certain that the calipers are fully bled.

 

+1^^^ If she is not moving out and you have no or very little handle feedback then you have air in there. It is a closed system so had to be air in the line still getting compressed. It takes a while but the method above will work very well. You almost have it.

 

Had the same problem with my bike, tried bleeding it a bunch of times and could not get it for the life of me, so I went to harbor freight and bought a vacuum hand pump and that worked the first time and it didn't cost to much

 

Thanks for all the help guys finally got it to bleed now on to the next project

 

Well here goes again so I have noticed my speedometer was loose and come to find out someone broke one of the bolts of so I tried working on the other one with the expectations it was gonna break and what do you know it did. So question is what's the best plan of attack to get these bolts out