Burning Smell? Don't see any smoke

[RSK70]

Hello all,

It's been a while since I have posted but I am happy to report that that has been because of some great problem free riding. I consider myself lucky if I can get out of a day or two a week so the bike sits a reasonable amount (in a garage at least). About a week ago, I started my bike up and noticed a burning smell. I looked around and didn't see any oil leaking or anything unusual. The smell wasn't overly potent, but noticeable nevertheless. I stopped the bike and checked the oil, the level was in the middle of E and F. I let the bike cool down a bit and topped her off with more synthetic 10W40. I checked the level again after a couple of minutes and the stick wasn't even reading anything. I waited longer and the stick indicated I was about .5 cm over the full line. I went for a ride and everything felt great/normal. Smooth shifts, normal sound, etc. I checked the level right after the ride and there was oil halfway up the dipstick (3 inches above the full line). I expected this with hot oil after an hour ride and when I let it cool it was back to the .5cm level above the full.

The burning smell is still present when I start up but I don't see any white smoke. When I changed my oil at the beginning of the season, I did get some oil on the headers and smelled/saw what burning motor oil looks like. The smell isn't quite the same, and again there is no smoke. I kept the bike outside for most of the summer for ease of access. I just moved her into the garage lately and had been picking leaves off before my rides. Is is likely that maybe a leaf is somewhere burning slowly and causing the smell? I'm also worried that some wire for aftermarket lights is now making contact with the hot engine.

Should I take it into a dealer and not chance blowing the engine? There is definitely (as far as the dipstick is accurate) enough oil in and it is all fresh. The bike runs great as ever. I keep her on a tender since she's been in the garage. Just rolled over 15,000 miles today and have not done the service yet. Any ideas / input?

Thank you

[mister]

Get a straw or tube or something and get the extra oil out. If you are checking correctly - vertical, unscrew oil cap, wipe clean, rest on threads, check level then screw back in - and your oil is above low and below full, you have enough oil.

Bad smells can sometimes happen after riding in the wet and road grime oil gets up onto the engine and burns off on your next ride. Dead bugs too smell unpleasant.

Michael

[burning1]

If you check the oil immediately after running the engine it's going to tend to read low. If you're measuring correctly and oil is at an okay level, I wouldn't immediately assume that something serious is going on. Just in case though, open up the crank-case and smell if it smells like burnt. If so, it could be a serious problem.

It's possible you might have a small leak somewhere and it's getting onto the headers. Might be worth checking if oil is leaking from the filter, drain bolt, or one of the vent tubes onto the headers. If your engine isn't perfectly clean, clean it up and look for signs of fresh oil.

Not sure what else to suggest.

[Dr.McNinja]

I've noticed that my bike will read middle-low on oil in the winter. I know for a fact my bike has plenty of oil and it's not burning it, and I've decided that it's because the cold oil gets comfortable on one side of the crank case and takes a few to get over to the other side for an accurate read. I've noted that after running the bike and letting it cool for 10 minutes or so my bike will read at the full line. This doesn't have much to do with your problem, but I find warming up the oil before taking the read (as the manual and hayne's manual suggest) helps get an accurate one in winter.


As for your problem, have you considered debris burning on your headers? I had a horrible oil burning smell for a few days after I road it 15 miles home in the rain. There was oil kicked up from the road on my headers that was burning.

Personally, I wouldn't assume immediately your engine is burning oil. If you have enough oil, and when you check it you have enough or only need to top off a little (which is "normal" as long as it's not topping off every 100 miles), I'd say that it's probably something burning on your headers/crankcase.

[twocool]

I'm with "Mister" on this one....probably something got onto the cylinders....

I have noticed weird burning smells once in a while.   Leaves or bugs get on the cylinders.

Once in a while I get  little tar covered pebbles from the tarmac get onto the crankcase or into the fins of the cylinders....smells like burning asphault....

Burning oil, or oil leaking onto a hot engine has a distinct smell....it should be easy to tell the difference compared to some other junk gettin hot on the cylinders..

Cookie

[burning1]

Yeah, should add that I always notice a bit of a burning smell after riding in the rain, on all of my bikes. Rain dirt smells funny.

[twocool]

Yeah, should add that I always notice a bit of a burning smell after riding in the rain, on all of my bikes. Rain dirt smells funny.

"Rain Dirt"...I like that....I have noticed the same thing....the day after riding in the rain the motor smells funny.........

Cookie