Hello,

I've got my bike starting and running but there is smoke coming from between the V&H pipes and the header pipes where the spring holds on the exhaust.  Obviously I'm going to take it off and check for clogs (maybe an animal decided to make a nest in there) but are there any specific concerns or heads up?  Or shall I just get down there, undo the spring and bolts and go to town?

Peace,
Syzygy

Is this a winter storage issue, or did you just get a new bike and there is smoke coming out? Depending on circumstances, and how long you had it running with smoke coming out, there's a chance that some condensation collected between the pipes and it's steaming out once the headers warm up. If you had the bike running for a long time and it was still doing it you'll do best to pull them apart and see what's going on.

Hey tt, thanks - I feel the air puffing out of the exhaust, so it doesn't FEEL clogged, and the bike runs although I haven't let it warm up sufficiently to see if it will go with no choke.  Anyways, I'll try letting it run for four or five minutes and see if it clears up.  I don't imagine it's too tricky to pop off the exhaust.

Peace,
Syzygy

If you're not having any serious issued I'd let it warm and it it for a ride around the block a couple times as well. Give the engine sometime before you assume something's wrong.

Have you changed the oil recently?? Every time I change my oil I spill some all over the exhaust, and the whole thing smokes for a while as the oil burns off. Same if you repaint the headers. If you just bought the bike there's a chance the guy repainted the header/midpipe to make it look better, or just spilled some oil on it. I forgot about those two options.

Hey - yeah, I think it was just some oil on the pipes.  I popped off the V&H for the hell of it and didn't notice anything.  I did hear some rattling valves, but I think I'm going to skip the valve job until I wrap up my springs adjustment because it's going to be 55 here on Monday and I am ITCHING to ride this thing around DC.  So... time to get insured and registered and inspected etc., big bureaucratic pain in the ass but well worth it.

Thanks again for the help, I'm sure I'll be back soon...


Peace,
Syzygy

Exactly where I'm at. My valves could use adjusting, plus I've got 20 minor projects I need to do to the bike, but at this point my only goals for this week are to balance my wheels, get the title transferred over(in my wife's name currently), insurance, and hopefully my inspection on Saturday! It's going to be about 10 degrees cooler here than what you've got, but I'll still take it. After I get a couple weeks of riding in I'll go back and work out the fine details.

this is the reason we all need two bikes. One to ride while the other undergoes restoration/modification/maintenance. Especially on good riding days.

I usually have a newer bike I like and leave the last one in rear of garage fo a while until the new one is fully sorted, which takes about a year the way I work and shop and learn. 

Yep, luckily my wife has a slight interest in bikes and doesn't like being on the back of mine. I can keep one spare that is technically hers, and then I'd be able to ride it if I need another bike. I would also someday love to get a long term project bike, just something 15 years old and super cheap and make something crazy out of it, but you definitely need a main bike, because if that was my only bike I would only rush through it to ride it, and it wouldn't get done properly.