89' GS with 7k miles.

I have an issue with my bike and I have tried to some research online but I have been unable to locate a conclusive reason or even a place to start trying to resolve this issue.

I just had the carbs professionally cleaned and synced.  Bike ran fine for a couple weeks (only a few hours of riding) and I never noticed a problem until one morning I noticed small black puddle sitting under the bike.  The puddle was right under the split section of the exhaust pipe. 



I have never seen the bike do this since I have owned it.  So I tried to start it up and it wouldn't idle and but would keep running as long as I held a bit of throttle.  While doing this I noticed smoke from the exhaust and from the front wear the exhaust pipes run into the engine.  (I am not very mechanically inclined. lol)  I inspected further to see a small small oil leak from that location and also an leak from below that area.  This leak, however, was yielding unburnt/less burnt oil.








I know it can be a pain trying to diagnose these types of things online like this and I don't really like bugging people but I am really eager to ride this year and I suppose I am trying to find out if this is a major major problem that is gonna cost some money or heavy wrench time.  I am about to my limit of what i want to invest in this bike so I am considering letting it go depending on what this problem is.  I really appreciate any and all help/feedback.  Thanks guys, you have always been good to me in the past.   

That's not good.

Pull your sparkplugs to verify if oil is getting into the combustion chamber, because it sure looks like you are blowing oil out through the exhaust valve. If that's the case, you have either an extreme case of blowby or you over-filled the oil.

Or, your exhaust valve guides are worn and are leaking oil into the header.

Only 7,000 miles on the bike?  Aftermarket exhaust...

You'll also want to do a compression test to see what condition your rings are in. If you have oil on the plugs, but decent compression, the valve seals would be suspect. If you have oil on the plugs and the compression is low, you have bad rings.

Ah yes...the plugs.  They are black and wet.   

Verify that we have not overfilled the oil. 

ooooooook.  I can usually admit fault in something I remember doing.

Without the dip stick being screwed in, the oil surpasses the Full line and just onto the cylindrical (rod) part of the dip stick.  I do not remember it being this high when I changed the oil a couple months ago (before I took it to have the carbs worked on).  So I am not sure if someone else added oil or perhaps I made an incorrect reading earlier.  But I also find it odd that I haven't had even the slightest leak before I had it worked on.  I hadnt rode the bike but I did have it idling roughly.  Perhaps it wasn't enough to facilitate the leak.  Anyways, say I drain some of the oil and bring the level down.  What is the proceedure for dealing with what oil has found itself where it shouldnt be?  Is it permissible to fire the bike up and let it burn off what is left there?

That's what I'd do; drain some and burn out the rest!

Lucky you! 

Oil level up since last check and after sitting.Sounds like a stuck float needle pouring fuel down the cylinder(s).It could also be flooding causing the bad/no idle.Check the oil for gas smell and change it to be sure.Gas will wash down the bearings,pistons,cylinders,and thin the oil out.

I did just that.  I wasnt sure if it was the oil that smelled like gas...or if my fingers already smelled like gas...or perhaps the garage was just fuming and I was high, but either way, I drained all the oil and will replace it tomorrow.   

I thank everyone for the helpful tips and hopefully this was my only problem.   

 

Ok.  Changed oil.  oil level is good.  Bike now struggles to idle but when she does warm up and get going she has started sputtering and popping and putting off a lot of white smoke.  This didnt happen before the oil leak.

Maybe check the fuel level in the float bowls with the U-tube method.  I'm thinking one of your floats is stuck.

Quote from: Paulcet on May 13, 2011, 06:21:08 PM
Maybe check the fuel level in the float bowls with the U-tube method.  I'm thinking one of your floats is stuck.

Yep as I suggested earlier.Still sounding like a stuck float.