Hello all. After finally being able to put some miles on this past weekend (it actually got up to near 60 this weekend), I and a friend noticed a slight puff of blue smoke from my exhuast right when the V-tech kicked in at 7k rpm's. So my question naturally is, has anyone else noticed this? Is this considered normal? I'm not really concerned about it, taking into account how the V-Tech transition works, a bit of smoke could be expected I guess. We only saw it twice, both times after holding steady highway speeds. At one of these instances, I could even see the haze behind me in my mirrors after taking off from a stop sign.
It only seems to be right at the transition, just a quick puff. Nothing before and nothing after that point. The bike has 9k miles on it, and was always maintained. I changed the plugs recently and saw absolutely no signs of excessive oil consumtion deposits on them, so I'm really not worried about it being a constant problem while I'm riding, just at that RPM.
Thanks. Yeah, this is definately smoke and not vapor; I know what you're talking about regarding the cold weather running or when the bike is first started up. But this is definately smoke; possibly a dirty blue-ish color, although it's hard to tell exactly. I know a brief rich-running condition can put off a blue-ish color as well, and sometimes even look like oil burning. But, I would suspect that there's alot of changing-over going on at 7K rpm in the engine management system especially at full or nearly full throttle. I'm thinking it's like any car when you floor the gas, the PCM switches to "full-rich", and for a brief moment can puff some smoke. I'm thinking that this is a similar situation to that, and am not worried too much, yet...
I probably would've never noticed it, but I just happened to be looking in the mirrors just after accelerating, and saw a dirty haze behind me. It was then that my buddy said it just kind of came out in one puff.
And BTW, this occurs only at or near WOT during the transition.
Is the bike new or did you get it used? I remember mine smoked slightly when it was new and I mean slightly during VTEC transition. I installed a powercommander 3USB and I don't recall seeing anything after that. If it used, how many miles on it, been down, wrecked, abused, etc?
The bike was just purchased used with 9,000 miles on it. It has never been down, and previous owner showed me all previous service receipts. It was adult ridden. He really didn't come across as the type to have beat it, but you never know I guess. The bike didn't show any of the signs of having been immaturely ridden super hard. Chain was adjusted, original tires, fresh oil, not a scratch or add-on on the whole machine.
I'm curious as to why you replaced the plugs after just 9,000 miles. They are rated until 32,000 miles. Is there anything different in the transition when the smoke show gets produced? Does it happpen at all transitions or just under certain conditions?
I figured that since these were iridium style plugs that there life expectancy was well beyond the mileage that I changed them. But, I only wanted to start fresh with everything when I got the bike. I'm a real stickler for maintenance, and usually do things well before a recommendation just for self satisfaction, especially if I just purchased it.
Nothing about the transition itself seems any different, but again I haven gotten a ton of seat time on this bike yet. Theres no coughing, sputtering or hesitation at all, just the noticable effect of the extra valves coming into play.
As far as I'm aware, it only happens if the transition happens to be during nearly full or totally full throttle. It could be there under less load and throttle, but just not noticable to the point where I or anyone else see it. I've been riding a few times with it so far, and yesterday was the first time anyone else noticed it. Yesterday was also the first time I really was into the throttle that hard since I bought it. So at this point I'm assuming that it's only under full throttle.
But like I said, it could be either a rich-conditon or slight oil burning condition. I'd just call and ask a dealer around here, but my local Honda bike dealer cant' be trusted to give a straight answer!
How many miles have you put on it since you bought it? Could there be some residual oil left over from winterization? Is it running a Power Commander? Is it last year's gas? How abrubt is the VTEC transition? :joystick:
Adam30, Apr 4 2005, 06:56 AM So my question naturally is, has anyone else noticed this? Is this considered normal?
Thanks in advance for your assistance.
BS... or Blue Smoke... is a sign of excess oil burning... it's not normal... your bike is dictated by Federal law that for 5 years from manufacture that it can not pollute more... burning oil is definitely more...
If you get BS during deceleration... bad valve guide seals...
If you get BS during acceleration bad rings... you may not have reached full break in seat or the cylinder walls got glazed over...
At any rate armed with the Federal law take it back to the Dealer so they can sniff the pipe to determined the amount of pollutants...
The bike does still have fuel in it from the previous owner, and Im really not sure how old it is. There is some Chevron Techron injector treatment mixed in as well. From doing fuel system flushing procedures here at work, I know that these cleaners do put off quite a bit of blue-ish smoke at times, while the engine still runs fine. I know that the injector cleaning products' manufacturers suggest not trying to go through emissions while the solution is in the system.
So maybe I should just wait until this solvent is totally run through and until I've got 100% fresh fuel in it before I start questioning anything.
I'd still appreciate any other ideas from anyone else, or if anyone else has noticed this on their V techs.
Oh, sorry. I've only put about 100 miles on since I bought it. The previous owner couldv'e had some fuel stabilizer in it from winter too, I'm not sure. I do not know how many recent miles were put on it around the time I picked it up, about a month ago.
It very well could be last year's gas.
The bike is totally stock, to my knowlege regarding the Power Commander. I am new to this bike and just getting back into cycling, so would like some more info on what exactly the Power Commander is. Sorry to sound like a dumb-ass!
Adam30, Apr 4 2005, 01:05 PMOh, sorry. I've only put about 100 miles on since I bought it. The previous owner couldv'e had some fuel stabilizer in it from winter too, I'm not sure. I do not know how many recent miles were put on it around the time I picked it up, about a month ago.
It very well could be last year's gas.
The bike is totally stock, to my knowlege regarding the Power Commander. I am new to this bike and just getting back into cycling, so would like some more info on what exactly the Power Commander is. Sorry to sound like a dumb-ass!
Don't worry about sounding like a dumb-ass. You're not. A Power Commander is an aftermarket black box that can be used to alter the fuel injection and/or ignition mapping. It plugs into the EFI harness and is usually mounted under the saddle. You couldn't miss it if you did have one there. If it were me, I'd siphon out the old unknown gas and run a few tanks of new gas through the system.
OK, thanks for the help. As I had sort of thought, there is no Power Commander presently on the bike. But while we're at it, what is the cost of something like this, and what are the benefits? I've seen this item come up in other threads, is it a pretty commonly used item?
I'm almost ready for a fill up anyways. I plan on hopefully filling up with fresh stuff tomorrow night, and I'll see if there's a difference.
Adam30, Apr 4 2005, 10:26 PMOK, thanks for the help. As I had sort of thought, there is no Power Commander presently on the bike. But while we're at it, what is the cost of something like this, and what are the benefits? I've seen this item come up in other threads, is it a pretty commonly used item?
I'm almost ready for a fill up anyways. I plan on hopefully filling up with fresh stuff tomorrow night, and I'll see if there's a difference.
A Power Commander can help you tune your bike's EFI and has helped my '02 with the infamous 4.5k flat spot. You can also install the O2 sensor eliminators which will prevent the bike's electronics from leaning the EFI out, particularly at steady throttle. There are stock maps as well as custom maps for aftermarket exhaust systems and air filters. There are posts ad nauseum about this under the 6th generation. They cost a few bills.
It is possible that the previous owner may have put 2 stroke oil or some similar additive in the tank before you got the bike and this will cause the condition described .I have used it in the tank of my bike for years and have had similar results ,smoke for the first little bit of riding , stops rust and keeps everything lubed over the LONG winter months up here.
Alright, I think for sure my first step should be to just finish running the rest of the fuel out of the bike and fill up fresh hopefully tonight. Then I'll know where I'm at as far as fuel goes.
After my CBR F4i sat for six months with sta-bil gas stabilizer, it smoked a little under hard acceleration untill I ran the whole tank down and replaced with new gas.
End of thread · 17 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 1 May 2005