Triumphrat

MeshMan · 07-04-2005

Okay here is the deal, had a great ride today, nothing wrong at all. pulled into the gas station with the guys, topped off. went in top get some water. Well, I left the electricals switched on. I come back out maybe three minutes later. bike fire, but when I gave it some throttle to leave, it dies, restart, dies. I try to fire and let it idle...it does idle but we have a nice little white cloud out the exhaust...I have no idea what could be wrong. Thinking the EFI flodded it with the electronics on, I idled it a bit to see if the extra would burn off, to no luck, and now it won't even fire...just the starter clicking..any ideas?

HELP!!!!

Really upset and cluseless....this happend over a five minute span the bike was running GREAT before we pulled in...

[ This message was edited by: MeshMan on 2005-07-04 20:00 ]

banda · 07-04-2005

Head gasket? One possibility is that your head gasket has failed or the head has warped, or both, allowing coolant to leak into, and then possibly flood one of the cylinders. This would cause enough resistance that your starter motor could not overcome it.

To check this you can do two things: Remove spark plugs and crank the motor so see if any liquids come shooting out. -or- drain the oil... if it is a milky color then your crankcase is full of coolant.

So if it's a head gasket or warped head, why? - This usually a cooling problem in the head around the exhaust ports... low coolant can cause this, or hammering the motor before it has come completely up to temperature. What can you do to fix it? Machine the head to make its gasket surface completely flat, and re-install it with a new gasket. I paid a machinist $20 to fix a warped head on my Yamaha once. I think the gasket plus freight cost more than that.

Of course this may not be the problem... but based on the spark plug/oil drain tests, you should be able to rule it out quickly.

[ This message was edited by: banda on 2005-07-04 21:12 ]

pokey · 07-07-2005

White smoke = coolant, water or ATF. (there is no ATF in a motorcycle)
Blue smoke = oil
Black smoke = fuel

I hate to say it, but I agree with banda. You have an expensive repair on the way.

Smack27 · 07-08-2005

I had a serious issue with white smoke this past Sunday with my Roadstar.
Wound up in a burn out pit and somehow popped my rear tire!

MeshMan · 07-08-2005

Problem solved....

diesel fuel....

$245 fuel system flush....

doh! :hammer:

pokey · 07-11-2005

Ouch!

[ This message was edited by: pokey on 2005-07-11 07:06 ]