Hi after abit of advice - smelt burning oil on a ride out and my friend saw some blue smoke on heavy acceleration prior to this it had been parked on the side stand - I know the 8v models suffered with burning oil after being on the side stands but thought 16v didn`t suffer with this issue ?

Also wouldn`t it burn off quickly mine was smoking after a 30 minute ride - any other issues what would cause this other than knackered piston rings ? Bike has done 85k miles would an oil change help or even a thicker grade oil or am I just hoping ?

Seems to smoke only on heavy acceleration although it did smoke on start-up after being on the side stand for a few days - just worried engine is worn although power dosen`t seem to be affected ?

Thanks Mark.......

Hi Mark,

Another thing that can cause smoke is valve stem seals worn and no longer sealing properly. Especially noticeable if valve guides are worn too. 

Worn rings will do it, as you say, but have to be very worn for power to be obviously affected to the rider's subjective feel. Different if you have a dyno in your shed. 

A compression test is the next step. Ideally, activate the starter relay without ignition switch on by a bypass switch from the battery so fuel isn't injected and spark isn't generated. Throttle wide open. 

If the compression is low or significantly uneven, repeat with a squirt or 2 of engine oil to the cylinder through the spark plug hole. If the compression lifts significantly, rings are your problem. 

Re oil grade, many modern low friction design engines are very fussy about oil type/grade, but the K is old enough to not be greatly fussy. Exception is that a heavy grade can compensate for a very worn engine to a limited extent. 

Bill

mine stopped smoking after I replaced valve seals

The 16v engines do smoke after being on the side stand. My K1100 is really good at it.
To investigate do a compression test and if anything is suspect  then do a leakdown test.
Heavy grade oil will not help worn rings, the only thing that helps them is new rings.
Make sure the oil levels are right, don't go past the half way mark on the sight glass.

My old girl was a chronic smoker when I picked her up . Very oily/sooty/smelly exhaust. The PO had used about a litre tooo much oil. I just fill with around 3lit and then gradually top up till I see it in the sight glass. I always find it takes a little less than the manual specifies. No more smoke and clean exhaust.

marknico wrote:Hi after abit of advice - smelt burning oil on a ride out and my friend saw some blue smoke on heavy acceleration prior to this it had been parked on the side stand - I know the 8v models suffered with burning oil after being on the side stands but thought 16v didn`t suffer with this issue ?

Also wouldn`t it burn off quickly mine was smoking after a 30 minute ride - any other issues what would cause this other than knackered piston rings ? Bike has done 85k miles would an oil change help or even a thicker grade oil or am I just hoping ?

Seems to smoke only on heavy acceleration although it did smoke on start-up after being on the side stand for a few days - just worried engine is worn although power dosen`t seem to be affected ?

Thanks Mark.......

What I can`t understand is that I`m sure it didn`t smoke prior to me leaving it on the side stand but surely the oil would burn off quickly not smoke after 30 mins underload ?

RicK G wrote:The 16v engines do smoke after being on the side stand. My K1100 is really good at it.
To investigate do a compression test and if anything is suspect  then do a leakdown test.
Heavy grade oil will not help worn rings, the only thing that helps them is new rings.
Make sure the oil levels are right, don't go past the half way mark on the sight glass.

Rick is right about heavy oil and rings. I should have been more specific - heavy oil can help with worn bearings to some extent, but never as well as a rebuild.

What is your usual practice with side or centre stand? (I usually leave it on the centre stand between rides, and side stand during rides or shorter stops.)

Have you re-checked the oil level yet? It should be on the centre stand when checked. If it is in the middle of the sight glass when on the side stand, it is over full.

Cheers,

Bill

indian036 wrote:

RicK G wrote:The 16v engines do smoke after being on the side stand. My K1100 is really good at it.
To investigate do a compression test and if anything is suspect  then do a leakdown test.
Heavy grade oil will not help worn rings, the only thing that helps them is new rings.
Make sure the oil levels are right, don't go past the half way mark on the sight glass.

Rick is right about heavy oil and rings. I should have been more specific - heavy oil can help with worn bearings to some extent, but never as well as a rebuild.

What is your usual practice with side or centre stand? (I usually leave it on the centre stand between rides, and side stand during rides or shorter stops.)

Have you re-checked the oil level yet? It should be on the centre stand when checked. If it is in the middle of the sight glass when on the side stand, it is over full.

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill usually I leave it on centre stand as a rule but was on side stand for approx. a week while I waited for some parts to arrive - oil is just above centre red dot in my sight glass when on main stand - but I think it would burn off quickly when started shouldn`t be getting blue smoke under heavy acceleration me thinks ? I ll see how it goes now I`m leaving it on the main stand ? Cheers

Hi Mark,

Oil level is good, and as you correctly say, it wouldn't normally smoke that long even after a week on the side stand. 

Back to the valve stem seals or rings. Compression test next. Hopefully, it'll be like Waz and valve stem seals will fix it. Easier than a rings replacement, can be done without removing the head.

Bill

indian036 wrote:Hi Mark,

Oil level is good, and as you correctly say, it wouldn't normally smoke that long even after a week on the side stand. 

Back to the valve stem seals or rings. Compression test next. Hopefully, it'll be like Waz and valve stem seals will fix it. Easier than a rings replacement, can be done without removing the head.

Bill

Cheers Bill