Exhaust problem!

[vip00]

Hey guys. I recently changed out the oil pan on my 06 750, which was an adventure of its own, but now having put everything back together it seems to have a new problem.

When I start the bike, there is white smoke or steam that looks to be coming off the exhaust pipes, but it's coming off the outside of the manifold, rather than out of the tailpipe. It just looks like the whole front of the bike is steaming. There's exhaust coming out of the tailpipe that smells like exhaust, but the steam/smoke coming off the front has no hint of gas or oil smell.

I let it idle for a solid 15 minutes, but the steam/smoke was still going strong at that point. The amount doesn't seem to vary with the throttle and it doesn't seem to be going away. Any thoughts on what this could be? This is the first time running the bike all year, so my first thought was condensation, but shouldn't that be worked off well before 15 minutes? All advice is appreciated!

[Slofuze]

That's a new one for me....... and since I'm not a motorcycle mechanic like some of our members.......my first thought was to wash off the engine/make sure it's at least semi-perfect..... fire it up again tomorrow and have a flashlight handy. Check out the engine. It's the first thing I'd do.......as in I'd start simple first.

[KatanaGSX92]

Did you clean the exhaust with anything? If you did, it could just be cooking off. By the way, not good to let a Kat idle for 15 min.

[Slofuze]

By the way, not good to let a Kat idle for 15 min.

+1

[Wild-Bill]

Take the bike out and run it for a bit on an open road. If it's still doing it after that then you've got a leak at one of the joints. Don't let an air/oil cooled bike idle too ling in your garage. Overheating really is an issue.

[92xjunker]

+1, Your hand were all over those pipes when you changed the pan, It will burn off..

[vip00]

Duly noted about the long idles, I'll avoid that. There was definitely oil and random dirt on the exhaust from maneuvering it around to get it back into the headers, so that sounds like the best explanation. I will take it out tonight and put some miles on it. Hopefully it'll be gone. It smells very differently from the exhaust, so I doubt it's an actual leak. I guess I had just figured it would cook off a lot faster, but I will just trust it!

Thanks guys!

[Kreylyn]

At idle, the engine will get really hot sitting still from no air flow, but the exhaust gases are not that hot comparatively.

It's not uncommon to see temps of only around 160-190degrees on the pipes at the down tubes and cooler as you get further away from the engine at idle. Water boils at what... 212+?

Up the rpms and you see a near instant temp increase on the pipes. They can/will see upwards of 400 degrees or higher depending... Big difference sitting in the parking lot vs out on the road.

Krey

[vip00]

Well, I put the fairings back on and took it out for a ride. It doesn't seem to be having any issues with steam or any odd smells, so looks like whatever it was burnt off as predicted. Thanks guys!