Black smoke from the exhaust?

**prettybillie** · 23rd March 2009, 10:40

Hi all, sorry I am totally useless at the whole mechanical thing. There is black smoke coming out of my exhaust when I rev it up in neutral. I can't get into my mechanic for another 3 weeks. On the face of it, is this something I should be concerned about?

**sinfull** · 23rd March 2009, 10:47

Originally Posted by prettybillie

Hi all, sorry I am totally useless at the whole mechanical thing. There is black smoke coming out of my exhaust when I rev it up in neutral. I can't get into my mechanic for another 3 weeks. On the face of it, is this something I should be concerned about?

Not famillia with ya bike but black is too rich ! Could be the choke stuck on (but would run rough) Yours is tricked up with power commander etc aint it ?
Could be somethings turned to shit with the fueling settings and it's running too rich !
Not too good in other words !
Is it when ya first start up the bike or after it's warmed up ?

**Rockbuddy** · 23rd March 2009, 10:51

poor environment all that black smoke everywhere

for your own peace of mind get it checked out dont ride it much untill you have, probably something simple but best to be sure

**xwhatsit** · 23rd March 2009, 10:52

I was concerned about some white smoke once, and got told there's three different sorts of smoke:

-White smoke, caused by water or moisture, on a water-cooled bike definitely not good, air-cooled, probably just some rain in the zorst
-Blue smoke, caused by oil, leaves a sticky residue around the zorst exit and if there's still smoke around even after the bike has been running for a while then it could be piston rings, etc.
-Black smoke, caused by running too rich, leaves powdery dry carbon residue in the zorst exit, something to do with carburettion, or perhaps a blocked air filter

Is it black or blue? What sort of mess do you get on your finger if you run it around the inside of the silencer?

**driftn** · 23rd March 2009, 11:03

I wouldnt worry about it.
My 750 blew all kinds of smoke and from what I can gather its still going strong. If its just black take it for a real good thrash, cane the shit out of it, it'll clear out.

**Tony.OK** · 23rd March 2009, 11:06

Coupla questions.......
Has it got a pc3? Are the lights on it working?
Was the bike warm or cold?
How high are ya revving it in neutral?
How old are the air filters?

Mine will puff black a little when cold as the ECU is telling it to run rich, at a standstill the bikes not getting its usual dose of air either which can make it a bit rich too.

**CookMySock** · 23rd March 2009, 11:40

Originally Posted by prettybillie

Hi all, sorry I am totally useless at the whole mechanical thing. There is black smoke coming out of my exhaust when I rev it up in neutral. I can't get into my mechanic for another 3 weeks. On the face of it, is this something I should be concerned about?

You're not useless. You are doing rather well I thought. Not many ladies are doing what you are doing. Much respect!

The black smoke on a throttle blip is just from the engine being set up slightly on the rich side, for maximum power and throttle response. It means that the engine is "ahead of you" on the throttle, rather than lagging behind when you gas it hard. In general, that is not going to hurt anything. It will nick a tiny bit off its fuel economy, and if the bike is lazed around town a lot it might run a bit ragged eventually - easily fixed by an open-road trip.

One day, if it interests you, you might want to have the bike dyno'ed and run slightly leaner or richer and have the dyno operator explain to you what this means and feels like, and then you will understand fully what it is all about. Another thing that many chix will never see or do.

Steve

**prettybillie** · 24th March 2009, 10:30

Originally Posted by Tony.OK

Coupla questions.......
Has it got a pc3? Are the lights on it working?
Was the bike warm or cold?
How high are ya revving it in neutral?
How old are the air filters?

Mine will puff black a little when cold as the ECU is telling it to run rich, at a standstill the bikes not getting its usual dose of air either which can make it a bit rich too.

Yes it does and yup all the lights are working
The bike was cold
Errrrr yum, maybe revving it to about 14k
I'm not too sure - I was told everything was all serviced etc when I bought it in October 08.

It sounds like I just need to warm the bike up and take it for a huge blast.

**Tony.OK** · 24th March 2009, 10:53

Originally Posted by prettybillie

Yes it does and yup all the lights are working
The bike was cold
Errrrr yum, maybe revving it to about 14k
I'm not too sure - I was told everything was all serviced etc when I bought it in October 08.

It sounds like I just need to warm the bike up and take it for a huge blast.

Yeah...............revving that high when cold will make it puff, not the best for your engine either when its cold.
Sounds pretty normal to me, try revving it after a run so its nice and warm and see if it still does it.
Its always better to have it running slightly rich as opposed to running lean.

If it doesn't go away when warm ya might want to get her booked in for a tune on the dyno or at least check the air filter and air intakes for any blockages.
At worst you'll need to buy a Honda

**R6_kid:Me** · 24th March 2009, 10:55

Originally Posted by prettybillie

The bike was cold
Errrrr yum, maybe revving it to about 14k

Yeh, not the smartest thing to be doing. The oil needs to warm up a bit and also be supplied well to the top of the engine before you start giving it shit.

Originally Posted by prettybillie

I was told everything was all serviced etc when I bought it in October 08.

So it's been about six months since it was serviced last. How many km's have you done in this time, and what work has been done over that period? Most user manuals will say to service things after 5000 kms or 6 months, which ever comes first. Being an ex-race bike it'll need to be treated right or you'll severely shorten the life span of the motor.

**prettybillie** · 24th March 2009, 12:01

Originally Posted by Tony.OK

At worst you'll need to buy a Honda

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

**prettybillie** · 24th March 2009, 12:03

Originally Posted by R6_kid

So it's been about six months since it was serviced last. How many km's have you done in this time, and what work has been done over that period? Most user manuals will say to service things after 5000 kms or 6 months, which ever comes first. Being an ex-race bike it'll need to be treated right or you'll severely shorten the life span of the motor.

Thanks for that. It's not yeat done 5000k's, however I've booked it in for a service in 3 weeks. Someone say something about a recession - it certainly ain't hitting mechanics te he he

**Squiggles** · 24th March 2009, 20:32

Originally Posted by R6_kid

Yeh, not the smartest thing to be doing. The oil needs to warm up a bit and also be supplied well to the top of the engine before you start giving it shit.

Also not such a good idea when its not under load

**AllanB** · 24th March 2009, 20:39

Originally Posted by prettybillie

The bike was cold
Errrrr yum, maybe revving it to about 14k

Responses so far to this have been polite

probably something to do with boobs.

On a cold engine DON'T rev the shit out of it. Hell on a warm engine in neutral don't rev it to 14,000!

The black is probably bits of carbon flying off the top of the pistons!

Credit to you for asking.