my wifes 2004 recon 250 is smoking, its a white smoke. is this common with recons? i just got it for her and dont know anything about it. it has an aftermarket muffler on it but i dont think it has anything to do with it. can anybody explain?

 

No doubt, that is the reason the previous owner sold the machine!!! These are solid little engines, that rarely have problems. If taken care of, they will run trouble free forever.

Was the machine rejetted when they put on the aftermarket muffler??? If not it might be running lean, which is bad news. The fact that the smoke is white, suggests it might be running lean........

Also, I would run a clean white cloth around in the intake boot and check the carb for dirt. If it comes out dusty, the previous owner may have sucked some dirt, and ruined the rings???

 

Does it only smoke on cold starts? It might just be condensation.
Is it posible that too much sea foam or stabil was put in the gas..thatll cause white smoke.
Hows the spark plug look?
Welcome to the forums.

 

might want to check the air cleaner and change the oil i would use a natural oil not man made or could smoke more if it just smokes at start up then goes away a valve job and new seals might be in order good luck

 

my daughters o3 recon was blowing bluish smoke for a short time after i cleaned the stock air filter , will this damage the engine? It stopped after about 30 minuites of riding. also the small foam filter un der the main filter coming from the crankcase was white creamy frothy crap . I know this was moisture but would this indicate engine wear in any way? She runs the ---- out of it most of the time. We ride in some water and mud this time of the year, but not deep enough to submerge. We bought it new and I service it regularly . Has no hour meter ,but the rear brakes are gone right now and will be replaced next weekend,if this gives any indication of lifespan. The only problem we have had is dirt in the carb which I cleaned and reset back to ori ginal settings (set screws) and it ran like a champ , you dont even have to choke it in freezing weather! This has been another typical exellent honda product! I finally joined you site after 2 years of surfing through ,I am just learning to type (old school). I have owned hondas since my 1971 sl 100.

 

The white foamy crap is a sign of moisture. Hows the oil on the dipstick look? When you change the oil, how does that look...milky and brown, or black? When you cleaned the filter, you let it dry completely and reoiled it?Did you use foam filter oil?
Those motors are so well sealed, that going thru water wont hurt them.
The smoke, could be from over oiling the filter,wrong type of oil on the filter or from engine wear. Does it still smoke? You could do a compression check, and that would help determine how healthy the motor is. If it were me, and the motor runs fine, and the compression is good...id just keep riding it.

 

thanks HB, I keep the oil changed with GN4 and use honda foam oil ,I think I may have had too much oil on the filter, it it looks dark blue in spots i sqeezed it out again , i think it was restricting air flow and sucking hard through the crankcase hose and where the water is coming from I dont know. must be condensation. Any way I compared the crankcase blowby pressure with my foreman and they seemed to be about the same. I think it is fine and I will keep an eye on the white foamy crap.

 

mine is smoking the hole time she rides, how do i know if its been jetted or no ? will i have to take them out?

 

Is smoke the only symptoms it has? Runs great, no change? Starts good? Have you done any recent wrenching on it? Is it posible the air filter is overoiled, or the wrong type of oil on it? If you look in the air box, is there a bunch of oil in the bottom of it?
When did it start smoking?

 

we just got it about a month ago and i noticed it at the dealership but i figured it was just cold so i didnt think anything of it. i cleaned the filter the other day and there is a little piece of sponge under the filter like a valve cove breather on a car and it had oil on it.