My 06 kodiak 450 smokes like crazy on startup but then after I run it maybe 5 mins it stops smoking .! I was told it may "just " be valve stem seals , can somebody confirm that? And can somebody get me a free service manual for it ? Any help will be appreciated!

 

There have been a few posts about this problem and fitting new valve seals hasn't cured it. Theory is, oil from the cam area runs down past the seal overnight and gets burnt when you first start up. I have a feeling that one owner found the breather from the engine exits just above the air filter in the airbox, and oil was settling in the breather and dripping down onto the air filter overnight. Result, smoke as the oil on the filter got sucked through. This would indicate an engine with worn rings, so oil gets blown through the breather, and a badly designed breather by Yamaha.

 

Anybody else ? If it's just the seals I would try to replace without taking the head off .