I purchased a 2000 Honda Foreman 450ES about a month ago. It had started spewing exhaust fumes almost continuously. Adding oil did not help. Suggestions please!!!!

This is my first ATV and I love it! I've renamed it a Forewoman!

 

It depends on what color is the smoke is?

If it's white with a bluish tinge then its oil.

If it's Black then it's running too rich. Slight carburetor adjustments will be required

If it's oil, adding more will not solve any mechanical problems. If you know a mechanic I suggest you give them a call quick before more serious damage occurs.

 

It's whitish smoke. Had the oil changed and spark plug replaced but I'm still getting lots of exhaust smoke. Now I'm really concerned, help!

 

did the spark plug have oil on it? Maybe you are getting oil around the rings and into the combustion chamber.

 

Update: Dropped off the Forewoman over the weekend to have it checked. They are guessing that it may have been driven through water before I bought it because the damage doesn't show up until later. Does this sound plausable??? Will fixing this be expensive? Ack, looks like I may have gotten snowed!

 

Yikes....

I'll give you a short story here.

My friend sank his Foreman in a mud hole and it sucked the mud and water into the air box. After changing the oil on the trail and cleaning the air box and filter his started to smoke after about 50 miles. When we got it home and changed the oil again we found chunks of piston rings. NO GOOD!!!

To make the story short he needed a complete rebuild. He had the extended warranty and after arguing his point, Honda finally paid for the rebuild.

I wish I knew what Honda would say. No doubt the news will be bad. Sorry but I think your right, you got snowed...

The best advise I can give to you now is be very careful buying used ATV's. People think they can go though anything and usually will try. Again I offer my sympathies.

Hiofcer

 

It puts out this whitish smoke ALL the time? Or does it go away after riding a while? Sometimes, the packing in the muffler will accumulate moisture while sitting idle. It will produce whitish exhaust for a little while after starting, but should go away once the muffler gets hot enough to evaporate the moisture.

 

The service guy is going to completely re-work the engine to a total cost of around $500. Another dealer estimated $700. We looked at boring the cylinder, but they say that can't be done on this particular model.

(and, yes, it puts out the smoke all the time, doesn't let up)

I figure I paid $500 less than the asking price, so now I'm even. No more though! Now I understand why people kept advising me to buy a new one instead of used. Live & learn.