i haven't been able to ride much lately,maybe once every 2-3 weeks and i went out and rode my sportsman the otehr day and i noticed that it seems to smoke a little more than usual. what could this be from? when on a trail at normal speed, you can't notice it, but if i punch it you can see the smoke..it is not black but is noticeable and when in the shed i can hold the throttle and you can see the smoke and smell it strongly..what do you all think???

 

i would pull the spark plug and see if its black and wet looking. then to rich of fuel mixture. it could be condensation burning out from being run then sitting. could be sticky rings and letting oil by. again from sitting so long. but i doubt thats the cause. check your engine oil and coolant levels and see if they are goin up or down. if the oil is white then coolant is getting in and could be caused by blown head gasket and cause smoke. i again doubt this is the cause. hope this helps

 

White smoke, water.
Blue smoke, oil.
Black smoke, rich fuel

 

the smoke is white, so do you think it is condensation??if it is, how long does it take for this to all burn out, i mean i rode it for 30 mins and it still was doing it??? thanks

 

you've got to clear out all the moisture in the exhaust. There is alot of packing in there that traps water and water is a by product of compustion.

 

Watch your coolant height, look for a white milky substance in your engine oil. If you're loosing coolant and see that white stuff in your oil, there is an issue with a gasket, or a crack somewhere.
Hope that's not the case. Condensation let's hope! Good luck, and keep the best damn forum on the net up to date. Doc.

 

yeah i hope it is the condensation, i will take it out this sunday for several hours and see what happens then...what do you think about running some cleaner through the gas tank? what kind should i get? thanks, pb500

 

If you have ethanol or any type of alcohol in your fuel that will get rid of the moisture. If you live in an area that doesn't have alcohol in the fuel basic heet or an isopropyl product will work. If you're looking for a conditioner I've had good luck with a product called Sea foam. It comes in a steel can, it's got to be good.

 

well, i live in southern tennessee and i don't know what is in the gas here besides gold flakes or at least there should be gold flakes because of the prices per gallon..lol, anyway, can you give a brand name or something other than sea foam
that i could get at autozone or somewhere like that? thanks

 

Sea foam is the name