Sounds like a valve seal problem but want a confirmation.

First: one exhaust (left) has blue smoke, none in the right
Second: sputtering a bit on reverse only, works fine in forward gear
Third: this is the confusing one, the oil has the smell of turpentine or pine. This smell is also present in the air cleaner box. I have checked the oil every 20mi since I got it in sept and seems like I am not losing oil? There is only 106 mi on it.

 

welcome to the forum. bad valve seals usually only willl smoke for a couple of seconds to burn off the small amount of oil that leaked by. the reverse issue=by any chance are backing up w/out pushing the override button to cause the rev limiter to kick in? the oil smell i'm not sure of as i've never smelled it, but it is full synthetic oil and may smell difernt then your used too? is this bike still new and under warranty? if so take it to the dealer. imo

 

Ya, after talking to the father in law, he suggested the turpentine kinda smell may be the combo of rad fluid and oil being burned ... so in other words a blown head gasket ... in either event the oil thats in it is what was in it when I got it in September, the level hasn't dropped sufficiently to require adding any, nor have I put that many miles on it. This particular machine was on display since 07 so its possible the oil was shot? And who knows maybe the gaskets dried out from lack of use ?

I never thought about the rev limiter on reverse ... would explain why it reverses fine slow but only when I start going more than a few mph that it sputters

The bike is still under the 6mo warranty, and I purchased a 2 1/2yr add on through the loan co ... so its going to the shop (and not the one I bought it from!)

 

good to hear about warranty. let us know what you find and good luck.

 

Not exactly pleased given it has 106 total and 38 since I got it ... and it's not like I ride the thing hard ... 25mph or so is where I sit

 

well i have had an 06 and now 08' 800 w/ out too many issues(knock on wood) and trust me i have riden my hard and thru mud to the seat w/out any issues. guessing yours will be not too bad and hopefully the dealer will straighten it right out. can't imagin that it has a blown head gasket unless it was driven after it overheated. seems like if you look at the radiator front and back to see if there is mud or anything pack in there. that is usually the number one reason it will overheat, but w/ the many miles you should be able to tell easily. imo

 

Ya I don't even hit the mud all that much, I just use it to get to my stand in the back and putter around

 

So have it in the shop, mechanic figures first step is to get an oil change (apparently when the oil gets old can start smelling like shellac/turpentine) and then take a look at the gaskets/seals/valves to check for damage ... since its in the break in period its possible a gap is a bit too big

 

Got a call from the shop and its ready to go. Turns out the oil was thick at the bottom of the sump so it was probably from the factory (in other words the dealer didnt do squat before delivery) ... must have gotten stirred up on some recent runs

the smoke was from the cylinder being a bit richer than the other ... a bit of fine tuning and they got that sorted ... apparently in the colder weather the efi runs the engine a bit richer and thats why there is smoke all of a sudden

the sputtering on reverse is just a result of the limiter ... no biggy

 

Glad to see you got it taken care of...


John