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Burning oil?

Joined Mar 2013
3K Posts | 161+
Naples, IT
Got a potential new issue. After the bike is up to temp, usually after my highway commute, occasionally when I pull away from a resting stop I'll get a puff of white/gray smoke from the rear. Can't really tell if it's coming directly out of the exhaust and I haven't successfully duplicated it while watching for the origin. I mostly smell burnt coolant since I have a leaking radiator at the moment. No obvious oil leaks.

She might be consuming oil. About a month ago I added little less than half a quart when I caught the oil just under the lower sight gauge line. This was roughly 2K miles post maintenance/ oil change. This brought the level to just under top line. After about 800 miles, it's right in the middle of lines. This would definitely be higher consumption than normal.

2013, 21K miles. Mods in signature.
 
Was just tinkering and the smoke is actually blackish-blue when it first exits the can. Really hope it's not a gasket or seal. No external oil leaks.

She's been a bit down on power. It's been very hot in my region and I run her very hard on the hwy.
 
Are you running a tuner ? Might be fueling issue and just carbon puss blowing out. Running rich due to the tuner set to colder temps. Just an thought
 
Was just tinkering and the smoke is actually blackish-blue when it first exits the can. Really hope it's not a gasket or seal. No external oil leaks.

She's been a bit down on power. It's been very hot in my region and I run her very hard on the hwy.

Doesn't sound good, using oil and signs of blue smoke from the exhaust, down on power too!, possibly be rings, do a compression test. Has the motor over heated at all? whilst its been low on coolant?
 
Man, that might be the nail in the coffin. The temp never went over 222F, which I've seen at idle routinely during the summer. On the last ride, she started pouring coolant in traffic and I pulled over to let her cool down. Found that the radiator cap wasn't seated properly and it was percolating from the cap. Not securing the cap would be an unusual oversight for me.

The system must be clogged since the overflow tank is still full. I'll tear her down later this week when I have some time off. My hobby shop may have compression tester but doubt they'll have a fitting for our plugs. I've only done this on cars but assuming our plugs are different size.

Since it only smokes under certain conditions, hoping for the best. I could be imaging the reduced power.