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I've had it with this GD bike

  • Thread starter Thread starter ShirleySerious
  • Start date Start date
Earlier this spring I had covered my bike with a waterproof cover inside my garage and I noticed some condensation on the bike under the cover, wiped it off, and started on a ride. Shortly into the ride I noticed "smoke" coming from the headlight bucket. Upon checking I found no burned wires and I coincidently did not use the waterproof cover again. I had no further condensation on the bike and no more "smoke" from the bucket. My conclusion is that I had some condensation inside the bucket that turned to steam when the headlight was on, hence my "smoke". Any chance some thing similar might of happened to you?
 
Completely waterproof covers can do more harm than good. A quality breathable cover is great, but if humidity can't escape you'd be better off leaving it out in the rain where at least the rain could evaporate. I learned this the hard way.

My advice on the smoke issue would be to give the bike a thorough washing to try to get rid of any residual oil. After letting it completely dry, give suspect areas a thin coating of Tinactin spray. Go for a good five-mile run with a good range of riding conditions (make sure it's a dry day and you don't go through puddles) and then inspect the sprayed areas when you get back. Any leaks will be blatantly obvious.
 
DickV said:
Earlier this spring I had covered my bike with a waterproof cover inside my garage and I noticed some condensation on the bike under the cover, wiped it off, and started on a ride. Shortly into the ride I noticed "smoke" coming from the headlight bucket. Upon checking I found no burned wires and I coincidently did not use the waterproof cover again. I had no further condensation on the bike and no more "smoke" from the bucket. My conclusion is that I had some condensation inside the bucket that turned to steam when the headlight was on, hence my "smoke". Any chance some thing similar might of happened to you?
Click to expand...

It appears to come from that area, but don't forget, the engine is right below there. I just had it in the garage for a couple days with about 85% humidity. It got a little cooler at night but the humidity remained the same. I'll try to find time to degrease it then test for smoke.
 
ShirleySerious said:
It appears to come from that area, but don't forget, the engine is right below there. I just had it in the garage for a couple days with about 85% humidity. It got a little cooler at night but the humidity remained the same. I'll try to find time to degrease it then test for smoke.
Click to expand...

I've replaced valve cover gaskets and such on engines that were leaking and without a doubt, you'll have some residual smoke after things are put back together. CLEAN THAT BABY UP!! Then try it. :-D
 
Hard to believe but Harbor Freight has a 1/4" torque wrench in inch pounds for $25 to $30. Its accurate and consistent.

Just in case you didn't know:

Torque wrenches are only accurate from 20% of their max and up. If the wrench maxes out at 100 anything under 20 is unreliable.
 
My patience with this bike is wearing extremely thin. I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking of selling it and getting a bike that was made AFTER I was born.

I tried using an OEM paper valve cover gasket. Leaked like hell, used a lot of Seal All, in the end it didn't do Jack.

Bought an overpriced RealGasket. Had problems with torquing, ended up ruining the gasket trying to fix the leak.

Tried using Hi-Temp Form-a-gasket. The stuff is way too thick and the engine surfaces are way too narrow to make a good seal. Tried it and ended up (surprise,surprise) it leaked again. It just got to the point where I smeared a coating of Form-a-gasket all over the seam where it leaks the most. It looks like the front of the engine is covered in red peanut butter. A complete disaster. And I found a new leak tonight.

I don't know what the hell to do. Do I even need a gasket? It's not like I make adjustments or anything.
 
I used the OEM paper gasket along with some Loctite 518 Gasket Maker. Torqued to spec with my Harbor Freight torque wrench and it sealed up just fine.
I use 518 on almost all gasket surfaces and I never get leaks with it.
I don't believe you can run without a gasket because the tach gear has to maintain a certain height from the exhaust camshaft that drives it. You would be too close without a gasket.
 
I'm reluctant to spend any more money on this problem because everything I end up doing to it doesn't help it at all. I don't want to resort to bringing it to the shop (goodbye $300+), but being recommended product after product, I don't know what to do. Everyone has their own methods of solving problems like this, yet none of them have worked for me.
 
could it be a exhaust gasket (the ring ones) that is leaking? I know when mine did I would see a bit of smoke coming up in front of the bike/ in front of the headlight.
 
paintmann111 said:
could it be a exhaust gasket (the ring ones) that is leaking? I know when mine did I would see a bit of smoke coming up in front of the bike/ in front of the headlight.
Click to expand...

See, I thought it might have been that back when I was first having these problems. Then the smell of burning oil and oil stains above the exhaust pipes quickly ruled that out.
 
Getting the valve cover to seal is EASY. There is absolutely no reason to resort to monkey motion like Seals All, Gasket Maker, Real Gaskets, ect.

Take the valve cover off and clean the gasket surface until it's spotless. There should be no chunks of old gasket, and hopefully no gouges in the aluminum surface. Do the same thing on the head side. I repeat, no chunks of old gasket at all. Once you have everything properly clean, use gasket sealer on the half moon pieces and glue them in place in the head (only coat the rounded surface). Take a clean fresh valve cover gasket and rub it down with a little oil and slap that bad boy on the head and install the valve cover. Install all the bolts and loosely seat all of them - do not tighten yet. After you have all the bolts installed, lightly seat the bolts working from the center - outward. You want to tighten the bolts in a couple of different increments - again, working from the inside out.

Do the job right and it won't leak. Half ass it and you will never get it right.
 
After the many gaskets you've tried, I seriously think you have a warped valve cover. If that's the case, nothing short of welding it on will keep it from leaking. You might try cleaning it thoroughly and laying it on a pane of glass and seeing if there are any gaps. If there are, time for a new valve cover and problem solved.

I would also take a straight edge to the mounting surface of the head and check that for any gaps. Quite possibly a PO got too vigorous with scraping the old gasket and gouged the head. I still think it's a warped cover, though. That could happen easily from overtorquing, heat, bad casting, any number of things.
 
I wouldn't be here if it was easy. Easy is a relative term. Like I mentioned before, I've tried everything. You guys make it seem so easy like a snap of the finger, but I've been working at this for the past 3 months using everything I know. I've cleaned it so much, the coating on the cover is coming off. I don't have half of the tools you guys have, and I don't want to buy tool after tool. The money I spend on tools could just go toward a new bike. This seems to be the only problem with the bike that's really major.

I've tried everything to the best of my ability, but this just seems unsolvable. I might just end up selling this POS.
 
Trust me, I know how you feel. After getting every part I needed to get my GS running, only to try to fire it up and find out the starter clutch was shattered nearly got her parted out.

All you need to check for a warped valve cover is a sheet of glass or other known true flat surface. If it's warped, you could probably pick up a used one cheap from someone here or Ebay, and problem solved. I had a water pump housing on a 5.0 Crown Vic do the same thing, and after yanking the glass door off of my nephew's stereo cabinet I found out the housing was warped. $20 at the junkyard + $5 for new gaskets and it was back on the road and the door was back on the cabinet. Glass is easiest to use because you can look underneath and spot any gaps pretty easily. And any piece of angle iron can be used as a straight edge on the block to check for trueness.
 
Hey, it's just a leaking valve cover??? There are problems that are MUCH more difficult to live with than that.
You say the bike runs well otherwise, so I don't see why you're ready to sell it.
Like others have mentioned, you could try a used valve cover from eBay.
Even if you can't resolve this one problem, so what? So you'll leak some oil and it'll burn on the pipes a bit. Just re-fill as needed. And yes, you can put sealant on the outside - Ugly, but effective in most cases. I'm guessing you've spent less than $1500 on this bike (including tools) - in that case you're WAY ahead of the game. Are you aware what a new bike of the same size goes for today? Astronomical!!!!
And yes, don't even think of bringing it to a "mechanic".
Now, if it's all about "looking cool" to you, then I guess you should get rid of the bike and spend a huge sum of money on a new bike. Our old bikes are hardly "cool" to anyone but us.
 
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nabrams said:
Hey, it's just a leaking valve cover??? There are problems that are MUCH more difficult to live with than that.
You say the bike runs well otherwise, so I don't see why you're ready to sell it.
Like others have mentioned, you could try a used valve cover from eBay.
Even if you can't resolve this one problem, so what? So you'll leak some oil and it'll burn on the pipes a bit. Just re-fill as needed. And yes, you can put sealant on the outside - Ugly, but effective in most cases. I'm guessing you've spent less than $1500 on this bike (including tools) - in that case you're WAY ahead of the game. Are you aware what a new bike of the same size goes for today? Astronomimical!!!!
And yes, don't even think of bringing it to a "mechanic".
Now, if it's all about "looking cool" to you, then I guess you should get rid of the bike and spend a huge sum of money on a new bike. Our old bikes are hardly "cool" to anyone but us.
Click to expand...


It's not about looking cool or anything, it's just been frustrating because I've had this problem for a few months, and to a lesser extent, since I got it. You would be ****ed to if your bike was sitting in the garage on the many nice days we've had this summer.

It just concerns me to have something like this leak. Burning oil to me says "not in good operating condition." Smelling that every time I come to a stop is a little disconcerting.
 
what the f

what the f

if GD means what i think it does you're askin for even more trouble....
 
Seriously Serious...This is what you need to expect when buying a 25+yr old bike. They aren't tanks. They are cooled by AIR, which as you might well imagine is not very efficient. Hence more modern bikes being watercooled. They warp over time, especially when not properly maintained or ridden with respect for the design. You really shouldnt get so crazy over it. I bought a 750 that runs, but needs a TON of work. Ive had a bit of trouble finding parts and what not for it, but ive never gotten discouraged by it. There are people all over the world that own and love these bikes, and most of them know where to get parts, just ask the guys and gals here. Everyone of us has problems here and there with them, but hardly any want to toss it in the dump. Hell my GS is sitting in the drive right now on this beautiful sunny day waiting on parts to arrive. Yeah it sucks, but it comes with the territory. I could go out and buy a "new" bike, but thats not what i want. I like these bikes, i like having to fiddle with them and tinker and cuss, thats part of the fun to me. When i get my GS done in its full cafe garb, what am i gonna do?? Ride the hell out of it, and buy another one to start on. I've already agreed to buy an 80 that needs a whole new head. Im not scared about it, i cant wait to tear into it. Just look at it this way, if you're going to own one of these, be fully prepared to accept the fact that you are going to have to work on it. Otherwise, go buy one with a warranty.
 
It's just frustrating to spend more time working on the bike than actually riding it. This is what I'm getting at and this is how it's been for the past few months. I am, at most, an amateur mechanic. Most of the stuff I know how to do on my bike came from either this site or the Clymer manual. FME, there isn't too much common sense involved when fixing these machines.

I'll try to give it another shot. I have a gasket on order and a valve cover on eBay that ends Thursday. Hopefully that isn't warped as well (seller said it was in good condish).
 
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