81 GS1100 Smoking engine and crankcase cover after getting back from shop.

[Guest]

So I just had my head and base gaskets replaced at a shop, and when I got the bike back, all seemed fine. I've taken a couple short rides since then with no issues...was running great. It was running great again this evening, but right as I was putting it back into my storage unit, I noticed smoke coming from a dent in the crankcase cover. In the picture, it's that bigger of the two dents. That dent's been there for as long as I've owned the bike and I've never noticed that. I assumed it was just cosmetic, and certainly not deep enough to cause a smoke leak. So, then I roll the bike into the storage unit and I notice the whole engine is smoking. White smoke, and the odor wasn't excessive. It seemed to mostly come from the RH side of the engine, which also felt hotter.



Is this some issue I can now fix on my own, or potentially a mistake made at the shop? Is the crankcase cover as simple as just replacing it? Thanks in advance!

[Doug]

May I suggest you call the repair shop and see what they say about it.

Is there the same smoke coming out of the exhaust? Could it be oil that dripped into the pipes under the motor as a result of the repair work?

Are the dents in the cover actual holes through the casting? You could patch the holes from the inside with epoxy though that won't cure the smoking problem.

[mnferwerda]

I believe that is just a plate, so very unlikely there is a hole there. Could be some oil got in between the plate and the cover, and that is smoking. If so, that will eventually burn off.

[obxGS1100]

Thanks guys. There was a fair amount of oil on the engine from the original head gasket leak that I didn't fully clean off...probably is just the rest of that burning off. I initially got worried since I just got the thing out of the shop haha, but thanks for the reassurances.