Replacing Piston Rings

[NateTheNewb]

So I've got the back running good, but it likes to smoke when it's cold...quite a bit of smoke. Once it's warm there really isn't much smoke to speak of, if any, but I'm afraid I'm burning enough oil that it keeps me worried about it being too low. I've tried the Marvel Mystery Oil, both through the plugs directly to the pistons and through the gas. Is Sea Foam maybe a better product?

I can't imagine the smoke being caused by anything other than bad rings?
That being said, what sort of trouble am I getting into doing all that? I'm surprised not to have found much on the matter on here or BikeCliff's site.

Is this something I could do in a couple hours? I know It seems I'll have to work around the cam chain and re adjust the tension and all that?

Any advice, opinions, warnings are most welcome!

Thanks,

Nate the Newb...but feeling less and less like one.

[tkent02]

What color is the smoke? White? Blue? Black?

Does it smoke as much with a cold engine on a warm afternoon as it does on a cold morning?

[NateTheNewb]

Hey, I wouldn't say it smokes any more or less between cold mornings and warm afternoons, just if it's had ample time to cool. It's blue.

[tkent02]

How much oil does it actually use in 1000 miles?

[NateTheNewb]

I've not even ridden it that far. Only about 275 give or take, I've just topped it off. It's probably not burning it that bad. But it smells rich when it smokes but stops once warm. I'm certain it's the rings, I'm just curious if SeaFoam would work better than MMO or if I just need to change them, and if so, a good resource as to what to expect when I do.

[Nessism]

Do you have MMO in the gas tank? If so, that will cause the blue smoke. Nothing to worry about either way, at least for now. Ride your bike and monitor oil consumption. When it gets to quart in 1500 miles or so you may want to consider action.

[tkent02]

I'd say the first thing to do is to ride it, a lot.

[tbirdhd]

Hey , might be ring but sounds like leaking valve seals , but when apart go time to do it right and do it all , my 1000 only had 4500 on it when I got it few yrs ago so it sat for yrs seal were hard ,did same thing ,rebuilt top end runs like new

[loud et]

Btw.....there is Tons of info on your situation on Cliffs site.
It called the Factory Manual.

I rebuilt my engine right from that source. I'm sure you can too....IF it comes to that.
These old bikes are neglected for so long, they all have quirks.
As has been said, ride it a lot , do some basic maintenance ice: valves, carbs......and see where you end up with your smoke situation.

My 1100 and 650 both smoked......and they both stopped after maintenance and " breaking them back in" after all the sitting and tinkering from when owned by po's.

Great bikes. Easy to work on, hard to kill.
Good luck.

[barnbiketom]

RIDE IT

Check the oil

consider this: if it even does use a quart in , say, 1000 miles, then that is 4 bucks versus A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY TO REBUILD IT

[NateTheNewb]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I imagine that come winter I may just do the top end rebuild, but for now I'll ride the bejeez out of it....

What level change on the oil glass would constitute a quart?

Should I use Sea Foam via my sync manifold that came with my motion pro carb sync tool? Or would that just be overkill since I've used the MMO?

Are any of these sort of products ie lucas, MMO, SeaFoam...any better than the next?

Thanks,

Nate