Foam floating on oil...

ddd269

ddd269

Registered
Hello everyone... I was hoping some of you will chime in regarding the following issue with my 08 Hayabusa.

I was on a trip for about 10 days and left the bike covered. I live in an apartment complex with parking in the basement so the temperature is pretty steady in the 60's (F). When I started her up after the trip I saw white smoke coming from the front area and thought it was an electrical fire in the beginning but noticed that the smoke was coming from the motor area (manifold area, I think).

I rode it a bit to see if the smoke would be gone after a while and indeed disappeared. Not sure if it will come back but I couldn't see the smoke anymore after about 15min of riding. Previous to riding, I did notice (after 5 min of warming up) light foaming through the oil level window... maybe about 1/16" sized foams on top of the oil.

I've heard before that this can be caused by condensation of the cold surfaces getting hot but have never experienced it firsthand. To be honest, I don't think I ever looked at the oil level in between oil changes so I can't say I've seen this before.

White smoke + oil foaming... was it the 10 days I left it standing or is it something worse? :-(

I did ride it very hard right before I parked it before the trip.

Thanks for your thoughts guys!
 
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What kind of oil ?
If you used a auto oil and not a motorcycle specific oil it will foam up due to additives put in car oils .
 
Blanca Busa said:
What kind of oil ?
If you used a auto oil and not a motorcycle specific oil it will foam up due to additives put in car oils .
Click to expand...

I had it serviced by my local shop with motul (synthetic) about 2 month ago so I don't think is the oil type... or could it? Brand matter that much?

Thanks Blanca! You're always one of the first ones to answer.
 
Are you seeing oil through the glass with the motor running?
Posted via Mobile Device
 
I am more concerned with your description of the smoke coming from the manifold area than I am about your foaming concerns.

Riding it hard and then going to cold storage is a an easy set up for water vapor accumulating to a foam that will evaporate off after running a bit.

But smoke enough to be concerned of a fire...........from the area of the manifold??????? That does sound like it is possible that it was overfilled at the last change and it is foaming up enough to actually get sucked into the upper crankcase.
 
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TallTom said:
I am more concerned with your description of the smoke coming from the manifold area than I am about your foaming concerns.

Riding it hard and then going to cold storage is a an easy set up for water vapor accumulating to a foam that will evaporate off after running a bit.

But smoke enough to be concerned of a fire...........from the area of the manifold??????? That does sound like it is possible that it was overfilled at the last change and it is foaming up enough to actually get sucked into the upper crankcase.
Click to expand...

I mentioned fire because the smoke looked like smoke from electrical fire (like overheating wires and smoking). At the time, it kind of smelled like burning wires too. :laugh:

I took it in to my local Suzuki dealer today to have them take a look at the bike. Overfill was not an issue as I check after the last oil change.

The mechanic thinks that the oil filter might be the culprit for the smoke as it showed a bit of leakage at the o ring. I also found an oil puddle (apx. 10") when I got back under the bike. It's pretty dark there so I didn't see it until I pulled up after the ride. This is strange as it had never done that before the trip. Crap does happen I guess.

I gave the dealer the Brock's CT duals and PC5 that i just picked up in the States to install as well so I'll kill 2 birds with one stone. If it's just the oil filter then I'll be fine. It's the foam that concerns me now... I hope it was condensation like you mentioned
 
I'd be scared to leave the bike at a stealership that can't remember to tighten an oil filter.

The condensation is normal on the site bubble. It should go away after the engines warmed up. Now if you open the filler cap and see milky white or chocolate milk under the cap or in the case, you have major issues. It sounds like you've found the problem though. :thumbsup:
 
sounds like its overfilled with oil. 10" puddle of oil thats huge, i wouldnt even run it till its fixed.
 
Got it figured out guys... I found out the next day but I've been real busy so please excuse my late reply.

The smoke was from a faulty (read cheap) oil filter and was dripping on the manifold. My previous shop was skimping on oil filter! The foam was, like you guys mentioned, just vapor from warming up, I guess. Couldn't see it after it got hot.

So, just like most things, I was worried more than I should have been. I just didn't want anything bad happening to my busa.

Anyways, it was good that I went to the shop because I had the dealer install my new Brock's CT duals with PC5 and I installed the Scorpio rLink alarm, Run Trun Brake module and switchback with all LED bulbs. The shop manager was nice enough to let me do the work along side him and got lots of pointers on which wire was what. Saved me lots of time searching for the correct wires.

Anyways, it turned out well and got me to do the mods quickly. If I didn't do it then, God knows how long I would have procrastinated...
 
Glad you got it all worked out. I'd recommend the K&N model KN-138 oil filter. :thumbsup:
 
ddd269 said:
Got it figured out guys... I found out the next day but I've been real busy so please excuse my late reply.

The smoke was from a faulty (read cheap) oil filter and was dripping on the manifold. My previous shop was skimping on oil filter! The foam was, like you guys mentioned, just vapor from warming up, I guess. Couldn't see it after it got hot.
Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity, what oil filter was he using? or did he just forget to tighten the filter?
 
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CDN Outlaw said:
Just out of curiosity, what oil filter was he using? or did he just forget to tighten the filter?
Click to expand...
The service guy pulled out a filter with no brand name. It was just painted black and some part numbers on it. He said he has seen them before and they always come in with leaks. Generic bulk filters?
 
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