Trouble at Times Square - Heat

[nychayabusa]

Took the busa out for several hours and ended up in Manhattan. It was Sat night so there was a lot of traffic all over the place and to top it off it was high 90's with what felt like 100% humidity. Rode down to the village and during all this I noticed the bike felt incredible hot and I noticed the guage climbing. I ended up shutting it off in the village and got something to eat - right before this trying to find a parking spot the bike would die at low RPM's and I would have to struggle to start it. After about an hour I'm riding back home and when I get to Time's Square I noticed when I blipped the throttle andit would settle to a low RPM the bike would die. It would be very hard to start but it would come alive after some effort. As I passed TS it died and wouldn't start so I was stuck in the middle of grid lock freaking out. Finally got it over and let it sit for a while. Gave it about a half hour and it started so i get the hell out of manhattan and started rolling so things were running fine. I'll add that when it was getting very hot I could see smoke coming out of the exhaust. (This worried me the most) Also during all the slow movement in the city I did have my high beam on.

It has been fine after that. I have put a couple hundred miles and even went back into the city and sat in heavy traffic/hot weather again but tried my best to keep the bike going. In the Lincoln Tunnel it was over 100 and the guage stayed half way and haven't seen smoke after that plus it still runs very strong.

The two things that concern me are:

1. Starting issues when very hot
2. Smoke coming out of exhaust.
3. I'm planning to get a turbo soon and don't know if I should now put my plans on hold on fears of having a sick motor.

A lot to take in but thanks for the help.. Bike is an 03 pumpkin with 1500 miles. Has sat for a while so I can't vouch for the battery condition.

 

[twotonevert]

What is the idle set at? An 03 with 1500 miles should not be hurt too bad, set your idle about 1200 and see if that helps it.

 

[Bosshound]

is this a GEN-1 or 2 ?

 

[nychayabusa]

If I remember correct idles at about 1000.

Its an 03.

Thanks

 

[05 Busa LE]

The manual calls for idle to be 1150 +/- 100. Mine's at 1100-1200.

Regarding the heat, others more knowledgeable than me will probably have the right diagnosis. But if the red light next to the temp gauge comes on, turn it off. Sounds like maybe there was an air pocket in the system, and by moving the bike back and forth, it make have made its way to the overflow tank.

White smoke from the exhaust is typically a damaged head gasket, since the water escapes into the cylinder and is vaporized. But it would never improve, so you're probably ok. I'd make sure you hear the fan kicking in just a tick about 1/2 way on the gauge. If so, you're probably good to go.

A turbo's gonna require maintenance. Good luck.

 

[Busacure]

Vapor lock in fuel system? maybe something to that effect from the heat soaking the engine with minimal air flow and high humidity+ambient temp. Don't know alot about that year. Fuel system or electronics would be my first guess if it was my bike. 1000 rpm might not be enough for the water pump to do it's thing. 1500 rpm might be exceeding the radiator/fan cooling capacity being stuck in stop n go traffic for that amount of time. Think of it as a lit fuse. A digital temp gauge on a $10,000+/- bike would be a nice touch

 

[rusheriv]

A '03 with 1500, damn, that's hardly broke-in! Was the bike serviced after coming out of storage?

+ 1 on idle adjustment. It sould be set around 1200. You'll see a noticable difference in how she comes off idle.

+1 on the air pocket in the cooling system. Definitely check that the radiator is topped off and that the overflow is at the proper level. Hell, you might want to drain, flush and start with fresh coolant (there's instructions posted in the how to). Maybe even add a wetting agent. I did mine and boy am I happy I did. Prior to flushing and adding new coolant the gage was always above mid, occasionally in the red in heavy traffic and once or twice the red light came on. I'm now running a coolant pre-mix with wetting agent and she's not once run a tick above mid.

As for the smoke it's hard to say. Black, white, billowing, small puffs or just a little exhaust vapor? Any particular smell to it? On start-up I'll get an occasional small puffs of light, barely noticeable white smoke, but it smells of fuel. I assume its just a slightly rich idle and don't pay any attention to it anymore.

 

[zukracer]

I run blue ice in mine and it made the world of difference with the heat. As for the other stuff, sounds like a battery since it happens when the bike gets low in the RPMs. If it was just the starting while hot, well I have a thread around here for that very issue as mine is currently having the same issue

 

[The Big Red One]

Does it have a tre on it? Mine gets stubborn starting in serious heat too, but I've never had it overheat, and no smoke. Just acts a little flooded.