Pre season maintenance

[Wormys_Dad]

Decided to go through some maintenance on the Voyager this weekend, ended up being pretty time consuming. Changed spark plugs (ngk iridium), changed brake pads and upgraded brake lines, rerouted some wiring, drained and flush cooling system (made a real mess there), changed rear tire (michelin)changed oil and filter, changed final drive lube(6 Oz. bel ray hypoid).... when I started the old girl up after it has set for a couple of months, it smoked quite a bit for a couple of minutes. It was left with a tank full of seafoam doctored gas when parked for winter. Is this normal??? Quit smoking after a minute or so, everything seems normal after initial start. Started it again this evening and seems fine. Any thoughts?

[triton28]

Sounds as though you might have an enjoyable reliable riding season after all that PM being done.
The presence of elevated amounts of Seafoam in the gas will cause some visible blue/grayish exhaust coloration upon startup but as you noted that has cleared up. It depends how much was added per gallon of gas for the amount of startup smoke, as any gas in the cylinder/s would have evaporated and the oily Seafoam would be the remnant fuel charge being burnt upon startup.
Also the valve stem seals being 20 years old, unless you can confirm otherwise, will allow small amounts of the engine oil to enter one or more of the inlet ports during layup. This happens even overnight during "riding season" use of the engine but to a much much lesser amount so it is barely noticeable, if noticeable at all. As well with regular usage the stem seals tend to soften up a bit and work more closely as intended.
Unless of course if the seals are no longer pliable or are worn out in which case the smoking would be noticeable at every startup and also when opening the throttle after a long downhill coast with the throttle closed.
Layup of an engine brings all sort of unexplained thumps and smoke screens etc upon first starting after the layup period and so long as nothing persists I wouldn't worry about a smoky startup.
But, that's just my general experience and others may have a more specific insight to offer,
Dave

[Wormys_Dad]

Thank you for the explanation... makes sense since it was just at start up. I'm not really going to worry about it too much as long as it comes out of it in a minute or so.

[SgtSlag]

Same experiences, here. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool SeaFoam user. Been using it to mothball motorcycles since 2006, three different bikes. I use it in my gas cans, year-round. That way I never need to mothball any small engines in my garages, as they always have treated gasoline in their tanks. Only thing I do at the end of their season, is to top them off in the tank.

I would say that your bike is ready for a long, enjoyable riding season. Mine is still hibernating: ice on the roads, sub-zero (-4 F) temperatures, today, in tropical Minnesota. Sure could use some of that Global Warming... Cheers!

[cushman eagle]

Same experiences, here. I'm a dyed-in-the-wool SeaFoam user. Been using it to mothball motorcycles since 2006, three different bikes. I use it in my gas cans, year-round. That way I never need to mothball any small engines in my garages, as they always have treated gasoline in their tanks. Only thing I do at the end of their season, is to top them off in the tank.

I would say that your bike is ready for a long, enjoyable riding season. Mine is still hibernating: ice on the roads, sub-zero (-4 F) temperatures, today, in tropical Minnesota. Sure could use some of that Global Warming... Cheers!

I hear you, SgtSlag,on the global warming.
It is a rare winter that I am off my bike for over 2 months due to severe winters.

[Wormys_Dad]

It got up to upper 50s here in central Illinois Saturday and Sunday, but by Tuesday was around 20 and today we were blessed with more sleet and snow. Just plain crazy weather. But at least now I am ready for the occasional warmer day and can take advantage of it.