Topic: How does your bike smell?

[KingCustomCycles.com]

Wives are easy to come by, clean vintage Honda's not so much.  Smells like money, and grinding dust.

[Lil Red]

Well, I just got into a CB400f (See:Barn Find Thread) and posted a comment on the smell of the bike and it seemingly volcanic heat output...attributing it to burning of patina and perhaps varnish...it had sat dry of gas but full of oil since 1985...but speaking of smell memory....it took me back to a CL175 I rode a while in my teens when they were pretty new...And I felt more comfortable about it all after that...and with everything now being watercooled I guess there's just a big difference...Old VW's I had would lend a distinct smell to the garage....now the 400 does too...my wife noted the smell but made no negative comments about it...just that it's distinct from the 79 Guzzi which is also aircooled but has it's own distinct aroma...perhaps due to it being a dry clutch with a seperate gear oil filled tranny....

[BobbyR]

Lay some newspaper under that whole section from the cylinders to the back of the engine. Let it sit overnight or longer. Look for stains or smell it, if you have a mild gas leak the paper will catch it and you can smell it. If it does not and you have the gas smell, it is venting which happens when it is warm in garage. 

[xsmooth69x]

fresh cut roses on an open meadow

also excellence 

[Don R]

Gordon got it on his first post. If I leave my petcock on I know when I open the garage door. There is no puddle or stain on the engine but I can smell the fuel.

[robdrobd]

There was a pretty strong smell coming from around the gas cap. I think I will replace the cap gasket and see if it helps a little.

[zackblack]

Mine smells like napalm when I start it up...

...could be the straight pipes that make it smell that way 

[mrbreeze]

I just got a new to me 74' K tank last month and while it didn't leak on the floor....It did stink up the garage where the hot water heater lives I ordered new petcock gaskets from Service Honda....installed them and all is well. I make it a point to turn my valve off but it will still run through if your gaskets/seals are bad.

[Stev-o]

My wife also complained about gas one day, my project K4 had leaked gas and the fumes made it inside from the attached garage. I also don't  start the bikes in the garage.

I don't understand why guys don't park there cars in the garage? There is no way I am parking my G35 outside!

[bjatwood]

I definitely think there is something to the venting when the bikes is warm and slowly cooling down. The morning after a ride I can smell the bike. The next mornning if I haven't rode the bike le smell is gone, no more Pepe le Pew 

[robdrobd]

My truck goes in when snow flies and the bike gets put in storage for about 5 1/2 months. Syracuse winters are pretty rough. Ride until October if lucky, maybe get it back out in late April.

[Gordon]

My truck goes in when snow flies and the bike gets put in storage for about 5 1/2 months. Syracuse winters are pretty rough. Ride until October if lucky, maybe get it back out in late April.

That's perfect, then!  Half of the year the bike gets the garage, and the other bad weather half of the year the car gets the garage.

[TrueSpin]

My bike smells like violence.


In all reality, it smells like a 30+ year old Japanese hunk of crap. It reminds me of the hot transmission smell my old RX7s used to have.