"Can you tell us a little bit about your bike and any work you've done to it?"
First off I mistyped in the title. It is registered as a 72 but if I order certain parts (like the reproduction seat) that are for a 72 they don't exactly fit. I had to modify the seat a bit to get it right. When I looked at the 71 seat it was a match. The bike was made in 71 per the tag but registered as a 72. So I really think its a 71 leftover and sold as a 72. Work I've done; Pamco electronic ignition, had the carbs synced and timing set last season. Took the bowls and needles off last week and they are spotless. Pulled the bowl and screen off the petcock and also spotless. Other than little cosmetics here and there, changing oil (which it is due for), drive chain, brake pads, etc. no other work done. As far as I can tell it is bone stock except the K&N reuseable air filter I put in.
How long have you had it? How many miles are on it?
I believe I acquired the bike in 2005 and it had 13000 miles on it. Now its at just over 19000 miles.
Have you cleaned your carbs or checked the float heights or done a sync?
When I took the bike in for service last year I paid to have the carbs cleaned, synced and adjusted. Probably only put 500 miles or less on it since then. I supposed he did the float heights at that time. But no I have not checked the actual float heights. When I pulled the bowls I pulled the floats and needles and they were all spotless and needles moved freely and I submerged the floats and could not detect any leaks.
remove the oil fill dipstick and smell inside. You may have fuel leaking into your crank case and thinning the oil. That will thin the oil enough to blow by the rings and have a very strong fuel smell. Are you turning your petcock to the off position when the bike is not in use?
Now that you mention it... What prompted me to check on the bike this weekend is the fact that a couple of weeks ago I took it out for a ride. While at a friend's I cranked it and let it idle because it was running slightly rough on the way over. That is when I noticed the smoke and smell. When I went to my bike this weekend I stood it up off the kick stand to move it and a noticeable amount of gas came from the overflow hoses. This baffled me a bit. Then I noticed I had put the petcock in the reserve mode instead of off. I bet I had inadvertently been doing this for a while. DOH! I checked my dipstick the same day I was checking it out and now I remember the oil was a bit high but I figured maybe it was from me standing it up. I bet I have dumped fuel into the crankcase by leaving the fuel on reserve. Now I have thinned oil getting past the rings and this the oil smoke and the rich smell.
I'm out of town until Saturday but I will smell the dipstick. Bet its gasoline smelling. I'll change the oil and I bet it clears up. I'll post back. Thanks for posting. This got my head on straight I believe.
