Water in the exhaust

[97tiger885]

I am now road testing the '97 885  after having installed an oil pressure gauge,  redoing the  clutch master cylinder,  replacing the seals in the water pump and putting an extra shut-off valve between the petcock and the carbs.

After 5 miles, the oil gauge seems fine.  

I had some nasty clutch slip and discovered it does matter how the piston rod (which connects the clutch handle to the piston) is installed.  One end of the rod is straight; the other end is round.  Round end goes towards the reservoir.

The mc is running poorly on start up.  I suspect fuel starvation due to the extra length and kinking of the hose.  I will remove the shut-off valve and extra line tomorrow.  The extra valve was a temporary measure to keep the carbs from flooding because of fuel seeping past the valve of the petcock.  

The water pump seals seem to be working.  There was one moment of abject dispair when I first started the mc (after about a month in an unheated space with temps ranging from 25F to 50F).  Liquid started dripping in two places...from the exhaust pipe under the pump and from the center of the cross-over exhaust pipe.  I looked everywhere for the leak...not the pump. not the water pipe/pump connection, not the upper hose connections,  not the coolant reservoir overflow and not from the small diameter hose which connects the water pipe and the reservoir.  Then I noticed the liquid was clear.  It was water, which had condensed inside the exhaust, leaking from exhaust joints.  Tightening the bolt at the crossover eliminated that leak.  Tightening the bolt connecting the crossover to the downpipe did not eliminate all of the leak at that joint.  I will need to do something there eventually.

Two questions.   There was quite a bit of water leaking.  Is a large amount of water condensing in the exhaust pipes normal?  Has this amount increased because of the use of 10% ethanol?  How do I tell if the vapor/smoke blowing out the exhausts at start up is oil smoke or water vapor?  I was assuming it was from the rings wearing, but now I am not so sure.  The right stops "smoking" before the left which makes sense if it is water vapor as the mc leans left on the side stand and so would collect more water in the left exhaust pipe.

[rf9rider]

Stick your hand over the exhaust outlet, look at whats left on your hand, soon tell if its water or oil!
I`d tend to leave the exhaust clamps, as it drains the water, you don`t want water left in there, that will rot the pipes eventually, thats the reason i start my bike regularly when its standing over the winter months.

[JetdocX]

And I'll put my .02 in:  Your cab flooding issue is not a fuel cock issue.  replace the carb float valves and seats.  Those are what keep the engine from flooding.  Your fuel cock is simply a backup in case one of the three valves gets stuck open.

[Mustang]

And I'll put my .02 in:  Your cab flooding issue is not a fuel cock issue.  replace the carb float valves and seats.  Those are what keep the engine from flooding.  Your fuel cock is simply a backup in case one of the three valves gets stuck open.

and if they are mikunis which I believe they are ........the common problem is
the orings on the float assembly rot and let fuel by at an alarming rate

[97tiger885]

Stick your hand over the exhaust outlet, look at whats left on your hand, soon tell if its water or oil!

That's easy enough.

I"d tend to leave the exhaust clamps, as it drains the water, you don`t want water left in there, that will rot the pipes eventually, thats the reason i start my bike regularly when its standing over the winter months.

The mc gets ridden every day that doesn't have ice during the Winter; so, the water usually gets vaporized and blown out on a regular basis.  The mc was down so long because I was waiting on two different orders from BikeBandit.

And I'll put my .02 in: Your cab flooding issue is not a fuel cock issue. replace the carb float valves and seats. Those are what keep the engine from flooding. Your fuel cock is simply a backup in case one of the three valves gets stuck open.

and if they are mikunis which I believe they are ........the common problem is
the orings on the float assembly rot and let fuel by at an alarming rate.

They are Mikunis.  Looks like a carb rehab is in order in the near future.  I'm done fussing for the moment...too cold.  I will make that a summer/fall project.