Year: 2005
Model:s40
Modifications:
Rejetted to the recommendations in post here
Dyna muffler
Petcock changed
Carb cleaned

Problem: Three of the last 15 times I started the bike there was oil smoke for about 30 seconds. I thought it was the Petcock so I replaced that with the raptor 550. Thought that had solved it, but it happened again yesterday.  I did change the oil 2moths ago with the Suzuki synthetic.

Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Justin

yeah, suzuki syn is crap for our bikes.  
you'll need to add a healthy dose of zddp.


smoke is coming from... where?

How long after the oil change did it start smoking?  Is the crank case overfilled? Checked with the bike in the upright position and with enough time for the oil to settle?  Overfilled and it could pass the rings until they heat and expand.  It could be a valve seal letting the oil run down the valve guide into the exhaust port.  The oil would burn off at start up until the guide and valve heat up and reduce the clearance.  What color is the smoke?  White is water, blue is oil, and black is fuel.

Ill try to answer everything:

I'm leaning toward thinking it's a valve seal on the exhaust valve.
-- I thought about this myself. It may be due to the previous owner not adjusting something correctly.  I was thinking they may have tried to gap the cam and did not leave enough space for the valve to close.  It is a 2005 with ~ 8K miles on it and has never had anything done to it by me.  I am not sure if possibly something needs services.



you'll need to add a healthy dose of zddp
-- I am not sure what ZDDP is, but I will look into it.  I saw the oil wars on here any left that forum area none the wiser.


Before you go chasing phantoms... I'd study the situation...
Is it humid or damp?,.... hot or cold?,... hours or days?,...
Look for some consistency...
--So far, i have not found a consistency.  The bike is stored outside covered.  I have had it happen if I let it sit for a week or a few days.  Not going well in NE PA for riding this year.


How long after the oil change did it start smoking?
--I changed the oil about 3 month ago when it started to warm up.  The smoking is within the last month.
Is the crank case overfilled?
--I will tomorrow before I go to work.
Checked with the bike in the upright position and with enough time for the oil to settle?
-- Will do

What color is the smoke?
-- The smoke is light blue and smells of burning oil. I lasts for about 30 seconds, but holding my hand in the exhaust for a few seconds after the smoke clears does nto smell of oil anymore.

At this point I am almost afraid to drive it for fear of the engine seizing or burning a valve.  Forgot to mention, it does backfire now and again when slowing down.  Almost always backfires when I shut it off.  Another reason I was thinking maladjusted exhaust valve.  I paid $1500 for it as a first bike.  I would not want to sink $1000 into it rebuilding the engine.  Since it is my first bike and I had to convince the accountant ( wife ) of the purchase it will nearly be impossible to replace.

JutMan wrote on 07/23/14 at 19:41:16:

If the oil lever is good I wouldn't be afraid to ride it. There are dozens of threads on here that cover the backfiring when letting off the throttle and the bang when you shut down. It seems to be the nature of the beast. Those can be controlled to some extent with a little carb work. I just pull the choke before I turn off the key so it doesn't sound like a shotgun going off.

The general consensus on here seems to be that Shell Rotella T or T6 or the synth version is a valid choice. I'm like you, thinking that oil designed for motorcycles should be safer than oil designed for diesel engines. But I switched to Rotella anyway and it seems to be doing fine.

As far as taking the bike to the dealer, that was one of the main reasons I bought the S40, so I could work on it myself. This site is a fantastic resource for that.

JutMan wrote on 07/23/14 at 19:46:19:

If the petcock was leaking and it leaked into the air filter, then the float valve was leaking too.  maybe not enough to be a problem while running but shows age and about to get worse.

What petcock did you change to?

Quote:

I'm not sure what he meant either, but sometimes the float valve is referred to as a needle valve which I addressed earlier.

"What color is the smoke?
-- The smoke is light blue and smells of burning oil. I lasts for about 30 seconds, but holding my hand in the exhaust for a few seconds after the smoke clears does nto smell of oil anymore."

This tells a lot.  There is only two common ways to burn oil. First is passing by the rings and the second is seepage from the valve guides.  Now that you know it's oil burning by color and smell you can eliminate a Loy of potential causes.  You can forget about the carb, pet com, chain tensioner, etc.  Also, it has nothing to do with the valve adjustment either.  If the exhaust valve wasn't closing, the bike isn't going to run.  I haven't looked to see what kind of valve seals our bikes use. But you will need to valve springs to install it.  Most guys will tell you you have to take the head off to do this, you don't.  If you have a compression tester you put an air hose to it on the compression stroke of the engine (make sure the bike in in gear). This will keep the valve tight against the seat so that you can remove the springs and change the seal.  If you don't hand a compression tester you can make the tool with an old spark plug (you have to break the porcelain out of it)

You want rotella T or T6

an the model raptor is the 660.  I'd order it by the part number listed in the tech section post.

As long as the filter is fresh, I don't think you need to change it.