[ron_9191]

I own a 2005 Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 4s which I brought brand new. But very recently it has started to act strange. Here are my list of problems.

1. Pathetic throttle response. (the bike used to be so much fun, but now its all gone all of a sudden.
2. Thick black smoke from the pipes if revved hard.

Is it because she is burning too rich or is it because of something else. elp!

[ashokrajagopal]

Examine the exhaust bent pipe for blackish blue marks. If yes, it is running too rich. Also check engine oil levels. Its always best to get it examined by a good mechanic or some experienced bulleteer.

[JayPrashanth]

Could be a case of overtly rich running or a bad oil seal. Could be the stem seals on the valves or the crank seals. I'm not too sure whether the 4S has the stem seals. The crank seals usually won't give way if you haven't overfilled the oil. The valve guides also might be worn out due to which your bull is consuming oil. Bad throttle response could be due to a too rich mixture. Check oil level and the plug. To see whether the guides are letting oil out, remove the bend pipe of the silencer and finger the guide. An oily finger indicates a bad guide. The carb should be removed to check the intake valve's guide. Go through these checks step by step. Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Jay

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by ashokrajagopal

Examine the exhaust bent pipe for blackish blue marks. If yes, it is running too rich. Also check engine oil levels. Its always best to get it examined by a good mechanic or some experienced bulleteer.

Ashok,

Isn't the blueing of the bend pipe due to overheating. Rich mixtures usually result in a golden coloring.

Cheers,

Jay

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Ashok,

Isn't the blueing of the bend pipe due to overheating. Rich mixtures usually result in a golden coloring.

Cheers,

Jay

And black smoke means rich mix IIRC.

[ashokrajagopal]

@Jay, now I am confused. I am not an experienced bulleteer, riding one for 3 months. And the bluish+rich mixture was told by a mechanic, who actually pointed out some example bikes too. BTW, almost all bullets I see daily(mine included) have a slightly golden coloring around the bend pipe and I was told its fine by the same guy. In his words it was sign that the engine is healthy.
I think I must take my bullet for a thorough checkup to my real mechanic. (Not the one who gave tips; my real mechanic is the best in town; but he did not give any tips :( (was too busy).

[GreaseMonk]

What does it mean when the bike starts smoking white after a stint of extremely spirited riding?

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

What does it mean when the bike starts smoking white after a stint of extremely spirited riding?

GreaseMonk,

Shot piston rings.

Cheers,

Jay

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by ashokrajagopal

@Jay, now I am confused. I am not an experienced bulleteer, riding one for 3 months. And the bluish+rich mixture was told by a mechanic, who actually pointed out some example bikes too. BTW, almost all bullets I see daily(mine included) have a slightly golden coloring around the bend pipe and I was told its fine by the same guy. In his words it was sign that the engine is healthy.
I think I must take my bullet for a thorough checkup to my real mechanic. (Not the one who gave tips; my real mechanic is the best in town; but he did not give any tips :( (was too busy).

Ashok,

See, mechs say the engine is healty because of the richer mixture which is apparent from the golden coloring. Also, you might find some mechs saying accumulation of carbon in the head is a sign of a healthy engine. Infact, a few mechs advise people to add some oil in the tank so that the engine runs cooler. . To my amusement, one mech told me that accumulation of carbon = smooth bullet. Too much carbon in the head(overtly rich) will cause hot spots in the engine which could result in pre-ignition.

Cheers,

Jay

[sudharma]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Ashok,

See, mechs say the engine is healty because of the richer mixture which is apparent from the golden coloring. Also, you might find some mechs saying accumulation of carbon in the head is a sign of a healthy engine. Infact, a few mechs advise people to add some oil in the tank so that the engine runs cooler. . To my amusement, one mech told me that accumulation of carbon = smooth bullet. Too much carbon in the head(overtly rich) will cause hot spots in the engine which could result in pre-ignition.

Cheers,

Jay

Black Smoke means only one thing - rich mixture.Blueish white smoke means you are burning oil, getting into the cylinder past the piston rings or through the valve guides. If you have perfect combustion, the deposits in your exhaust will be light browinish in colour.But I have seen the exhausts of a few super bikes, thereare clean as a whistle. No deposits at all !!.

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by sudharma

But I have seen the exhausts of a few super bikes, thereare clean as a whistle. No deposits at all !!.

Sudharma,

Can't it be a lean mixture?

Cheers,

Jay

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by ron_9191

I own a 2005 Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 4s which I brought brand new. But very recently it has started to act strange. Here are my list of problems.

1. Pathetic throttle response. (the bike used to be so much fun, but now its all gone all of a sudden.
2. Thick black smoke from the pipes if revved hard.

Thick black smoke is due to its running rich. If you havent done anything to the carb recently (like rejetting) to cause this prolly its due to flooding. Service your carb.

Originally Posted by GreaseMonk

What does it mean when the bike starts smoking white after a stint of extremely spirited riding?

Bike is drinking oil. Remove the plug and check it for wetness and carbon build up.

If it's white smoke during startup and on partial throttle and if the smoke almost disappears on open throttle spirited riding then your valve guides are shot. This will not happen if your Electra comes with stem seals. i forgot the model year when RE added stem seals to their CI engines.

If the bike is smoking blue al throughout its due to piston rings. You may need a bore ob or if you're lucky a change of rings would see you rolling.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by ron_9191

1. Pathetic throttle response. (the bike used to be so much fun, but now its all gone all of a sudden.

Loss of compression. Check rings.

2. Thick black smoke from the pipes if revved hard.

To all. Reading the above comments, isn't it possible to get black smoke if oil is entering the combustion chamber?

Is it because she is burning too rich

You know its running rich? How?

[ashokrajagopal]

Huh, just when I thought I had enough information to diagnose my bull's problems.
Guess I have to unlearn what I had got from mechs. Is there a thread/link about diagnostics ?? I know about Pete Snidal's book; had read a few pages, but its slightly above my head.

[ron_9191]

Hi everyone! thanks a lot for all your insights.

I followed everyone's instructions. to start off the bent pipe has no color difference at all. In fact all these years I have never had issues with the bent pipe turning bluish or golden color.

Which makes me think that the valve guides are kaput. but if they are then oil should start burning. Am I right? and the more it burns the oil level in the engine should go down. But this has been very consistent. coz I have a good habit of all my bad habits to check the engine oil level just for the heck of it every morning. :-)

This isolated my issue to the air fuel mixture.

@ Sudharma - I guess you are right, how do I get it down to an optimum mixture??

@ Sankar - I checked the plugs. They are dry and the color is greyish brown. What does that mean?

@ Spitfire, my bike burning rich was just a guess. Coz i was thinking may be a lot of black smoke may mean a lot of unburnt fuel, again may be :-)

@ Spitfire, how do you feel the lack of compression? how do you check for it?

Once again, thanks eveyone for your very very valuable inputs. I really appreciate it! :-)