98 CBR 900RR started smoking today, help!

[2isbetterthan4]

So I had to ride my bike into work last night (the wife had to be at the BRC early this morning so she needed the car) and I thought I would be in the clear as far as weather was concerned because the news was saying it wasn't supposed to rain or snow until this afternoon. Well, as you guys all probably know, that was not the case! The ride home at 7:30am, in the snow really sucked, which was only made worse by the fact my bike started having an issue with the engine or some other component smoking about halfway home. I thought I smelled electrical fire/smoke but thought it was the car ahead of me. When I came to a stop though I realized that it seemed to be coming from right under the forks (ignition maybe?) or from the radiator. The bike rode fine until I got it home and I didn't notice any problems with performance, or the electrical system for the ride. Also, I have been riding this bike almost everyday since the beginning of March and have never noticed anything like this until today.

I guess my question/s would be; could the weather cause something like this or would this most likely be a coincidence? Could leaving the bike outside at work in the rain/snow cause the electrical system to short out and start smoking? Or do any of you bike gurus have any other suggestions on what may have been going on, burning oil or coolant, etc? I have let it dry out all day today and will go ahead and start it up when I get home tomorrow morning to see if it is still doing this...

I really appreciate any and all help!

Tyler

[TinkerinWstuff]

the bike should be weather proof and rains/snow "shouldn't" affect it.

Could be coincidence or could very well be an electrical problem. Honda had a lot of weak electrical harnesses and R/Rs around that vintage.

[MetaLord 9]

Gonna go with the dumb easy answer here, you sure it wasn't steam & other road crap cooking off the headers since there was a lot of wet slush fly'n around?

[TinkerinWstuff]

Gonna go with the dumb easy answer here, you sure it wasn't steam & other road crap cooking off the headers since there was a lot of wet slush fly'n around?

good call but I'm usually considered a conservative and therefor prefer doom and gloom.

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Have you tried "The Patch"? :)

All kidding aside, did it SMELL like plastic or whatever burning? Or, did it just smell hot and wet, like snow got into the radiator? On my old '86 I wrapped the header in Thermo-Tech fiberglass wrap, and riding in the rain, it'd get wet and at a stoplight it'd produce a pretty good cloud of steam as the pipes burned off the water in the wrap.

[brennahm]

I'm going with steam like everyone else, but a check of the reg/rec wouldn't hurt.

[2isbetterthan4]

Have you tried "The Patch"? :).....



:pointlaugh:.... Nope but I'm sure the wife would appreciate it!

I really appreciate all the help and input from you guys. It did end up being something small and easy to fix. When I got home from work this morning I pulled the front fairing to get a better look at the wires and radiator to see if there was any sign of something burning. I discovered that one of the bolts holding the radiator in place had fallen out. There was a rubber bushing on the radiator that was resting on the header, therefore causing the smoking and burning smell. I threw a bolt in there and problem solved! I love it when it ends up being a simple fix... I was starting to get worried! hahahaha

Thanks again guys!