the fj11 drips oil on hot parts causing smoke when i ride

[mtc]

it's not all the time, but every time i take the bike out, seems like it coming from the front, maybe oil hitting the front part of the headers, but i don't see no oil residue

it make a cloud of smoke and i want to stop it, does anyone know if this is common?

[Pat Conlon]

Find out where the oil is coming from, then we can tell you how to fix it.

[mtc]

Find out where the oil is coming from, then we can tell you how to fix it.

gotta look again, i got to be more a detective on this one

[TexasDave]

Check the top of your cylinder head cover for oil. There are eight bolts each with an oil seal. These degrade because of engine heat. These are available from RPM. Two of my FJ's had your problem. It's an easy fix. Old bike with old seals and an older rider.

Dave

[ryanschoebel]

A couple of guys tried helping me with an oil leak on my 85. This was their advice. Give the engine a good cleaning, get all the old, gooped up oil off. Then take and spray the engine with an aresol deodorant. The powder kind, that will stick to the engine. Once done, ride for a bit, and look for path that the oil will have cut through the powder, as its leaking. Cheap, and effective. It didnt work for me, because my leak was on the back of the engine, where i couldn't get powder.

[Sparky84]

it make a cloud of smoke and i want to stop it, does anyone know if this is common?

You're not smoking the back wheel up are you?

[Bill_Rockoff]

These bikes run pretty hot up top. Valve cover gasket gets brittle and quits sealing, and so do the grommets for the valve cover bolts. New valve cover gasket and grommets will probably solve it. You want to be careful with the valve cover bolts, they take very little torque to tighten properly (inch-lbs, not ft-lbs) and they're shouldered, so making them tighter doesn't compress the grommets any more, it just snaps the bolt.

You'll want to pull the tank to take a good look in there and see if it's just the bolts, or if it's leaking at the valve cover gasket. If you have to pull the valve cover to replace the gasket, you should check the valve clearances while the cover is off.

[mtc]

it make a cloud of smoke and i want to stop it, does anyone know if this is common?

You're not smoking the back wheel up are you?

i don't ride that well

[mtc]

These bikes run pretty hot up top. Valve cover gasket gets brittle and quits sealing, and so do the grommets for the valve cover bolts. New valve cover gasket and grommets will probably solve it. You want to be careful with the valve cover bolts, they take very little torque to tighten properly (inch-lbs, not ft-lbs) and they're shouldered, so making them tighter doesn't compress the grommets any more, it just snaps the bolt.

You'll want to pull the tank to take a good look in there and see if it's just the bolts, or if it's leaking at the valve cover gasket. If you have to pull the valve cover to replace the gasket, you should check the valve clearances while the cover is off.

motor sounds healthy and noisy top end, like i read which is preferable,..... mission creep

pain in the A, i kinda looked around, maybe i should just get the gasket but do the grommets leak?

how hard is it to check lash?

[FJmonkey]

how hard is it to check lash?

The shim check/adjustment is not too challenging. If I could get a Sat or Sun off I could bring my shim kit and carb balancer. If you are not in a hurry to do the adjustment then just get the gasket and bolt grommets. Easy to install with the tank off. They are good for many years and many valve adjustments.

[mtc]

how hard is it to check lash?

The shim check/adjustment is not too challenging. If I could get a Sat or Sun off I could bring my shim kit and carb balancer. If you are not in a hurry to do the adjustment then just get the gasket and bolt grommets. Easy to install with the tank off. They are good for many years and many valve adjustments.

i am in so pasadena/ alhambra area, i ordered the gasket from ebay, china ( i know don't judge me) so when it get's here... i am down for it, can someone source budget grommets, this is a hobby i don't what to get out of hand financially
you are generous with your time, we could talk about that

[balky1]

https://www.biketeile-service.de/Yamaha-FJ-1100-21399/en/engine/valvecover/

I have these installed for a couple of years.

[mtc]

https://www.biketeile-service.de/Yamaha-FJ-1100-21399/en/engine/valvecover/

I have these installed for a couple of years.

thanks found a set on ebay

[RPM - Robert]

Did you try these guys? RPM in stock and to you in socal in a day or two.

[Bill_Rockoff]

Checking the lash is easy. (You just have to rotate the crank until the cams are pointing away from the valves for that cylinder, try to slip different-thickness feeler gauges in each one until you find the size that slips between the cam and the shim, and that's your clearance. You can check four valves for that cylinder, then rotate and check the four valves on the next cylinder, then the next one, then the next one.)

Changing the shims, if needed(*), is a bit more involved, because you have to rotate the crank until the cams are pointing *toward* (and pressing down on) the valves, and then you have to bolt the Valve Adjustment Tool into place to hold that valve down, then you rotate the crank some more to get the cam out of the way while the Valve Adjustment Tool holds the valve down. This gives you room to pop the shim out and slip a new one in there.

(*) There are 16 valves. Most of the times I've checked, I've needed to change zero of them. A few times, I've found one or two that needed to be changed, and only a couple of times did I find three or four that needed to be changed.

Either way, a new valve cover gasket and a new set of valve cover bolt grommets should keep the oil from leaking onto the cylinder head and exhaust pipes, and then your bike won't mimic a barbeque grill at stoplights.

Good luck.

- Bill