1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

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DJMac01
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1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#1 Post by DJMac01 » Mon Oct 10, 2016 6:32 am

First, thank you for this great forum and resource! I recently imported an RZV 500 from Japan to UK :grin: Its a very low mileage machine with under 2000 miles on the clock, so it's been sitting for many years, but purchased in good running order prior to shipping. Gave it a quick lube change and basic service. Fired it up, lots of 2T smoke, which I kind of expected. Rode it for about 4 miles - a very oily mix is blowing out of the exhaust tailpipes, coupled with a rather large blue cloud! Any advice on this symptom or efficient diagnostic approach is really welcome! Many thanks.

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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#2 Post by MK » Mon Oct 10, 2016 7:31 am

If it's all pipes equally, then don't worry.
That's normal.
Ride it and if it works fine, carefully raise engine load until you give it a full blast. After that you'll likely still have some oily remains on the tailpipes.

If it's for example the lower right one, then the crank seal blew and you're burning your gearbox oil. In that case the fog behind you is really thick!
Have seen that on a couple of bikes including my own especially when being stored for years. It seems that the stock crank seals get porous, loose their lips and don't sral anymore.
Bye
Martin

DJMac01
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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#3 Post by DJMac01 » Mon Oct 10, 2016 2:13 pm

Thanks Martin - really useful. On first run the oily spew was from all four tailpipes, but not equally. Front cylinder lower pipes considerably more than rear cylinder upper pipes. But, both front cylinder lower pipes spewed roughly equal amounts as did both rear cylinder upper pipes. Now I have given it a second blast for about 5 miles. Two lower pipes no change. But only one upper pipe is now spewing. At low revs no concerning smoke - but when given some hard throttle pretty thick smoke is abundant. Any other thoughts most welcome! Many thanks, Dom

MK
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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#4 Post by MK » Mon Oct 10, 2016 2:29 pm

Well the upper left pipe is connected to the upper right cylinder that can have similar gearbox-oil issues when the seal failed.

Con: Usually it takes more than 5 mls to get old residual oil out of the pipes.
If you want it faster, unmount them and heat up with a gas torch.
If after that the upper left pipe is still extremely oily, you're in dire straits ...

Also "some" remains of oil at the tailpipes is always present.
It's only missing when you have extremely well tuned carbs and do not ride like your granny.
Bye
Martin

DJMac01
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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#5 Post by DJMac01 » Mon Oct 10, 2016 2:47 pm

Sorry Martin - my last post was confusing to say the least. Three pipes are still spewing considerable oil in quite equal amounts (both lower and right hand upper pipes). But I think your advice would be the same as above, so I'll give it a longer run and see if it clears. Cheers, Dom

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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#6 Post by pstamper » Mon Oct 10, 2016 3:15 pm

You need to just pull the pipes and drain them. The oil check valves are most likely leaking. Install some inline ones and will help.. The silencer material should be replaced. Probably oils soaked and will stay that way till replaced. If I ride on the street much I replace every two years. My track bike will normally be replaced yearly depending on how much I use the bike.

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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#7 Post by silverstrom » Mon Oct 10, 2016 11:49 pm

My pipes puke oil if I ride hard. Ends up all over the back of the bike. It seems to be normal for the RZ500 as the oil pump setting is less than precise. I don't mind and don't worry about it. Too much is better than too little.

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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#8 Post by pstamper » Tue Oct 11, 2016 10:26 am

The oil spewing I feel comes mostly from the oil soaked silencer material that we never want to change. A lot of oil will lay in the pipes and then when we do run it hard it just is pushed into the silencer material like a sponge. Two stroke Motocross racers would change there packing every few races. Material is as important as to how tightly packed. My track bike might have very few small spots after an entire track weekend and I usually turn the pump up depending on temperature.

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Re: 1984 RZV 500 - oil spewing from tailpipes

#9 Post by silverstrom » Tue Oct 11, 2016 3:36 pm

pstamper wrote:The oil spewing I feel comes mostly from the oil soaked silencer material that we never want to change. A lot of oil will lay in the pipes and then when we do run it hard it just is pushed into the silencer material like a sponge. Two stroke Motocross racers would change there packing every few races. Material is as important as to how tightly packed. My track bike might have very few small spots after an entire track weekend and I usually turn the pump up depending on temperature.
I removed all of the pipes and silencers and cleaned them. Next ride the bike was covered in oil again. If I take it easy and just cruise around it's fine, but if I work the motor hard the rear of the bike is always oil soaked. It isn't a problem, but I do see how it could annoy some people.

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