New '12 Hayabusa overheating and smoking

[siege]

Hi guys,

So today I was riding the busa to work, which is about 20 miles of mostly highway riding. It's a 2012, new, with ~900 miles. It just had its first service three weeks ago, and is stock except for the promotional Yoshi slip-ons. So, when I pulled into the parking garage today and was backing into my spot, I noticed that the temp needle was pinned in the red and there was smoke coming from under the instrument panel (it fogged the windshield and gauges). Naturally I went "oh ****, oh ****" and shut it down, which stopped the smoking; turning it back on a minute later brought it right back. Unfortunately I didn't see if it was having heat issues on the highway as it was raining a fair amount and I was just concentrating on driving.

The dealer closed before I could call them and no dealer in the area is open tomorrow. Obviously this is a brand new stock bike that has a problem (that they should fix), but is there anything obvious I can check in the meantime? For what it's worth, I've had no fluid leaks (garage-parked so I'd notice pretty quickly), had no issues at my first service, and the oil levels were fine the last time I looked (but I'll check again). I couldn't easily determine how to check the coolant resevoir without disassembling things.

Sigh... brand new bike breaking on me.

 

[sixpack577]

Don't touch it!
Anything you do to it the dealer can use to put the blame on you.

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

Back up to 'it just had its first service' and explain.

Who did it?
Did you check oil level when you picked it up?
Things come to my mind.

The dealer did it and ether didn't put enough oil in it or left drain plug a bit loose and some leaked out.
The smoke tells me they probably let the oil drain all over the header and that's where your smoke and steamy gauges came from. The temp needle pegged would worry me more.
Check oil level in site window with bike level and let us know. It should be right up to the top of it or just barely under it.

 

[twotonevert]

I am assuming everything was fine until you had it serviced. Like, DO3 said, check the oil pan plug and then check the coolant level.

 

[siege]

Back up to 'it just had its first service' and explain.

Who did it?
Did you check oil level when you picked it up?
Things come to my mind.

The dealer did it and ether didn't put enough oil in it or left drain plug a bit loose and some leaked out.
The smoke tells me they probably let the oil drain all over the header and that's where your smoke and steamy gauges came from. The temp needle pegged would worry me more.
Check oil level in site window with bike level and let us know. It should be right up to the top of it or just barely under it.

The service was performed by a local motorcycle shop, not the dealership. I didn't check the oil level, but I haven't noticed any leaks on my garage floor and I've ridden over 200 miles since the service before having the issue. I'm going to check the oil level in a minute and report back.

 

[siege]

OK, update:

Oil levels are normal and still no leaks that I can discern. The oil looks honey-colored. However, I can't see any coolant in the resevoir. I took a picture in case I'm just blind:

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/kv79lusjpymsvjv/PtLKYUPnSF

I turned the key on and everything spun up normally...except that the temp gauge was still maxed out even after several hours (about 65*F outside for reference). When I put the kickstand up, the needle went back to normal (e.g. full cold). Kickstand down, full hot. Kickstand up, full cold. Totally repeatable. I'm guessing the heat damaged the switch. I went ahead and started it and it seemed to idle fine (no smoke) although I didn't let it sit long enough to heat up, about 30 seconds. The kickstand cutoff still works despite the temp gauge problem.

Any thoughts? I appreciate all the feedback so far. Hopefully the shop can get me in on Monday and it's not anything serious...

 

[ky busa]

keep us posted

 

[Blanca BusaLess]

It looks to me like the coolant is just above the full line.

Ok, if the temp shown in gauge actually represents temp of bike it should have felt and smelled noticeably hotter than normal. Your butt, feet and thighs would have told you something was wrong before the gauge did if the bike was so hot it was pegging the gauge. I know you said it was raining but still did you notice anything? Or just see the gauge when coming to a stop?

Oil level good, right?
Coolant in overflow looks to me like its there?
And unless you say your nuts were cooking I'm thinking its a gauge fault.

Either way it's best not to start it until the shop has a chance to look at it.

 

[siege]

It looks to me like the coolant is just above the full line.

Ok, if the temp shown in gauge actually represents temp of bike it should have felt and smelled noticeably hotter than normal. Your butt, feet and thighs would have told you something was wrong before the gauge did if the bike was so hot it was pegging the gauge. I know you said it was raining but still did you notice anything? Or just see the gauge when coming to a stop?

Oil level good, right?
Coolant in overflow looks to me like its there?
And unless you say your nuts were cooking I'm thinking its a gauge fault.

Either way it's best not to start it until the shop has a chance to look at it.

I can't say for sure about the heat because I was in full rain gear so already pretty hot and damp.

I sure hope it's just a gauge fault. You think the smoke is just from the wiring frying?

 

[BigBusaB]

I just purchased the exact same bike yeasr and color with the exact same yoshi exhaust. You can bet I will be following this thread very closely. Please keep us updated.

 

[mikbusa]

I turned the key on and everything spun up normally...except that the temp gauge was still maxed out even after several hours (about 65*F outside for reference). When I put the kickstand up, the needle went back to normal (e.g. full cold). Kickstand down, full hot. Kickstand up, full cold. Totally repeatable. I'm guessing the heat damaged the switch. I went ahead and started it and it seemed to idle fine (no smoke) although I didn't let it sit long enough to heat up, about 30 seconds. The kickstand cutoff still works despite the temp gauge problem.

Perfectly normal, I have the same bike, behaves exactly the same way.

Are you sure you saw smoke, or was it steam from the rain water on your rad?

I'm wondering if it was overheating at all.

 

[dadofthree]

Take it to the dealer

 

[siege]

Perfectly normal, I have the same bike, behaves exactly the same way.

Are you sure you saw smoke, or was it steam from the rain water on your rad?

I'm wondering if it was overheating at all.

That's definitely not normal. It didn't do it before yesterday, why would it suddenly start doing it if it were intended behavior? I can't imagine what kind of design would cause it to be normal for the temp gauge to sit at max until the kickstand is raised. Also, it now won't start with the stand down when it would before without a problem. Some kind of electrical gremlin exists for sure.

I can't say for sure if it was overheating, but it was definitely gray smoke. I smelled it and saw it clearly. Why would the rad start steaming at that point anyways? After 20 miles in the rain if it was going to steam you'd think it would have happened constantly instead of all of a sudden. I've never had a motorcycle suddenly and profusely start steaming only when parking while also simultaneously experiencing a new electrical problem.

It's going to the dealer tomorrow morning; we'll see what they say.

 

[Boosted Cycle Perf]

That is normal. It does the same thing when you hit the kill switch. I don't have any gen 2s in my shop right now, or I would make a video and show you. My gen 1 does did it when the kick stand switch wasn't bypassed.

Seeing as you rode it in the rain I'm willing to bet its excess water dripping down on to the rad, and it happened after you hit the kill switch so then gauge went up, and when the bike went over on the stand is when the water dripped on the rad. Anytime I've ever been caught in the rain by bike has done the same thing. Steams and fogs the windshield.

I'm willing to bet that if you pull the bike out, start it and let it idle ( without raining) it won't steam or overheat.

 

[Flicka]

That is normal. It does the same thing when you hit the kill switch. I don't have any gen 2s in my shop right now, or I would make a video and show you. My gen 1 does did it when the kick stand switch wasn't bypassed.

Seeing as you rode it in the rain I'm willing to bet its excess water dripping down on to the rad, and it happened after you hit the kill switch so then gauge went up, and when the bike went over on the stand is when the water dripped on the rad. Anytime I've ever been caught in the rain by bike has done the same thing. Steams and fogs the windshield.

I'm willing to bet that if you pull the bike out, start it and let it idle ( without raining) it won't steam or overheat.

+1

You just saved me the trouble of typing it... I'm betting on this.

 

[Boosted Cycle Perf]

+1

You just saved me the trouble of typing it... I'm betting on this.

Lol I just thought about doing some $20 pay pal bets after I posted.

 

[siege]

That is normal. It does the same thing when you hit the kill switch. I don't have any gen 2s in my shop right now, or I would make a video and show you. My gen 1 does did it when the kick stand switch wasn't bypassed.

Seeing as you rode it in the rain I'm willing to bet its excess water dripping down on to the rad, and it happened after you hit the kill switch so then gauge went up, and when the bike went over on the stand is when the water dripped on the rad. Anytime I've ever been caught in the rain by bike has done the same thing. Steams and fogs the windshield.

I'm willing to bet that if you pull the bike out, start it and let it idle ( without raining) it won't steam or overheat.

Sorry man, I wish it were that simple, but the bike was upright and running when this happened: first gear, clutch in, backing up into my parking space.

 

[twotonevert]

Let us know what you find, I am curious.

 

[Flicka]

Sorry man, I wish it were that simple, but the bike was upright and running when this happened: first gear, clutch in, backing up into my parking space.

Well that's no good. Good luck getting it worked out.

 

[siege]

Just a quick update: the dealer didn't find anything wrong yet except for the gauge/sidestand switch at first glance, but I didn't have 3 days to leave it there for them to pull it apart further at the time. It's going back in for that deeper dive next week so hopefully the electrical gets sorted. Doesn't seem to be an engine/mechanical issue.