Smoking 84 honda trx

[Daveferrier]

I've got a beater 84 honda trx that instantly starts smoking and gets really hot  from it looks like the exhaust pipe coming out of the motor on the right side of the machine. When I fire it up it starts getting hot. Any suggestions would be awesome! Thanks so much

[Frank Angerano]

The smoking could be oil leaking in from the valve seals.   I don’t think that bike is water cooled correct? 

What color is the smoke?

Oil burn off is a light blueish color.  

Black smoke is a rich fuel condition and could be fixed by adjusting the carb and putting a fresh spark plug in.  Possibly checking that your spark is healthy as well.  Maybe a week ignition coil.  

White smoke is when you have coolant leaking into the cylinder head that burns off. This would usually be a leaking head gasket etc. This would also result in a hot running engine condition since you would loose coolant and have a low coolant condition. 

If it’s NOT liquid cooled I would check that the exhaust is not leaking at the point where the engine and exhaust pipe connect. There is a metal compression ring that goes in between the engine and exhaust pipe.  That could be bad and leaking exhaust.  

Then check that the exhaust is not blocked in anyway.  Take it off and make sure is clear.