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Wow, what's that smell??

J

jscottbrauer

New member
Went for my maiden cruise the other day and stopped for gas, no smell, stopped for a break with a friend because his hands were cold (should have heated grips) and my bike smelled like burning rubber. ????? Not extremely strong and not for a long time. The bike cooled down and the smell evaporated quickly. Anyone else experienced this. It wasn't my boots, I don't think it was the chaps either.

Puzzled

2010 RT
 
Smell

It could be your clutch. Were you doing any riding on hills where you had to start off, uphill from a stop sign, while making a left hand turn and perhaps slipped the clutch a little?

It happened to me on my R1200RT. Not so much a problem with the R1200R, since it is 92 lbs. lighter.

Bill
 
We're all guessing, so my guess is a drop or two of oil got on the hot exhaust system. Look for dark/burned spots on the catalytic converter under the transmission.
 
Was it your bike?
I know I have come across dozens of smells. Only to discover they were from some other source.
And dozens of noises, to discover the same.
For instance, riding along, and I hear this horrible scraping and grinding sound. Only to realize some old geezer in a 'vintage' Buick has come up beside me, trying to keep up.
Frequently a truck will lock a wheel when braking, and I can smell burning rubber.
One time, I could not escape the smell. More like burning plastic. Only to discover the fan shroud on my 800 had dropped onto the exhaust.
dc
Oh, and don't forget. Riding by some of the farms.
But on the other hand, riding by some of the orange groves during blossom time. Aah.
 
Is your friend a regular bather?

Rubber you say? Maybe an errant piece of tire rubber picked-up from the road is/was lodged against something hot. If it does not repeat itself then no worries.

How's that for SWAG?
 
And I notice a rubber smell the ride after I've ridden in the rain. I just figure it is road crude burning off of the exhaust.
 
My ST never had an oil smell and after the last oil change I did, I smell faint oil burning all the time when riding. I triple checked everything for correct torque settings and it's been going on for more then a few rides. I even crawled under and cleaned the whole bottom of the motor with a degreaser and water so it's like brand new, and still a faint smell. Has me stumped.
 
fastdogs2 said:
It could be your clutch. Were you doing any riding on hills where you had to start off, uphill from a stop sign, while making a left hand turn and perhaps slipped the clutch a little?

It happened to me on my R1200RT. Not so much a problem with the R1200R, since it is 92 lbs. lighter.

Bill
Click to expand...

Hey Bill,

I think I just slipped the clutch. My new to me 2010 rides great but I am still getting used to it. Compared to my previous bike 2008 Yamaha V-Star 1300, the RT is truly a dream to ride. Got to get used to the clutch. You barely pull the lever back and it is disengaged. My Yamaha wasn't quite so easy so I found myself on a couple of occasions rolling on the throttle and not engaging the clutch as of yet. That was learned very quickly.
 
Smell - Clutch

JScott,

I have owned three BMW bikes and they all have tall first gears, compared to other bikes. This tall gearting could cause you to slip the clutch. You learn to give it more throtlle in first gear, when starting off to compensate for the tall first gear, at least that's what I do.

Bill
 
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