Went out to my bike today and figured I would stick the battery back in and fire it up and let it run for a half hour or so. Get the juices flowing again.
When it cranked over, white smoke started coming from the bottom right side of the air filter. I put my nose up to it and it smelled of gas. It never actually ran, just turned over.

Anyone have any ideas of what the heck this could be?

The bike has been out in the uninsulated garage/shed all winter. It's +4 C today so I figured it would be mild enough to fire it up.

I've been a little on edge ever since this happened this morning. The last thing I want is my pride and joy out of commission when the first mild spring days comes around.

Thanks,

Ryan

 

sounds like the fuel/air mix coming out the filter. did it happen right away? or did you crank on it for quite awhile?

 

It did it right away. I pressed the start button for maybe 5 seconds, then let go. After that I didn't try again. The smoke billowed out of it for 30 secs or so then it stopped

 

Sounds like fuel fog to me. Sometimes if they won't fire the vapour is expelled back into the breather if the engine rotates backwards and the intake valve opens. That's harmless, but the better question is why there was no spark to make it run? Check the plug to see if they are wet. Dry them off, turn the engine a few times with the starter and then reinstall plugs. Try starting again. I've seen plugs wet themselves with moisture in certain conditions and refuse to fire. If you are lucky, this is what happened here. +4c is in the ballpark.
Ron

 

Thanks Ron. It probably would have fired up but it freaked me out to bad for me to keep going until she did fire.
Maybe I will go back now and give it a try and see if she fires. Hopefully nothing else goes wrong.
Where I am storing it lets in a lot of moisture and in turn gets on my bike. Not a good place at all for it to be and next year she'll be going to the H-D dealership!!