Burnt toast?

[Turk74]

This week I have been noticing my exhaust smells like burnt toast. I have a 04' R with about 15,000 miles on it. Two things that have recently changed that possibly(?) have caused this. 1) I just switch to synthetic oil a few weeks ago. 2) I rode in the rain earlier this week. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I've examined the bike up and down for anything burning on the hot engine/exhaust but haven't found anything. Nothing in the air filter box either. At first I thought something might have crawled in my muffler like a mouse so I took it off today and rode without it...I still smelled the burnt toast coming from the exhaust. Thanks in advance for any advice someone can give.

Turk

[Beemeridian]

4563

[Turk74]

Nope, I haven't. Other people can smell it too.

[wsmac1150r]

I have noticed the same thing, but not on every ride...I could'nt pin it down either, so I figured it was normal (bugs, road tar, etc.).

[johno]

I get the same thing, and I believe it is bugs, and road grime.
I use Syn oil and it is not that.

[toner87]

Come on guys, there's a good joke in this thread just waiting to be born!

[boxermania]

Turk74......hey that is cute one.....let me giveit a try.

First I'm going to rule out any out of body experience while you are riding as the source.....the Synt Oil is not either.

What clued me is the rain......and here is what I think.

Somtimes when we gas up we fail to close the gas cap fully, we notice sometime later because of the gas fumes that scape the seal.....well, I maintain that this condition as present when you drove in the rain and allowed some rain to creep into the tank, creating this odor.

One way to prove my hypothesis is to lean the bike as much as possible to the right and then go ridding. If when you come to a stop the bike kills and upon starting it won't idle that's the problem. Go ahead and give it additional gas and she will run OK, except for the idle.....just continue to run until you run the water throught the engine.

Let me know if I'm right.......I'm sure it will mean a lot to you and me.

[towerworker]

I will offer my own experience with my r. At 12K I switched to synthetic in the gearbox and final drive. At around 18 to 20K I noticed a burning smell when I got off the bike. Can't say it smelled like burnt toast exactly but it was unlike any odor I had noticed to that point. After noticing the smell for a couple of weeks and looking for a leak and not seeing any I finally noticed a very slight amount of smoke coming off of the cat converter, Also started noticing some staining it it as well. Oil from the gearbox was very slowly leaking out of the output shaft seal on the transmission and dripping down on the cat converter and burning. It got steadily worse till I had it repaired under warranty. (btw- my bike was 4 months out of warranty when the dealer covered it)

Now I don't know if the leak was caused by the switch to synthetic or not. I had heard once of leaks coming about after switching. Just a thought,

Wayne

[m49512]

Have you checked for skid marks?

[Turk74]

Boxermainia - I have noticed that it isn't idleing as smooth, and it even died on me once when I was slightly leaning over to the right trying to look at anything burning off the exhaust. I'll try the leaning trick today...however I don't know if it will still work as I just filled up the tank yesterday.

towerworker - I'll check for the leak you're talking about. I don't think it's leaking though...I've been going over every inch of this bike looking for something like that.

m49512 - I did have some spicy Mexican the other night...maybe that's it?

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

[R4R&R]

Come on guys, there's a good joke in this thread just waiting to be born!

OK, here goes.

Was the toast wheat or white?

[Boxer]

Was the toast wheat or white?

I knew that was coming. I'm just glad you said it before me.

[NoRRmad]

I did a little Google search on "burnt toast smell." Seems to me I'd heard about this particular smell sometime before.

From:

http://facilities.csusb.edu/Departments/TimTips.asp

Burnt-toast smell: Smoldering wires in the electrical system emit an acrid smell, like badly burnt toast.

(Other hits indicated a stroke or epileptic seizure.)

[CycleRob]

Look at what the front wheel has thrown onto the catbox or front crossover pipe. It could even be a glop of burnt tar, rubber or plastic. Also, look for wires that may have fallen out of their restraints and are touching the catbox.
It'll prolly be something obvious like a discarded piece of bread in there.

[DJ Downunder]

I sometimes smell rotten eggs.

DJ

[Bry]

Sure you haven't just fried the clutch slightly?


Bry

[Rog(UK) - Yorkshire Dales]

DJ. We're talking about smells from the bike. You're incorrigible!

Ride safely,

Rog

[boxermania]

DJ.....need to fill up with petrol.....topping up with spirits, while at the motorbike races, will work but will give that rotten egg smell.....

[Turk74]

Just a quick update. Rode this morning and am still getting the burnt toast smell. I tried leaning the bike to the right to see if it would die and it didn't. I do know the smell is coming directly from the exhaust, which still leads me to think it is the fuel or something else burning in the engine. I might try chaning the oil for the heck of it.

Turk

[Turk74]

Took it to the dealer at lunch, they though it might be a bad catalytic converter. I might try taking the cat off tonight to see if I still get the smell. Does anyone know if it will still run okay with the can/cat off? How loud will it be?