Smoke from exhaust ports

I recently replaced the valve cover gasket, cam end plugs, and o-rings/plug for tach cable. I also removed the exhaust and replaced the copper gaskets inside the ports. I got everything reassembled and fired it up. It sounds better than it ran before, however there is white smoke coming from the exhaust where it hooks into the engine. There is no smoke coming from the end of the exhaust, and the engine does not "pop" when I shut it off (signifying it is overheated).

Any thoughts as to what is causing this smoke? It doesn't just go away after a few minutes, and when I was riding it before working on it, it would continue to smoke at stop lights.

One thing to note: I've discovered a small oil leak in the bearings o-ring behind the clutch cover. Could it be that the engine is just thirsty for oil? I recently changed the oil and put in 3 qts, but I don't think the oil leak is enough to fill an 8 oz cup over the course of a week.

Should also add I pulled a spark plug and it looked good and in line with the manual specs.

Any help is appreciated. This is pretty much the last thing keeping me from trusting this thing to get me around town!

I'd pull the exhaust, and see if there is a carbon build up, or old copper crush washers or parts of them left in the ports.Check the pipes mating surface for the ports, looking for gaps, or uneven surfaces.

I'm wondering if a leaky tach cable seal is causing the oil burning smoke too.

above ur exhaust looks a darker color than the rest of the motor, could be oil seepage from the valve cover hitting the exhaust causing the smoke

DigitalRider wrote: I recently replaced ... o-rings/plug for tach cable....

Does this mean the stock tach drive (housing and shaft) has been replaced with a plug which eliminates the tach drive?

Good Fortune!

Thanks for the replies so far. To clarify, the stock tach drive is still in there, I just replaced the o-ring that seals where the tach screws into the engine. There's also a black rubber "plug" in the tach drive that I replaced.
I checked the exhaust ports thoroughly for grime or deposits before putting the exhaust back on. The old copper gaskets came out in one piece, so no chance of something like that. My next step is going to be washing the top part of the engine to clear away any oil. Hopefully this will clear up whether or not it isn't just oil that is burning. It wouldn't be a head gasket, would it???

With tach drive cable detached, there should be no oil leakage at the tach drive unit in the head.

Where oil leakage appears in vicinity of the tach drive unit in the head, it is usually due to a failed o'ring or seal. Z1E carries both very inexpensive items.

The o'ring fits around the tach drive housing to prevent oil from escaping around the tach housing.

The seal fits inside the tach housing where the seal surrounds the tach drive shaft and prevents oil from escaping along the shaft as the shaft spins inside the housing.

Where the tach drive shaft seal is leaking and allowing oil to escape through the seal, it may be possible to contain the escaping oil within the tach drive cable sheath by assuring a leak-free connection where the cable attaches to the tach housing. And while this may temporarily contain the escaped oil inside the cable instead of being allowed to drip onto the engine, it doesn't resolve the leaking seal issue.

Good Fortune!

so ur saying u reused the old exhaust gaskets ???/

if the smoking persists , try to retighten the bolts but do not break them.
It is common to have to retorque the bolts, as the gaskets compress more,after a few rides.
If that doesn’t help, i would remove the header and look at the gaskets. look to see if the black soot is passing around the gasket somewhere. If it is, try new gaskets, or double gaskets. Z1e has dif gaskets avail from dif bikes, that r thicker. This is another option.

No, I used new exhaust gaskets from Z1.

Thanks again to the suggestions. It's actually quelling my fears that something may be wrong internally, even though there wasn't any knocking or other sounds that would make me think that. Anyways, tomorrow I'm replacing the o-ring to the clutch bearing cover(not sure if that's what it's called, it's behind the clutch cover next to the front sprocket). Anyways, gonna replace the o-ring because it is causing a slow oil leak. Then I'll reassemble and start figuring this out.

I'll keep everyone up to date so you know your suggestions aren't in vane!

So, I realized I didn't provide an update. Basically nothing was wrong. I discovered that the smoking was oil that seemed to have dripped on to the exhaust when I had to let out some oil (I overfilled). Some degreaser, a good washing and no more smoke.