Exhaust issue.

So, I have a 1979 kz750 twin that has been bobbed. I bought it that way. I haven't done any work to it myself thus far. I have only owned it for about a month now. It has pod filters and the exhaust has been made into a 2 into 1 setup that runs down the right side.

Each time I ride, I come home smelling awful of exhaust fumes. I figured that his had to be some kind of carburetor issue, and that I would need to re-balance them and tune them.

Upon further investigation, and shear dread of removing the gas tank, I noticed that there was a bit of smoke coming out of the area near where the right side exhaust connects to the motor. The pipe is wrapped in heat tape so I am not sure if there is a leak around the connection to the motor causing the tape to heat up and smoke or if the right side of the motor is just running hot compared to the left and is therefore causing the heat tape to smoke as the exhaust comes out into the pipe.

The heat tape has turned brown and there are some brown marks around the area where the exhaust pipe connects to the motor as well,(pics below) so my thoughts are that the connection is no good, but I am new at this whole motorcycle maintenance thing, so I could be wrong.

My main question is, what kind of mess would I be getting myself into by loosening the connection for the exhaust on the bike to try to troubleshoot it? Is the pipe ususally welded to the connector or is there some kind of metal gasket system?

Thanks for reading. I hope that this makes enough sense. Any help would be greatly appreciated, especially if that help comes with pictures of what I should do.

Please keep in mind that I live in a condo building with a shared parking garage, in which I have one space that is just long enough for my car and my bike behind it...ie I dont have a lot of room to work, and its actually against the condo rules so I have to be careful not to spill anything or make too much noise.

I could probably work on it at work when I am working weekends or nights, but I am new so I dont want to start taking those chances quite yet.

If I should just cut my losses and find a mechanic please do not hesitate to tell me just that. I hate to do it, but I will if I have to.





And on another note...what is the threaded hole for that is just above the exhaust connection in the pictures?

AJ, the threaded hole is the mechanical tach cable connection location.
The brown on the exhaust wrap is oil that has dripped from this hole. The oil is what is smoking and causing the smell you are getting.



No need to take the exhaust off.
Let me check tommorow, I think I have an old tach cable that can be modified as a plug for that hole to stop the leak. Once stopped the oil on the wrap will burn away and stop smelling. The dis-coloration will stay.

Jim

Rainman wrote: AJ, the threaded hole is the mechanical tach cable connection location.
The brown on the exhaust wrap is oil that has dripped from this hole. The oil is what is smoking and causing the smell you are getting.

No need to take the exhaust off.
Let me check tommorow, I think I have an old tach cable that can be modified as a plug for that hole to stop the leak. Once stopped the oil on the wrap will burn away and stop smelling. The dis-coloration will stay.

Jim

Jim,

Thank you so much. That is a huge relief to find out.

AJ, this is the end of a tach cable that is plugged.





Screw it in, tighten, leak over.
I see from another post you are looking for a tach and cable.
If you want this instead, drop me a PM with an address and I will send it to you.
Jim