After winter bike.. Needs some help

[LIMagna]

I think you're on the right track.  Do the compression test and take it from there.  The head gasket looks like a fair amount of work to get at.  I don't think I've seen it come up as a problem in any of the Magna forums but there are far more experienced Magna mechanics out there and hopefully they'll be able to better advise you should it be necessary to take this to the next level. 

Good luck and let us know how things go.

[roboto65]

From my experience with Magnas 3rd gens like yours I would have to say that I have never heard of a head gasket going on one they are just that reliable heck the valves for the most part don,t need adjusting till well into the bikes life the white smoke you saw was probably moisture left over from the last run nothing to worry about. 

In extreme cold weather heck in cold weather at all coolant may leak out heck every year my tug boat I work on the main engines if shutdown for a time in cold weather will leak water just the metal retracting and the rubber does not.

I say when you get the chance put some seafoam in her and ride her hard and put her up wet and repeat for the rest of the riding season for you and keep the chain lubed and full of gas and don,t worry about it.

[tedkraus]

You think its just going to resolve it self when the bike is run hard for an extended period of time?

Also I think a good thing is in the coolant department, after running the bike yesterday and letting the coolant cool and contract. I cannot see a visible change in the coolant level.  I am just nervous I will completely ruin my bike if I run it too far and something else is messed up inside? I should say, I cannot afford another motorcycle at this time....

EDIT #1 Well it looks like it is going to be over 50F today, so I guess I should get her out for a good spin!

EDIT #2 Maybe this is obvious but since the compression was good enough for the bike to run strong yesterday (at least around the block) can I rule out things like a cracked engine block? or Cracked Cylinder?

[dgc67]

IMO if you have run it and there in still no coolant in the oil then take if or a ride.  Allen is most likely right, it just needs a good thorough heating up.  If there is a head gasket issue and coolant is going into the cylinder it is not going to damage anything right away, or at all really.  It just is not good.  run it and monitor everything.

[roboto65]

Now I have never dealt with a deep freeze like you   I allI am saying is that unless the water or coolant in your bike totally froze then you may have a problem.

Good News: As previously mentioned, I did the plugs and fresh gas yesterday. The result of this work= a fast an easy start when I tried today, despite a 32F ambient temperature. I ran the bike for 10-20 minutes and it felt strong I road it around the block no stalling.  Where antifreeze was leaking outside the engine at the water pipe elbows did settle in and stop leaking nearly immediately

This tells me you are fine do you need to keep an eye on the coolant yes  you may have to change some Orings but if they stop leaking then they may have been dryed out a little or the metal around them shrank and allowed the fitting to leak as you said once it warmed up it stopped leaking.

The 3rd Gens are for the most part bulletproof but we tend to love our bikes and listen for the slightest thing and worry to much Honda got it right when they made the Magna and Valkyrie  

The things that go wrong are the Regulator Rectifer and mostly the 94s the Front and mostly the front timing chain tensioner and the carbs do not like to sit as you have found out   but a little Seafoam will cure that most of the time if not well add more Seafoam LOL

I do understand your concern about not being able to afford another I am with you on that one and I have a Valkyrie and it is my only mode of transport if it dies my wife will lose HER truck I do not own another car I ride thats it..

[tedkraus]

Good News! I road the bike 20 miles today, no more smoke from exhaust after 3-5 minutes. The weather is also nice today 50F+, where yesterday was only 32F when I got it running. I checked the coolant after my ride and the level in the overflow tank was the same as previous, the oil level did not rise more than a slight amount probably just from normal oil expansion, and looked good on the dipstick.  The bike felt great and really pulled hard, probably the new spark plugs? I am going to keep an eye on the plugs for soot build up like on the last ones, and possibly move the needle clips in my carbs. Since I just spent about $100 on plugs, oil, filter, gas & seafoam I am going to wait a little before replacing the coolant till I have more money, than I will put in the honda brand coolant and replace the drain bolts and gaskets as suggested in service manual.  I am going to keep a close eye on things just to be certain but, I think I am in the clear for now at least!! Thanks for the great info!

[roboto65]

Glad it worked out and she is running good 

[tedkraus]

Well I road 60 more miles and it is still running good. Hopefully it keeps up!

[LIMagna]

Glad to hear it!  Certainly better than tearing the engine apart.  I guess we can add "self-healing" to the list of attributes for this engine