strange smell

[pooker]

Hello, is there any way to tell if your clutch is burning? I smell a strong odour on the left side of the bike? It smells like the odour you smell when riding through the mountains from the big trucks!
So,.......is it the clutch? Can I check it in any way?
Thanks

[Ridefree]

Are you sure it's coming from your bike ? I've been there and have never found anything. If it is coming from the left then I would look for anything leaking down the cylinders ( oil , antifreeze ) past the chrome cover. Is there anything on the ground when it's parked for awhile ?
Also I might remove the left side cover and look at your electrical connections. The two connectors that plug into your rec/reg have a tendency to overheat and melt.

Just a couple of thing I would look for !!
Not entirely sure if it could be your clutch , someone will probably chime in with help on that.

Hope you find it !!!

[pooker]

Nothing leaking, just the smell. Its not an electrical smell, more like a brake smell!

[VulcanE]

Your clutch is a "wet clutch", meaning the plates and all, are in oil. So if your smelling the clutch plates burning, that means your out of oil, and the motor would probably lock up before the plates would burn up. I would say that what your smelling is something else, check your calipers to make sure one is not sticking.

[Bud2rat]

what VulcanE said. I'd start looking into the brake calipers.

[pooker]

Originally Posted by VulcanE

Your clutch is a "wet clutch", meaning the plates and all, are in oil. So if your smelling the clutch plates burning, that means your out of oil, and the motor would probably lock up before the plates would burn up. I would say that what your smelling is something else, check your calipers to make sure one is not sticking.

I'll look into that.
Thanks

[ringadingh]

Are you sure its not an anti freeze leak, and the stuff is burning off on the motor.
The hoses that are under the tank, coming off the cylinder heads are known to seep once in a while.

[JayJay]

I had a "burning" smell on mine but it was coming from the rear it wasn't very strong but none the less I could still smell it , I lifted the rear tire and cleaned the rotor with brake clean and the smell was gone and that was in yhe spring time.

[cnc]

What Cliff says check your calipers. If they are sticking you would get that burning brake smell. Ride up a slight incline like a sloped driveway come to a stop braking firmly. Then release the brakes, if you start to roll back then they are not sticking.
Also you might try looking at the rear brake hose. When my bike was new I would get this plastic- rubber burning smell during long hot rides. I found the rear brake hose had an extra cheap piece of plastic covering over it where it passed by the oil filter. It was actually touching the filter and was all melted. Clearly not heat proof. I wrapped it in a bit of aspestos, and never smelt the smell again.

[pooker]

It's not antifreeze or plastic!
I will check the brakes out tomorrow!
Thanks

[pooker]

Okay, I found it, electrical fire!!!!
A bunch of yellow wires that have an orange cap on the end has melted! I have no idea what it is for!
Here are some picks
Can I just cut the wires and rejoin them?

[pooker]

[pooker]

[tonik]

That is the connector for pretty much all the grounds on the bike, they all come back to there. I have seen this several times, including on my bike. You can replace the wiring harness...if you have a valid extended warranty Kawasaki will do it, that is how mine was handled.

I also believe you can replace that part....just figure a way to tie all those wires together, make some sort of buss connection.

The common belief is that it gets really hot there and corroded and that is why it fails.

[TX1700]

I would use a better buss bar for the grounds, and run heavier gauge wire to the frame, from the buss bar.