After a ride my bike smells like rotten eggs or people say smells like sulfered. What can cause that exhaust to smell like that. One weekend I was riding in the rain and the next morning started the bike and see that water was leaking a hole on the bottom of the exhaust. Could that cause for the smell of rotten eggs. Let me know and advises thanks.
Rotten egg smells or sulfered smell
- Thread starter Anakai559
- Start date
Isn't that the catylic converter that makes the exhaust smell like that? Mine does not do that...hmmmmm?
Killer Banana
New Member
Aside from the smell, how is the bike running? How many miles are on it? When was it last serviced? That smell can be a sign of misfiring.
Stephenfz6r
New Member
The catalytic converter converts carbon monoxide into sulpher dioxide, when cold, the converter cannot do it's job and you will see a clear liquid coming out which is most likely very acidic. Once hot you should not smell anything. If it smells like rotten eggs when hot then there is a problem.
redwing-2001
New Member
don't California models have extra emissions control devices (catalytic converter that Stephenfz6r mentioned) that the rest of us probably don't have. A mal-functioning catalytic converter would smell like rotten eggs. Sounds like a trip to the dealer is in order.
All have the catalytic converter unless you've put an aftermarket on.
Did you clean and lube the chain? Not sure what the dealers put on it, but mine had some nasty lube and once it slings on the exhaust, it's awful smelling. First thing I did was clean all of it off and lube it with the dupont teflon.
Did you clean and lube the chain? Not sure what the dealers put on it, but mine had some nasty lube and once it slings on the exhaust, it's awful smelling. First thing I did was clean all of it off and lube it with the dupont teflon.
Nothing is wrong with your bike. A quick check of google found me this :
The rotten egg smell means that the catalytic converter is working properly.
"It's (the smell) hydrogen sulfide or H2S. It does not exist in the fuel or oil, which is why you can't smell it at the gas station. It does, however, come from the gasoline. Almost all gasoline contains organic sulfur compounds with sulfur levels ranging from 30 to 100 parts per million, approximately.
"As the fuel burns, the organic sulfur compounds break down into simpler compounds. If the engine is running lean (more air than is needed to burn the fuel), the sulfur is likely to be SO2, or sulfur dioxide. The catalytic converter can change this into SO3 (sulfur trioxide), which then reacts with the catalyst to form sulfates on the catalyst. Over several minutes there is a build up of sulfates. If the engine suddenly starts to run rich (not enough air to burn all the fuel), such as when you stop at a red light, climb a steep hill, or brake hard to slow down, the chemistry changes. Now the sulfates are unstable and they react to form hydrogen sulfide, which is expelled from the exhaust pipe all at once. The high concentration is the reason for the bad smell! This effect is a common problem with new vehicles because the catalyst is working at a very high efficiency. However, as the catalyst gets older, the activity drops. Fortunately for us, one of the first reactions to be affected is the formation of hydrogen sulfide. So as the catalyst gets older, the smell will go away. It should also be noted that many catalysts never smell bad. One reason might be because the vehicle doesn't run lean for much of the time, or perhaps the catalyst has an extra component that reduces the production of hydrogen sulfide.
"Next time Eggbert and Shelley stop behind a vehicle that smells bad, they can be grateful that it's at least not contributing much to atmospheric pollution."
Thanks to this month's Whizard, Dr. Gordon Bartley, a senior research scientist in the Emissions Research Department of the Automotive Products and Emissions Research Division. Bartley specializes in the development, aging, and evaluation of vehicle emission catalysts.
You might try a different brand of fuel or octane as some of the articles I read while googling spoke about that...Tell me 1) how many miles on the bike 2) Do you run the engine at high RPM low load or Low RPM high load 3) Lots of short trips and shut offs start ups?
My self personally I've smelt the cats during warm-up in the driveway but thats to be expected. I guess I've always known what they smell like so never gave it a second thought. If you continue to smell exhaust sulfur even after everything heats up you might have a tune up issue...plugs or injectors or something out of wack...but more than likely everything is normal.
As for water coming out your exhaust...thats normal too. I think if I remember correctly there is a drain hole in the bottom of the muffler. Water is a normal by-product of combustion and until the bike's exhuast warms up to a temp high enough the water comes out as a liquid, through the drain hole or just plain out the tail pipe. Once the system heats up the water is still coming out just in its less understood and sometimes mysterious form...Vapor
Last edited:
redwing-2001
New Member
yes, of courese.
what I was getting at is that possibly the extra emissions devices required in California was malfunctioning with everything else.
Superfly had the best answer, though.
elishatarvin
New Member
if u are going to be out of pocket anything at all( u shouldnt be but ya never know when it comes to dealerships), i would take it somewhere to get a second opinion. that just seems strange to me that it is already "going bad". if no charge whatsoever, then rock on :rockon: