Burning oil is scary smell

[jayman87]

I don’t like reading long post so I’ll give you the main points and you can read the back story if you want. I took my bike on the highway with about a thimble’s worth of coolant in it. As soon as I got off the highway the bike over heated and stalled. When I found out it had so little coolant in it I was amazed it made it that long. I heard a rattling sound coming from the engine and was afraid I screwed up the valve adjustment last week. When I opened it up, the cams and valves looked fine but I could smell burnt oil. The sound was probably the CCT. Tomorrow I'm going to check my bearings. I'll of course be researching the effects of overheating, but any input on what I should be looking for would be appreciated.

Back Story

A friend needed help with his computer. He lives about 40 miles away so I took a highway to see him. I didn't notice any trouble on the highway, but the second red light after my exit the bike stalled. When I put the kickstand down I noticed coolant leaking from the water pump cover where the pipe from the radiator connects. That's when I the realized the cooling fan wasn't running and the thermostat was in the red. I let the bike cool and checked the coolant reservoir. It was a little above the low line. Since the leak had stopped on its own I figured the leak was caused by the overheat and the overheat was caused by no cooling fan after the highway. I got to my friend's ok, getting home is the concern now.

I stopped at an AutoZone and picked up some Water Wetter and added it to the reservoir. I have the newer blue coolant and they only sold the older green. I hear that shouldn't mix them and I didn't need a gallon which was all they sold. With my reservoir topped off I head home keeping my wheel speed as high as I can for more airflow and engine speed as low as I can for less heat (and stay in the right lane). With about a quarter of the way to go I start hearing a rattling sound. I immediate think of the valve adjustment I did last week. When I finally get her home, open the valve cover to check the cams and valves and they look fine, but I can smell burnt oil.

Tomorrow I'll split the crankcase to check the bearings and see if there's anything else of concern. I drained the oil and it smelled burnt but was otherwise fine(i.e. not mixed with gas or coolant). So I went to drain the coolant and maybe about a cup worth came out. So now my theory is, the leak was much worse than I thought and by the first stall there wasn't enough coolant to reach the fan switch. By the way I tested the fan and it's fine.

[FvnnyL3tt3r1ng]

Ouch! I'm rebuilding an engine that overheated at the moment. The valve springs popped out due to the heat I'm guessing and I heard a rattling noise as that happened. Hopefully nothing is damaged! Splitting the case is no quick job.