So, I just rode home after purchasing a rather cosmetically challenged 2005 650 Burgman, and after about 15 miles, I saw that the temperature guage was maxed. I was about a mile from home, so I decided to get there and investigate. Shortly after that, while stopped at some lights, I had some white smoke coming through the vents on the dash. Then, about 1/2 mile from home, the FI light came on..

I've had the maintenance cover off, and the cooland tank there seems full.
From the underside, the right hand side radiator hose had some drips of coolant visible, and the clip seems to be nonexistent?
There is also a little tube next to the left hand side hose, which has liquid coming from it after applying some revs - this seems like quite a lot of liquid after a few minutes of running.
I also saw some fluid dripping onto the exhaust, which I suspect to have been the source of the smoke, but I'll admit I cannot identify the part from which it appears to be leaking - it's quite gunked over.

Here is an imgur link to some pictures:


Have I just bought a lemon? Or are these simple fixes that should kind of be anticipated with an 18 year old machine that has been treated quite poorly?

Hose may have come off the top of the Rad. If you take the shroud off the front you can access the rad. There is also a bolt on the RH side which allows you to swing the Rad out.
Shroud removal needs the push pins removed top left and right and underneath the front of the fairing then wriggle it out. Removing the front wheel and mudguard gives you much better access.
Hose layout
https://partsss.com/en/suzuki/sparepart ... 29055.html

If the coolant tank was still full there are two or three possibilities. One is that the thermostat area was air locked so the thermostat did not open hence the overheating. Second is that the water pump is faulty and the fluid you can see coming out is from the water pump seal/bearing drain. Third is that the cylinder head gasket has failed. Once the leaks are hopefully fixed you should check that the radiator is getting fully hot and the fan is coming on, this would eliminate thermostat problems. Unfortunately serious overheating can cause head gaskets to fail so you can end up with a combination of the above faults.

This original post was over six months ago. May I suggest he’s probably sorted it

Stibbs wrote: ↑Tue Mar 08, 2022 11:37 am This original post was over six months ago. May I suggest he’s probably sorted it

Well spotted - I missed that!