I think I might have ignored low levels in the coolant reservoir. But the other day after riding on the highway I stopped at a light and there was steam/smoke with some smell coming out from between the engine and radiator . I pulled over and turned the bike off, let it cool and then started it back up. There was no smoke so I rode home slowly in 3-4 min.

I'm planning to flush/replace coolant, change oil etc but I'm wondering if the smoking meant there's other damage I need to fix? The temp meter stayed at 180 or so during this entire episode. It's usually pretty good at tracking temperature, even very recently.

 

From your symptoms it seems highly likely you have leak somewhere in the radiator or hoses. Fill the system to the correct level and keep an eye on it for a few days and see if it drops by a fair amount. The radiator may have rotted away in parts. Mine doesn't look to good as I look at it from the front of the bike with evidence of a leak in the past before I bought it, so I'll be investigating it myself soon. Really hope I don't need a new raditator 'cos I expect they are expensive? Hope you sort yours out!

 

When you start the bike, before it warms up, check for any possible leaks or fluid hitting the ground. I had an issue with my bike "steaming". Turns out it was a blown head gasket. But mine is also a 95. Not sure what ya got.

 

Heh... thanks, guys. It's actually oil leaking from the seam of my oil filter. Needed change for a while anyways.
So I guess it wasn't really 'steam'. But thanks for the replies guys, I got some trouble-shooting confidence from them!