only when i start it (and if i haven't put my foot down for a month or two) whats the cause? and how is it fixed?

White smoke on start up is usually valve stem seals.

i have this problem. cold starts always difficult, and there's always a cloud of white smoke. warm starts are smooth as and never smoke! how hard are these seals to replace>>>?

the white smoke might be steam due to water leaking into cylinders from a busted head gasket. it might be worth having a look for some symptoms of this (ie. sludge in oil and on radiator cap etc)

my head gasket is fine, and if i've blown another i'm going to cry! i've had 2 vls, and replaced 2 gaskets.. if i have to replace it again (30,000k later) i'm just going to run it off a cliff.. the valve stem seals, how much are they? and how hard are they to replace? could i do it myself? or should i take it somewhere to get fixed?

I have never had a head gasket or head problem in a VL. I have had the same motor for 6 years now though in a different car,the motor has done over 430,000 kms,it seems to me it is water entering the combustion chamber,if it keeps blowing head gaskets then the head has to be warped,or the torque settings are wrong. I'd go and have a good engine builder resurface the head if not done already,it can blow gaskets if too much has been taken off also, in which case the ACL gasket company sells shims to obtain the correct height,they recommend using their aviation gasket cement (was used on Rolls Royce aircraft) on the shim to block "ONLY",none goes on the gasket else you will blow a head gasket.

I'm also interested at the cost of replacing the Valve Stem Seals and how easy it is to do... Anyone?

Every car gets white 'smoke' on startup. It is called condensation :roll:

nah its a puff of white smoke.. its not condensation...