Overheating

WickedAngel · 03-14-2006, 01:12 AM

It's been getting hotter and I'm having a problem...my bike is becoming abnormally hot.

The bike will get hot (The temperature guage will consistantly creep upwards...the farthest I've let it get without driving off to cool it down is the midway point on the guage.

In my idiocy, I neglected to check the coolant level over the course of the winter. It was bone dry when I cleaned the reservoir and filled it up yesterday. Unfortunately, the problem still exists.

I'm not sure what to do now. Flush radiator? Clean/replace air filter element?

A weird odor arises from the space between the forks and the gas tank. It's hard to describe, but it smells like burnt ozone. I'm not sure if that is a direct indication of the cause or simply a general sign that it's getting too hot in there.

enos · 03-14-2006, 04:58 AM

call back when it hits the highs... does the fan come on?
these things can get pretty damn hot. 225 degrees seems to be about normal for the fan to come on, with 240 or so being dangerous.

has it not done this before? what makes you suspicous now? did you just get this bike?

and lastly, is the radiator full? the overflow resorvoir is just that, for overflow. see how much coolant is actually in the radiator.

edit: filled up the resorvoir? it's not supposed to be full. it should be on the low mark when cold. The radiator should be full.

kevinwilly · 03-14-2006, 05:04 AM

If you filled up the system, open the cap and shake the bike, if air gets in there, it can prevent the fluid from pumping.

WickedAngel · 03-14-2006, 05:50 AM

The fan comes on, but only after the bike has been turned off (The manual indicates that that is how it is supposed to be...I'm assuming the intakes below the headlights are meant to cool the engine while riding).

Quote:

Originally Posted by enos

has it not done this before? what makes you suspicous now? did you just get this bike?

I've only had the bike since October, but even in October the weather was warmer than it is now. Before now, the guage has never even reached 1/4, let alone 1/2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by enos

and lastly, is the radiator full? the overflow resorvoir is just that, for overflow. see how much coolant is actually in the radiator.

The manual says to keep that reservoir at the "FULL" mark on the bottle, which is exactly where it is now. Both the manual that came with the bike and the Clymer manual that I have say that.

enos · 03-14-2006, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WickedAngel

The manual says to keep that reservoir at the "FULL" mark on the bottle, which is exactly where it is now. Both the manual that came with the bike and the Clymer manual that I have say that.

ok, but what about the radiator?
the cap Kevin's talking about is on the radiator, not the resorvoir. You may have to remove an access panel to get to it, check the manual.

the radiator is the big thing behind your front wheel, and that's what cools it when you're moving.

WickedAngel · 03-14-2006, 08:08 PM

I know where the radiator is, but no, I haven't messed with that cap.

I took it in for a tune-up today (20,000 miles) and he agreed with you that it was basically running at normal temperature while idle. He said anything between 25%~55% of the guage was fairly normal.