Help......Overheating after replacing thermostat, hoses, & cap

Here is where I’m at with my VFR.

I took it for a ride today after slowly filling the antifreeze and massaging all the hose I could get my hands on to give a squeeze. I let the bike warm up to about 125 degrees to burp the system and check the level and top it off before I take it out. It was 89 degrees out today during my ride.

I rode the bike for about 15 miles very gentle on the back roads. I stayed within 55 to 65 mph. I kept a good eye on the temp for most of the ride. I did do a couple of strong pulls just to see how much the temp would rise and cool back down.

The temp bounced around 150 to 165, which seemed like it never opened the thermostat. Once I made a couple of stops at stops signs the temp got to 170 then came back down to 160 while riding. When I came to the last mile before getting home the temp went up to 190 then climbed up to 220 before stopping to cruise it down my dirt road very slowly. I thought for sure the temp was going to climb to overheating levels. What happened next had me shocked as I was very slowly cruising down my road the temp fell sharply and quickly back down to 190 by the time I pull into my driveway. I figured the fan kicked on and cooled it down quickly. I was tickled pink to see that. I still want to continue to ride the bike around kind of close to the house to see if the bike does any more over heating before I take it on the long trip to work.

I put about 84 oz of Honda antifreeze in the cooling system, but filled the reservoir between the upper and lower lines. When the bike got home the reservoir was almost full then as it cooled it pulled coolant back into the bike until the reservoir was down to the lower line. I imagine that filled the system back to full. I’m going to fill the reservoir back up to in between the 2 lines before the next ride.

With this info I have provided does anyone think that I blew a head gasket with the high temps it was hitting before I went through all the work to pull the thermostat and check the hoses?

I do believe my overheating issues was air in the system. Thanks to everyone here I have been able to get the motivation to keep working at it to get it back to reliable condition.

With more local rides I will know how well everything is functioning.

 

I think your head gasket is ok. Seeing the reservoir completely full doesn't feel right to me, like it shouldn't be blowing that much out of the main system. Anyone else have an opinion on that?

And you're sure that small hose at the bottom of the reservoir connects to the nipple on the neck for the radiator cap?

 

Yes, all the hoses are correctly ran and connected. I double checked them.
once the bike cooled down it sucked the antifreeze back into the system. You don't think that is correct?
I will be taking out tomorrow to ride it for a little longer to see if it has an issue.

 

Thats a good idea. i will try and keep an eye on it.

Ride today, was 45 miles with back roads and 6 miles on the interstate. 93 degrees out.
The temp stayed at 165 to 170 for 90% of the ride.
I noticed the reservior was full not over flowing but full while riding around. I kept and eye on it and notice once I got stuck in a line of cars at a construction zone the temp went up to 220. I looked at the reservior to see if it was over flowing, it was still just sitting full. Once I started moving about 3 miles down the road the temp went down to 185 and the reservior went down as well to just barely above the upper line and stayed there the rest of the ride.
I'm sure there are no air bubbles in the system now.

I have the old cap on the bike at this time, which could lead to the filling of the reservior so quickly. I'm going to change the cap and put the plastics back on to see how much that will effect the temps for the next ride.

Has anyone ever watched their reservior do the same thing? To me it seems normal. i know Mello said it seems goofy.
Do your VFR's run at about the same temps?

 

You could be very much correct.
I already have one I was just trying to figure things out one step at a time.
If the new cap doesn't work any better then I will use your suggestion and get a higher psi one.
Could it also be this Honda antifreeze being so much better than amsoil? Afterall Honda has a higher boiling point.