Question on Overheating...

I've been forced by transportation issues to be ridin' in the 100+ degree weather of Southern CA lately, and have found that my 2nd gen runs... well, not so great. It does fine on freeway and such, but gets really hot anytime I slow down or sit at a light. On top of this, it tends to die if I go long distance and then turn into a gas station or something (this wouldn't be a problem except it won't start right back up either. I have to let it sit and cool). I'm plannin' on an oil change next week, since it's about due, and will be addin' some Lucas oil treatment since it's an "experienced" bike and I want my baby to last (I hear the treatment keeps it 10-20 degrees cooler too). But other than that, anybody havin' this problem? Or does anyone have a suggestion/solution?

Also, I'm deciding whether or not to add an auxiliary fan in front of the radiator, my brother did this on his V-Max and has almost zero heat issues now...

 

Is your coolant clean. Mine was running hot, when I looked at the coolant it was a nasty brown. Drain the entire system and refill with fresh coolant, should help. Make sure you only mix 50/50 max. Draining is really easy, takes about 5 min. Muzzy also makes a aluminum replacement fan, its supposed to help bikes with aftermarket exhaust run cooler. Good luck

 

You could use engine ice. Some folks on here say it works well. I wouldn't personally use Lucas in a VFR since the clutch is lubricated at the same time I believe. Different completely than a V-Max.

 

Howdy, Just about all of us VFR'ers experience overheating problems of one or another kind.If the Lucas oil treatment goes in the oil,which I suspect it does,I would forget about it. Anyway Yonans suggestion was right on,however for real problem overheating bikes try:
Engine Ice coolent,its pretty expensive ,so another method is use standard anti freeze
mix with 50% distilled water and add a product called Water Wetter made by Redline. I
have used it with good success. And your starting point is a clean cooling system! eddie

 

thanks boys :thumbsup: I'll try and get the system flushed, add clean coolant... mine is sorta an odd color, and I haven't messed with my cooling system since I got the bike, so it's a grand place to start... I'll do more research on the Lucas before I mess with it, though I have used the fuel treatment with success (noticed better performance)

 

Pyro, Using an oil treatment to cure an overheating problem is akin to putting a
Band-aid on your thumb when you cut your little finger! eddie

 

I reckon that's a valid point... except that Lucas has been the leader in that field for a while... I still have some research to do and opinions to gather before I decide on it...

But definitely gonna be flushin' my coolant system this weekend... :biggrin:

 

The Lucas Oil treatment will do nothing for your issue, and nothing for your motor. If you want it to last, use a high quality synthetic oil like Rotella-T, and change it every 5,000 miles. You can go farther, but it's only $17/gal, so splurge. I have sold many bikes w/ over 75,000 miles on them, and a few with well over 100,000, and all of them were still running great (ok, the Nighthawk S with 144,000 was smoking on decel some when I sold it).

re: overheating ...Water Wetter doesn't do anything that a capful of dishwashing liquid doesn't (really), so save the $10. Flush it, make sure the fan is working well, and maybe consider a manual bypass so you cna turn the fan on at your leisure. If your bike has many many miles on it, consider buying a new radiator. A partially clogged rad will hugely compromise cooling ability.

Good luck!

 

Welcome to the forum! Where do you reside? What kind of bike do you ride?

So you are recommending to use dishwashing liquid instead of water wetter? I would not say that this is good advice. :hangme:

 

Hi there! Ya, I was going to find the n00b thread and say hi, but I got sidetracked

I live in Nashville, and my current streetbike is a 94 CBR1000F. I've had lots (and lots) of Honda V4's, and I still love 'em. My first brand new bike was an 85 VF700F, and I never looked back

re: water wetter ...it _is_ dishwashing liquid, with an anti-suds additive I assume, and some sort of coloring. One capful or three is not enough to make a bubble bath, so no worries there If you use antifreeze in your bike, there is no benefit to adding Water Wetter. If you have a reason to run only plain water, it will provide you with some water pump lubrication and corrosion protection. That's it though. They claim that it reduces temps, but I've yet to see it myself, and I use it in all of my track bikes because you can't run coolant generally (again, for water pump and corrosion protection).

In many cases, you read on the Interwebs where people have cooling issues, so they do a flush, change the coolant, etc. add WW, and WOW! "It's NEVER run THIS cool!" Ya, well the benefit came from the cooling system service, not the WW...sorry

And, thanks for the welcome!

 

my bike has 45k miles on it... and when I got it had 41k... so I know it needs a flush... might run a manual switch so I can kick on the fan whenever I like... cool lil flight switch with safety cover or somethin

 

OVER time lots of rads get damaged, bent fins, and some time spent with an exacto blade or properly-sized knife blade straightening them out (both front and back) will allow better airflow and cooler running. Oil cooler too.

It's labor-intensive activity and can't be done quickly but improves both appearance and running temperature.

 

I just changed my oil and went with the Motul 300V 10W40 and it seems to have helped my warm temps quite a bit. On average I'm running 5-10 degrees cooler than I was before. I would go with a high quality oil long before I would go with something like Lucas, especially in a bike.

Like everyone else is saying... flush your coolant, do an oil change, and see what happens.

 

cool, oil sounds like the way to go, along with the coolant change

 

Heat shield

There is a heat shield between the radiator and air box, it is triangle in shape with foam trim around it to help it seal. In warmer weather it becomes very important and can cause this very problem . For different reasons I have seen these discarded as trash but they are required in warm weather.

 

got the fluids in, made a significant difference... Now to add an auxiliary fan... I have to get the cash for the fan lol

 

This reply is only barely behind many of the others re: actual reality

 

Focus on flushing and cleaning your existing system..

I just did a flush and clean on my 02, and decided to use Engine Ice to try and reduce the coolant temps. I live in Arizona, and this time of year, the daytime temps can reach 115 or more. My bike was running up to and slightly over 220-225 on a regular basis, to and from work (@15 miles r/t mixed city and highway), so I wanted to try and reduce the temps a bit.

I would recommend most of what your reading so far. Focus on a good clean and flush, and just run a 50/50 mix of coolant. In your climate (and mine), you could really run a higher ratio of distilled water, since freezing isn't an issue. I cannot recommend the Engine Ice, as I haven't seen any tangible difference in my engine temps since the change. Now I also did change from a Honda 10/40 oil to a Castrol semi synth 20/50, so that may have a slight effect on my overall engine temps.

I've also used Redline's WaterWetter, and would echo what I've heard here. Save your money.

Bottom line, save your hard earned $$, and do the flush yourself, and use the best available coolant. These bikes, at least the fuel injected ones, are programmed and expected to run hot.

Best of luck! :thumbsup:

 

Having just under-went a rebuild of my 2nd Gen radiator and cooling system, I will offer the following suggestions:

A. remove your radiator and take it to a shop. Have them to a leak / pressure test. Your cap should withstand ~14 to 16 psi. If it holds up to 18, great, any more than that, and you got a problem... any less than 14 and you got a problem... replace your filler cap and seals

B. there in Cali, you can run ~ 30% rad fluid coolant to 70% H2O. It wont hurt a thing. Rather, it will assist in the thermal transfer of the engine heat, and assist in cooling the water back down quicker...

C. Pull the thermostat and put it in boiling water. Ensure the spring mechanism is functioning properly. If its too slow and isnt open when boiling, replace it.

D. Pull the Gas tank and air box, and ensure you have your heat shield in place. Toe is correct. Not having this on, during the really hot days can make a diff for getting the bike restarted.

D. With the gast tank and air box off, remove your water pipe, and inspect it... probably will need cleaning, or replacing if its still original equipment.

E. Flush your system very well. make take up to three washes.

F. Ensure you or previous owner didnt plug too many of the ribbon tubes. Sometimes when they get holes in them, a rad shop will just simply epoxy or weld it shut. too many closed, and you do not have adequate cooling.

G. While flushing your system, rev the bike a few times, to ensure the water pump is indeed doing its job.

H. Never fill the system through the overflow bottle (reservoir). Always fill at the filler cap.

I. Ensure your temerature sensor is working properly, you can pull this from your left side rad tank, and ohm it under heat.

J. Check your fan to ensure its clean, no breaks in the fan blades, and that the contacts and brushes in the motor are not corroded. (to do that simply remove the rear motor cover, and have a look inside. you will be surprised at what a little cleaning of the copper and brushes with some electrical parts cleaner and sand paper will do for a motor)

K. (you already know this one) Change your oil. Less friction in the engine = less heat = less work your cooling system has to do.

Lastly, keep in mind the earlier model gen bikes werent designed to be at a standstill, during extreme heat, and to rev the bike. I know it sounds cool, but its a good way to throw too much heat into the system in short bursts.

Good luck.