253°F engine temp reached in highway traffic?!

88°F air temp and high humidity today- typical Va weather.

1300 miles on the bike. The engine always runs ~220 - 230 around town and in the high teens on the highway. Today I was boxed in in heavy highway traffic moving around 70 mph. Always keep indicator on engine temp and glance at it frequently.

Must have gotten distracted by work van blocking me and truck to right. Looked down and saw temp at 253° and flashing with the red temperature dash light also flashing. Pulled off the road, off throttle and while coasting down temperature quickly lowered. Had 30 miles left but all back roads. Got off the highway after about a mile. The temp remained in the mid thirties for two to three miles and the rest of the trip the temp had dropped a total of 30 degrees hovering in the low 20's ocassionaly dipping into the high teens when coasting or stopped.

I'll inspect the cooling system today and call the dealership if warranted. The oil was changed at 800 miles with Honda 10W-40 motorcycle oil.

I know these engines run hot but is this to be expected in traffic in hot humid weather? If so between winter and summer I will get about three months of riding weather here.

Thanks,

Reg

 

On ride home this morning:

Air temp: 61
Humidity: High (same)

Back roads:

7000 rpm = 195°
5500 rpm = 185 +/- (I know second set of valves closed)

Highway:

<6000 rpm = 177 to 180°
~7500 rpm = 200 +/- 5°

Looks like she can't take the heat. :frown:

Reg

 

First off,just about every VFR owner has had questions and concerns about high engine
temperatures. You will hear several theories on what to do. Probably the first thing that
you will hear,and I hate this, is dont worry about the engine temps all VFR's run hot
that is just something inherent in their design so ride it and have fun! Repeat, I hate
that explanation. No gasoline engine is meant to run that hot. Blown head gaskets
warped cyl. heads and such occur. I think possibly some hose or something could be kinked,or possibly you have air in your cooling system or you have a sticking
thermostat. Anyway I would suggest to get this problem checked out before you do much more riding. eddie

 

What make/model/year of bike do you have? A guy on here bought an '01 VFR800 with 2500 miles on it, so I have not clue as you what you have.

Is the fan coming on? At what temp? Regardless if it has not been done (and you are not the first owner) a complete coolant flush is in order. After you drain it, flush the system with de-ionized water or distilled water, the fill up with Honda coolant, or engine ice if you want. A possibility is that you have air trapped in your system, and/or your fan stat is not activiting as it should.

This is not normal to run this high. VFRW has members all over the east coast, south, west, and world and they do not see these temps unless something is wrong.

 

2007 VFR 800 ABS, I bought it new - 0 miles last month. I know the fan is running by 220°F. It starts earlier but I can't remember the number.

Sorry I forgot to list this info. I shouldn't post when really tired.

Thanks for the feedback.

Reg

 

I rode my bike last weekend 215 miles in 102 degree heat stop go traffic and highway it never got over 230. the viffer runs hotter then other bikes due to epa sheet..but,you need to check complete cooling system !!!!!!!!!!! is your oil level low?????????????? coolant level low????????????? it averaged 208f on highway doing 70mph ..hot as hell assfualt, had to put icewater in my helmet and wear a scarftype band around my neck soaked in ice water under my leather jacket,( i gear up when I ride) it was hot!! if it gets that hot turn it off pull over let it cool...I also got up to 140mph on the way back and it ran cooler go figure... good luck please pm me and let me know what was the problem I would like to know...oh yeah i still averaged 42 mpg going that fast averaging 80mph on way home go vfr !!!!!!!!!made whole trip on 1 tank/////:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

Not to beat a dead horse but i run honda hp 10-40 4 quarts a little higher oil level then in manual but...............................................

 

At idle I watched temp and the fan starts at 220°. As I suspected the coolant level is normal. I went ahead and took it to the top mark.

The oil level is good. When I changed it at 800 miles I put it at the top mark and it's still there.

Reg

P.S. Thanks derstuka for the welcome.

 

I work with and understand heat exchangers and the heat exchange process intimately. My worry is that the VFR's radiator/engine is so poorly designed from the heat rejection standpoint that it can not tolerate hot humid air especially in low flow conditions.

Deepdish if you are in the southwest that would help to explain why your engine ran (runs) lower than mine. Although hotter your air is dryer and thus denser allowing it to cool better. When I visited San Antonio I was surprised how its 100°+ days felt more comfortable that our 85° Virginia ones.

We've all heard the cliche "it's not the heat it's the humidity".

Eddie, I agree with you about the high temperatures. No engine should ever run hot by design or otherwise. Along with increased corrosion and engine stress the high temperatures swell hoses, attack rubber and cook the oil. All oil will break down when heated high enough. The sludge that forms clogs orifices, fouls valves and coats internal surfaces which further raises the temperature by interfering with heat exchange.

I wonder if and what Honda has done to address this problem. What aftermarket products are there that help? Secondary coolers? Different oils to lower flow resistance thus lowering engine work and heat generation? Radiator relocation?

The weather isn't going to change for some time so I'll have to try this again without being blocked by traffic and watch engine temperature. Really though things have been fine until Friday.

Reg

 

Last month I took a trip down to the Ozarks in MO & AR where the air temp reached 95. Most of the time the engine temp would run about 185 (normal is 172) to 200. At times pulling up the long hills at 75mph it would reach 220. A guy on an R1 said his would reach 230. Our manual says 250 should be the maximum.

I use Rotella T 5W40 synthetic oil and run 89 octane fuel. I also do the same with my ST1300 and it has never lit up more than the 3 bars on the temp gauge. I also just returned from a trip with it in Utah where the temp was 106 and we were in slow moving traffic at Arches NP. I would surmise the VFR's problem is the cooling system design.

If you don't have an aftermarket fuel system that might be a possibility because the stock fuel system probably runs a little lean which would cause higher operating temps. I also read in another thread about a guy that bought a fan blade used in a bike like a VTX that would blow the air out the radiator instead of sucking it in like ours does. You could also try some of the racing coolants that claim to do a better job of transferring heat. The stock coolant is designed to work in all instances.

 

Afinepoint,
In addition to whats already been posted, VFR's are sensitive to air flow. As you ride more in traffic, you'll see higher temps when riding behind vehicles. What I do is try and keep the RPM's slightly lower and find some clean air if possible. It's hard in rush hour traffic, but I fight my way over to the left lane and ride near the lane stripe to get into some cleaner air. Seems to help. If you do a search you'll find a large amount of posts on the subject.

Action

 

Thanks again for the help.

I just got back from a city/highway spin in midday heat to check things out. The highest highway temp was 209°. City was 222°.

Action I am a believer regarding vehicle hot air. While idling behind an SUV today I saw temperature quickly climb from the high teens to the low twenties. I backed up to get away from the exhaust.

This must have been what happened Friday. Even being boxed in I am surprised that there wasn't enough air flow at that speed to keep the engine cool. I'll have to remember no tailgating (like that's going to happen anyway), keep to the outside and away from cars when it's hot and <6400 cruising rpm .

I guess taking her to the beach is out- nothing but stop and go for miles and miles on I64 East. Stinks!

Reg

 

Hi Guys,
here my opinion : 1) Honda fan thermoswitches are badly designed, they begin to work at a too hot temp.
2) Motorcycle rads are always too small for engines with a displacement of 750cc or higher. We have to be honest to admit these two problems.
In countries with a warm weather and in urban traffic conditions our bikes are condamned to burn. No other solution : eliminate the thermostat (no need in summer), use fresh coolant and install a manual fan switch to activate before temp reaches the dangerous zone.
Lamps to all VFR guys !
Carmine

 

Is there is replacement thermostatic relay with a lower setpoint? Auto's come on around 195°. That means a 62° safety margin to boiling for the auto. Only 37° for us assuming our radiators pressurize to the same psig.

I'll try to find why the reason for the delay for a motorcycle. Maybe there is none?

Reg