I did a coolant flush and oil change on my 2nd gen to correct a heating issue. Needle still climbs if I'm sittin' still for more than a minute, even at night (I rode it at midnight last night and still had the issue). Wondering if maybe my thermostat is bad... Gonna check that and then probably add an auxiliary fan to the front of the radiator. A buddy also said to check spark plugs, if they're white then possibly I have an air leak, maybe intake manifold gasket. Anybody have this issue on a 2nd gen? If so, how'd ya fix it?
For sure do the thermostat check. We already knew the oil wasn't going to help, so that's not a big deal, or an indication of a problem. I wouldn't worry about an auxiliary fan...when you get the system working properly you won't need it. Well, we know the bikes do run a little hot, but you'll be ok with a properly functioning stock setup. For the air leak, that's not a bad idea, but generally that will manifest itself in a higher than desired idle...in general the air leak / hot thing isn't going to apply to a modern water-cooled 4 stroke...it would have to be so lean to make it run that hot that it would run like crap all the time. If the bike seems to run well, that's probably not the issue (but hey, it never hurts to check). BTW if the thermostat is bad, you can run without it while you find a replacement. Just make sure to give extra warm-up time is all. Also, it can be a good double-check to ride without it once and see if you cna make it get hot that same way. It will take longer, so don't jump to any conclusions. But, if it never gets hot, you've found the issue. Hey, on a side note, I meant to ask...does it push coolant out when it gets hot/does it suck coolant back in when you park it as it cools? You didn't mention anything about it "boiling over" but if it does do that, it can be a symptom of a head gasket leak. Also if it uses coolant, but doesn't appear to have a leak, same deal. We'll get to the bottom of it
do you have an air pocket in radiator when you filled it?? take the radiator cap off while COLD and start it then give it gas the fluid should drop down then turn off and see if you need to add any it will bubble if air is in it.. Fill the radiator through radiator cap not overflo bottle hope that helped..
