Hi Temperature Solutions

Hi everyone,
first post for me, been lurking a while tho..
just bought an 09 VFR800 and really enjoying it. corbin seat and passenger backrest, other than that all stock.

one issue (I read the entire fan swap sticky, not a good fix for stop/go) - it runs pretty hot. It runs around 205 F on open road, and 218-238 (yikes!) in traffic. fluid levels are good, tbh I havent checked the thermostat tho. Im concerned because I live in phoenix, and its not even hot here yet. its going to get 30-40 degrees hotter, and I dont want to park this bike all summer, or have it limited to only riding north.

Would a larger radiator have any effect? Id like to take ~20 degrees off my running temp to feel comfortable that Im not harming the bike.

any advice/tips much appreciated.

Andy

 

Have you flushed the old coolant yet ?-maybe thats all it needs

 

I dont mean to but in on your post but yesterday I noticed the same thing too on my 98 vfr800. From where i live, to kailua kona, is about 28 miles and at about 20 miles or so traffic starts up in the early afternoon. I noticed the temp rising, which it should in stop/go traffic, but after a little bit it went up to about 218*F. I was eventually able to start cruising a little more and watched the temp slowly get lower and by the time I got to my destination it was down to 180 or so. I just got this bike, and havent really been through the Honda service manual it came with besides getting to the air filter and adjusting the idle. I know I will probably read about this in the manual soon, but what is the normal operating temp? Im glad you posted this AKT4, cause I kind of forgot about that incident yesterday. I dont run as hot as 205 on the open road like you do, more like between 173-176, even after riding for 28 miles. Anyway im interested to see what kind of information this thread manifests. Thanks.

 

I live in central Florida so I share your concern. However what I do is not look at the coolant temp. Keep it on outside temp and enjoy the ride.
If it was a serious issue there would be a fix. I've seen quite a few high mileage VFR's with stock cooling. I dont think it's a big of an issue as some think.

I'm not being a smart ass, It's just my view.

 

Have you made sure the thermo fan is operating? It should come on at 104degC or 219degF.
The VFR is a hot running bike, for several reasons.
1. the side mounted radiators dont get much airflow until you are doing a reasonable speed.
2. in stock trim the bike runs very lean and lean =hot.
3. the standard exhaust is quite restrictive causing further heat buildup.
I have fitted a VTR fan with overide switch, powercommander, catless headers and aftermarket mufflers, and it generally runs at 170 (77C) on the open road and 185 (85C) in traffic. If it gets to 195 (90C) I switch the fan on and it keeps the temp down.
Also if you live in a hot place that doesnt have freezing temperatures there is no need for antifreeze and there are other options for coolant than 50% ethylene glycol mix that have better heat transfer properties.
It may be worth checking that you dont have an airlock in the radiator, remove the cap with the bike on the sidestand and squeeze the rubber hoses to see if any air can be removed. (Burping)

 

Dogman is on the right track with this one.

1. Check your radiator cap (a missing member by the name of Betarace would be proud...)
2. Burp the system just to be sure.
3. With your continuously hot/above freezing temps, I'd be dumping the standard anti-freeze and going with something like Engine Ice or a mix of distilled water and Water Wetter.

 

thx for the replies everyone.
Im going to flush the coolant system and replace with something appropriate for a hot climate. I noticed this bike only has a single, forward mounted radiator instead of two side mounted. the rad surface gets hit by more air when cruising, but its a single radiator. and so small.

I hadnt considered it, but if I cant get the running temp down a bit I may try some modifications. if a power commander, air filter, and exhaust could shave off 10-20 degrees that would be worth the money to me.

thanks for the advices

 

How can it only have one front rad?????????????????????? 09 should have two, one on both sides unless PO did alittle stupid mods to the bike.

 

Antifreeze is what is mixed with water and is at that point coolant.
Antifreeze lowers the freezing point and raises the boiling point of water, lubes water pump. what it doesn't do well is help cool.
Being that you live in Phoenix and not really a freeze area you can run more water to antifreeze ratio. You can also add water wetter to the mix. Water wetter will help the water make better surface contact with the metal and thus better cooling (in theory). You can probably run a 60/40 water to antifreeze mix and still even be safe in a freeze. The more water will help cool as well as putting 10 capfuls of water wetter in there.

Distilled water not ionized water
Silicate free antifreeze/ or 50/50 mix. (just use the Honda stuff)
Water wetter about $9 auto parts store in the additives section.

All said and done, yer probably only gonna drop a few degrees if.

230-235 in stop and go traffic when in the 90s out is kinda normal these bikes run hot. The bike auto shuts off at 252ish degrees. As long as the temps drop or at least stabilize while the fan is running yer should be fine.


I you want to go with a mostly water mix read the back of the water wetter bottle. I think they recommend a minimum of 1/3 antifreeze to the mix of water and water wetter for street use.

 

Im sorry, I have the side mounted rads, but there is a smaller one up front, just behind the headlight. not sure what its cooling. guess Ill find out this weekend.

 

That's your engine oil cooler.

 

That is the oil cooler

 

Is there an echo in here? :lol:

 

Is there an echo in here?

 

Could someone go into a little more detail on the fan override switch:

Which wire am I looking for?

If I splice into the correct wire, is it still in parallel so the fan will turn on if I forget?

 

Pulling off the PAIR system has made mine run cooler too, we get 40 plus C here all through summer. Also Thermo switch, noticed my 98 was running hotter in stop/start and the Thermo switch was screwed. They do run hot tho, but should still be under a 100C.

 

Its very simple really, the fan motor has 12v on it all the time and the thermatic switch on the left radiator provides the route to earth when it actuates.
To provide an override simply provide an alternate path to earth, splice a wire onto the thermo switch connection and route it via your switch to an earthing point on the frame.
The thermo swich will still operate BUT the fan will not turn off if you forget to turn off the switch, but the noise is fairly obvious.
With the switch off, everything operates normally.

 

Seems pretty straight forward. Thanks for the clarification!

 

Water by it's self boils at 212 f! Stick with 50/50 anti-freeze!

 

True, but water is also better at dissipating heat. Antifreeze/coolant is usually added to help the water pump from fouling. My understanding is using distilled water (never tap) with Water Wetter will keep the operating temps lower than your standard 50/50 mix of anti-freeze.