Running Temp

[Gixxer 4 ever]

So yeah, only on VERY cold mornings going to work does my bike sit @ like 70 degrees - so i just dont revv her hard etc, take it easy/

Last time we had the gixxer in Auckland city it got up to 118. March 04 As soon as we left the city and headed out in to the open country she came down again. I will have to check the radiator air flow for the summer. Even with the fan on she did not loose heat. We had to get moving forward on the open road. So I suspect I have fixed the winter cool thing now I will have to work on the summer heat. Can these radiators be recored? Remember it is a curved core...

[LB]

Interesting thread. My bikes are air/oil cooled, and they normally run around 77-80 on the open road. One day on the 800 over Christmas in Taupo in stopped traffic it got to 109, and going up Takaka hill when stuck behind a caravan got to 112. Once out into normal running you can see the temperature drop very quickly.

It's interesting how much longer they take to get up to operating temperature in this colder weather.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

With the new thermostat it is running at 66-70 on the open road. Cold days but with the thermostat it is regulated and stays warm. In town it is around 75-80. So It is still cooler than most on the open road but as this is a "genuine part from Suzuki" it must be good. Happy riding out there and again thanks for the help.

[F5 Dave]

Just to bang on about this again as I have with My RF & YZF. Suzi seem to have a penchant for running very cold thermostats in their bikes & in the RF had 4 holes drilled in the main bending part of the unit. This is dumb as it means the engine takes ages to get up to temp. Reading the Factory website info he reckons they will have trouble carburetting properly at those low temps & suggests ~ 90 deg thermostat. Worked well on my RF (See other thread).

While you have it apart flush the coolant in both directions with a hose to clean out the rad & any backwaters. Use new coolant & Redline Water wetter if you are keen (reduces surface tension). You can replace the temp fan switch with a lower activating switch to turn the fan on earlier. Usually lives in rad, small one will be for the guage & the bigger one the switch. Take it to an auto electrician supply store & see if you can match it up.

[MikeL]

It must be difficult to design a cooling system that will cater for the extremes of operating conditions that are likely to be encountered. In summer my CB-1 temperature gauge shows what I would consider to be a fairly efficient operating temperature: on the open road the needle is just below the half-way point and falls lower on a steep descent. When stuck in city traffic the needle goes above the half-way mark and the fan cuts in. It never reaches the red zone. However on these cold winter days the gauge rarely rises above the bottom mark of the normal range unless I am stuck in a traffic jam. The fact that in summer it reaches normal operating temperature fairly quickly leads me to assume that the thermostat is operating correctly. In winter however the engine must be running most of the time at less than the optimum temperature. I know that on cars in very cold climates radiator blinds have been used and I wonder whether something like that on bikes would improve efficiency.

[Kwaka-Kid]

yeah mike, Duct tape! just tape half of her up for winter then tear it off for summer!

s'all good! or if you gotta VFR like me you can just plug up one of hte 2 radiators, i.e only getting half the cooling.

[merv]

yeah mike, Duct tape! just tape half of her up for winter then tear it off for summer!

s'all good! or if you gotta VFR like me you can just plug up one of hte 2 radiators, i.e only getting half the cooling.

If the thermostat was doing its job properly you shouldn't have to do this.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

If the thermostat was doing its job properly you shouldn't have to do this.

Yes I agree with that comment. I think I will also flush the system and replace water and antifreeze.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Suzi seem to have a penchant for running very cold thermostats in their bikes & in the RF had 4 holes drilled in the main bending part of the unit. This is dumb as it means the engine takes ages to get up to temp. Reading the Factory website info he reckons they will have trouble carburetting properly at those low temps & suggests ~ 90 deg thermostat. Worked well on my RF (See other thread).
.

From what I can see this is true. Suzuki do seem to run them cold. Not the best option in my book. I know heat kills engines but so does friction and oils need to be warm to work at their Optimine. But in saying this the Gixxer has done 50,000+ ks and is running well and uses no oil so buggered if I know.

[DEATH_INC.]

Yep,mines over 40k now and still going strong,so it can't be to big of a deal.I've seen mine go up to about 106(the fan comes on at 105)then drops back down within a couple of minutes of the fan running....
(this should be fairly relevant,the X and V are quite similar)

[MikeL]

Interesting thread. My bikes are air/oil cooled, and they normally run around 77-80 on the open road. One day on the 800 over Christmas in Taupo in stopped traffic it got to 109, and going up Takaka hill when stuck behind a caravan got to 112. Once out into normal running you can see the temperature drop very quickly.

.

Is it common for air/oil cooled bikes to have a temp gauge? Neither my GSX nor the XJR has one.

[Kwaka-Kid]

nope, infact rare.

[DEATH_INC.]

My old turbo (aircooled)runs about 105-110 deg on the link module....

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Is it common for air/oil cooled bikes to have a temp gauge? Neither my GSX nor the XJR has one.

No. My 85 oil cooled had no temp gauge. I think it would be a worry to see just how hot they run in the middle of summer in traffic.

[Morepower]

Dont panic yet , often an engine will run hotter without a thermostat as the water circulates through the radiator to quickly without any restriction and it does not loose as much heat as its should.
My TL runs late 60's to early 70's now since I changed thermostat location and put in a new 78.5 degree thermostat. I need 80 plus as at under 80 it still runs the cold fuel map . but getting there.

Dave