R1100 engine temp?

[Hadabadachada]

2004 R1100S so I have no HUD with the bars and all that.

I live in Miami FL which is usually pretty warm.

 

I decided to get an inexpensive infrared thermometer today and have a look. When I got home after sitting in shite traffic, I checked the temp and on the front of the engine housing it was like 215 F ish, and on the cylinders it was at like 225-250 F 

that seems pretty warm…

 

what say you?

[dirtrider]

11 hours ago, Hadabadachada said:

2004 R1100S so I have no HUD with the bars and all that.

I live in Miami FL which is usually pretty warm.

 

I decided to get an inexpensive infrared thermometer today and have a look. When I got home after sitting in shite traffic, I checked the temp and on the front of the engine housing it was like 215 F ish, and on the cylinders it was at like 225-250 F 

that seems pretty warm…

 

what say you?

Morning  Hadabadachada

 

That doesn't sound out of line but I don't have any type of data base to compare those numbers to. 

 

You probably need to the get the oil temperature of the cooling oil just as it leaves the engine to have something to compare to other BMW boxer engines.  

 

As a comparison__ The 1200 engines have a cylinder head temp sensor, I just looked at some of my old trapped 1200RT engine data & riding in 76°f ambient temperatures I trapped the cylinder head temperature in the 275°f - 280°f range  just riding down the road.  It went from 296°f to 310°f idling at a stop light. 

[9Mary7]

Sounds normal to me..... When we used them for parade duty they got hot- but I never checked the head temp. Your oil will run hotter than that. 

[Hadabadachada]

Fair enough. I just didn’t know what’s too hot for an oilhead. 
 

Miami is hot usually and the traffic sucks. Sit at a red for 2 minutes, to go 1000 yards to sit at the next light and on and on. 
 

my 6 mile, 20 minute ride to work this morning showed about 180F on the head cover, and like 279F on the actual head. 210F on the front case.

 

I just found one of these pages where someone listed the temps vs the bars on the thermometer thing. Most people say normal is 5-6 bars. Looks like this mornings temp would have been about 6 bars, so seems normal. That’s good.

 

im still going to kill the engine at long lights in traffic.

[dirtrider]

3 minutes ago, Hadabadachada said:

Fair enough. I just didn’t know what’s too hot for an oilhead. 
 

Miami is hot usually and the traffic sucks. Sit at a red for 2 minutes, to go 1000 yards to sit at the next light and on and on. 
 

my 6 mile, 20 minute ride to work this morning showed about 180F on the head cover, and like 279F on the actual head. 210F on the front case.

 

I just found one of these pages where someone listed the temps vs the bars on the thermometer thing. Most people say normal is 5-6 bars. Looks like this mornings temp would have been about 6 bars, so seems normal. That’s good.

 

im still going to kill the engine at long lights in traffic.

Morning  Hadabadachada

 

Just don't confuse RID bars temp with engine case or cyl head temps  as the RID is reading the cooling oil temperature BEFORE it goes through the oil cooler.

 

BMW NEVER had an engine temperature issue, or high engine temp worries, before they put a darn oil temperature gauge on their motorcycles.

 

If you get your boxer engine too hot it will usually let you know as it will sound like metal trash can filled with chains being shaken vigorously. (they usually rattle pretty good when too hot). 

[Hadabadachada]

It’s one of those +/- deals with the S, no temp gauge no gas gauge just speedo and tach and a couple lights. 
Kinda nice, less stuff to distract or care about, but, as with the times, it would also be kinda nice having whatever extra bits of info you can..

 

can’t wait for a couple cold fronts. 
and majorly grateful that Ian just missed us over here, and I’m still able to ride.

 

 

[King Herald]

I remember sitting in a line of traffic waiting to get through immigration in France, on my way back back to England. Long line of cars, so move ten feet, wait two minutes, move ten feet, wait etc etc. It was hot, real hot. 

My motor started making rattling noises,  so I shut it off and just pushed it along until I got to the front. 

I have a couple of 3" 12 volt computer cooling fans that I was thinking might fit nicely behind one of the 2 small oil coolers, for just such occasions.  Thinking about it was as far as I ever got....

[Hadabadachada]

I always wanted to get some kinda oil temp gauge just to see something on these really slow hot days.

[dirtrider]

3 hours ago, Hadabadachada said:

I always wanted to get some kinda oil temp gauge just to see something on these really slow hot days.

Afternoon Hadabadachada

 

Why do something that will bother you forever. 

 

Just keep in mind that BMW riders ride these things daily in the desert heat, in mid-summer Texas stop & go riding, get them stuck then work the engine for an hour trying to ride them out of deep sand or mud. 

 

Have you ever heard on one of these BMW forums about anybody that burned one up, or failed an engine, due to heat of traffic jams or other riding situations, it just doesn't happen. 

 

 

[Hadabadachada]

Well put.

[Skywagon]

3 hours ago, dirtrider said:

in mid-summer Texas stop & go riding

 

I don't have my 1150 oil head anymore.  I put about 40,000 miles on it in Texas heat.  There is always stuck traffic in Houston.  I've been on it with all the bars pegged, 115 degrees outside, sitting dead still for most of an hour, and it never started pinging like a hot engine.  When I sold it at 55k it would use about 1/2 quart at 5000 mile oil changes.  Never frothy, never burned.  I always use recommended specs on oil and synthetic.

 

Heck on my wethead I never even look.

[Sam Taylor]

Thank goodness in California we can split lanes.

 

Regardless, 100s of thousands of miles on oliheads here and in the real deserts and never a heat problem.

 

Transmissions? Not so good.

[Lowndes]

I believe the R1100RTP had thermostatically controlled cooling fans with ducting behind the oil cooler.  You might look for a used set of fans.

[9Mary7]

15 hours ago, Lowndes said:

R1100RTP had thermostatically controlled cooling fans

You are correct......

[DakarTimm]

My '95 R1100R would get so hot the exhaust pipes would glow for about a foot from the head . I could see the reflection from the glass store fronts on my way home from work at night .

If i let the bike idle for too long before I got ready to ride ,it would do the same thing. Never created any issue 

[MT Wallet]

I didn't have that experience. My hot pipes started to warp the plastic.

[dirtrider]

8 hours ago, MT Wallet said:

I didn't have that experience. My hot pipes started to warp the plastic.

Morning  MT Wallet

 

It depends on the air flow between the hot pipes & the plastics & how far the red extends along the pipes. 

 

About all the old 1100/1150 bikes with single walled exhaust pipes turn the first few inches of the pipes red at low speeds or at a hot idle.  If the engine is idled too high of an RPM sitting still then that red (high heat)  travels too far down the pipe & can fry the plastics where the pipe gets close to the plastic. 

 

At higher RPM or under heavier engine load the pipes can get pretty darn hot but the savior here is hopefully the motorcycle is moving when this happens so there is some cooling air flowing to prevent plastic damage from the hot pipes.  

 

 

 

[BABABeemer]

I had my exhaust header ceramic coated inside and out and now it doesn’t turn red when running.

[Miguel!]

Just curious why you did coated the exhaust with ceramic. 

 

Miguel

[BABABeemer]

Mainly had the header coated for looks but an added benefit is that the header runs cooler and transfers more heat downstream to the cat.

[Miguel!]

2 hours ago, BABABeemer said:

Mainly had the header coated for looks but an added benefit is that the header runs cooler and transfers more heat downstream to the cat.

Thanks Baba. What'd it cost? Again, just curious. Miguel

[Lowndes]

You could wrap the headers to send more of the heat down the exhaust to the cat and/or the guy behind you.  Pretty cheap.

 

https://www.amazon.com/ARTR-Titanium-Exhaust-Stainless-Locking/dp/B012C5FOLK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=340BIB8LY7SJY&keywords=exhaust%2Bwrap&qid=1665954016&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjczIiwicXNhIjoiMy43NSIsInFzcCI6IjMuNTAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=exhaust%2B%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1-spons&th=1

 

 

[Miguel!]

6 minutes ago, Lowndes said:

You could wrap the headers to send more of the heat down the exhaust to the cat and/or the guy behind you.  Pretty cheap.

 

Lowndes, 

Lowndes, Thanks for your note. Personally, I have no interest in ceramic coating my exhaust. I was just curious what such thing costs. 

Miguel

[Lowndes]

3 minutes ago, Miguel! said:

Lowndes, Thanks for your note. Personally, I have no interest in ceramic coating my exhaust. I was just curious what such thing costs. 

Miguel

Hey, Miguel!!  me either!!

 

Go to https://www.jet-hot.com/motorcycle for a quote.

[BABABeemer]

The ceramic coating is about $110 plus shipping at Performance Coatings. The turnaround time is about a week.

 

[Hosstage]

1 hour ago, Lowndes said:

You could wrap the headers to send more of the heat down the exhaust to the cat and/or the guy behind you.  Pretty cheap.

 

https://www.amazon.com/ARTR-Titanium-Exhaust-Stainless-Locking/dp/B012C5FOLK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=340BIB8LY7SJY&keywords=exhaust%2Bwrap&qid=1665954016&qu=eyJxc2MiOiI0LjczIiwicXNhIjoiMy43NSIsInFzcCI6IjMuNTAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=exhaust%2B%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-1-spons&th=1

 

 

Just an fyi, wrapping exhaust long term causes rust, it was meant to be used on drag bike pipes to hold the heat in for faster warm up at the track.

[Miguel!]

3 hours ago, BABABeemer said:

The ceramic coating is about $110 plus shipping at Performance Coatings. The turnaround time is about a week.

 

Thanks BABABeemer. Miguel

[Lowndes]

My '99 RT came with several heavy gage aluminum foil patches backed by a thin insulation material and an adhesive that were applied to the tupperware where it was close to the exhaust pipes, down in the shark fin area and out of sight.  They look to be OEM, not sure, but makes sense and must be working.