Overheating

[BCRider]

I was in the big city of Vancouver BC last weekend. I was riding in stop and go traffic doubling my son for about 20 min. when I heard a horrible clacking noise at a traffic light. I looked at the temp gauge and it was at 7 bars. I was near my destination at this point so once we stopped I let it cool for 30 min. Once I got going again it never went above 6 bars. I have seen 6 bars on hot days and reading other posts that seems to be the norm. What should I have been doing to avoid this? Should I be shutting off the engine each time I stop at a traffic light? Has anyone installed a small fan on the oil cooler? What do you guys in the Southern US do?

[Tony_K]

In California we "lane share" over and out

[Ken H.]

What should I have been doing to avoid this?

Nothing. 7 bars is well within normal operating range for this motor.

[Bob Palin]

7 bars is no problem at all, just ignore it.

 

Switching to synthetic oil has prevented my bike from ever going beyond 6 bars which it used to do regularly in LA traffic jams.

[AZBaldur]

I was in the big city of Vancouver BC last weekend. I was riding in stop and go traffic doubling my son for about 20 min. when I heard a horrible clacking noise at a traffic light. I looked at the temp gauge and it was at 7 bars. I was near my destination at this point so once we stopped I let it cool for 30 min. Once I got going again it never went above 6 bars. I have seen 6 bars on hot days and reading other posts that seems to be the norm. What should I have been doing to avoid this? Should I be shutting off the engine each time I stop at a traffic light? Has anyone installed a small fan on the oil cooler? What do you guys in the Southern US do?

I commute in the Phoenix, AZ area and use full synthetic oil. No fans on the oil coolers. The motor sounds better now than with dino oil on hot days... no clacking.

[4wheeldog]

As others have stated, 7 bars is not an indicator of imminent disaster. But shutting down while waiting at lights, especially once the bike has reached 6 bars, is a reasonable strategy. When I have done this, I leave it in 1st gear, thumb the kill switch off, then back on. To start, just pull the clutch and hit the starter button. Bike will be back to 5 bars pretty quickly. Good Luck!

[BchrisL]

Seven Bars is not really hot and if it is something that only happens once in a while, no problem. If you commute daily in hot weather in stop and go traffic, an aux fan will keep the oil temperature from getting excessively hot. The oil does lose more of its lubricating properties the hotter it gets, but once in a while is not a problem.

Chris

[Bob Palin]

But shutting down while waiting at lights, especially once the bike has reached 6 bars, is a reasonable strategy. When I have done this, I leave it in 1st gear, thumb the kill switch off, then back on. To start, just pull the clutch and hit the starter button. Bike will be back to 5 bars pretty quickly. Good Luck!

I'm not sure that is a good idea for short stops, at least with the motor running the oil will be pumped around the system rather than some of it being stuck in the very hottest location in the engine. Just an idea, I don't know if it is valid.