03 R1150RT Fan radiator vs stop/starting the engine

[RogerC60]

There are other recent threads related to radiator fans on oilheads, but rather than hijacking one of them...

 

I ride my RT to commute to/from work, mostly on divided highways. It's not uncommon to encounter traffic jams, and some of them can be prolonged. Last summer on a 90 degree afternoon I was stuck in traffic for an hour that sat still for 5 minutes then crept forward for a few seconds. The oil temperature gauge was hovering just below the red and the engine was getting really noisy, so I shut it off. When traffic started to move, start the engine, creep forward a few seconds, stop, shut off the engine. And so on.

 

I really hate using the starter so much, figuring that engine startup is when most engine wear occurs, plus starters don't last forever. Am I right to be concerned about this?

 

I've thought about adding a fan to the oil cooler radiator, but know there is a negative with this as well (reduced airflow across the radiator).

 

Other options for situations like this:

• Lane splitting/filtering or riding on the shoulder. Both of these are illegal in Ohio where I live, and cage drivers here do not take kindly to motorcycles flaunting their advantage (this is an understatement).
• Buying a different bike for commuting. No.
• Finding a different job. No.

 

So the bottom line question: do the negatives of  repeatedly using the starter justify adding a cooling fan?

 

Thoughts?

[dirtrider]

53 minutes ago, RogerC60 said:

There are other recent threads related to radiator fans on oilheads, but rather than hijacking one of them...

 

I ride my RT to commute to/from work, mostly on divided highways. It's not uncommon to encounter traffic jams, and some of them can be prolonged. Last summer on a 90 degree afternoon I was stuck in traffic for an hour that sat still for 5 minutes then crept forward for a few seconds. The oil temperature gauge was hovering just below the red and the engine was getting really noisy, so I shut it off. When traffic started to move, start the engine, creep forward a few seconds, stop, shut off the engine. And so on.

 

I really hate using the starter so much, figuring that engine startup is when most engine wear occurs, plus starters don't last forever. Am I right to be concerned about this?

 

I've thought about adding a fan to the oil cooler radiator, but know there is a negative with this as well (reduced airflow across the radiator).

 

Other options for situations like this:

• Lane splitting/filtering or riding on the shoulder. Both of these are illegal in Ohio where I live, and cage drivers here do not take kindly to motorcycles flaunting their advantage (this is an understatement).
• Buying a different bike for commuting. No.
• Finding a different job. No.

 

So the bottom line question: do the negatives of  repeatedly using the starter justify adding a cooling fan?

 

Thoughts?

Morning  RogerC60

 

Are you right to be concerned, yes, lots of riders are. 

 

Does the temperature thing really matter based on the RID reading , probably not. 

 

Just go back through history & find ANY BMW 1100 or 1150 that has been damaged from normal riding overheating. They look hot, they sound hot but they really are not getting that hot.  I have worked on a lot of BMW 1100/1150 motorcycle & have yet to find one damaged from getting hot in traffic.

 

The thing to keep in mind is: the RID temp gauge is reading the oil temperature as it leaves the hot cylinder head area and  has picked up the engine heat, but BEFORE it has gone through the oil cooler. 

 

Normally the BMW boxer isn't any where near overheating until it sounds like a can full of rocks & chains being tossed around.

 

Should you turn it off in traffic,  not for a normal stop & go deal. Maybe if it is an extended stop in real hot weather but normally stop & go won't hurt a thing. 

 

As for starter wear & engine wear, if you turn it off & re-start a lot, sure that will increase starter wear but it won't increase engine wear or hurt anything. The big risk in turning it off & re-starting in traffic is getting a no-re-start in the middle lane of a 5  lane highway in rush hour traffic ( reason I usually don't shut them off).

 

The RT-P had an oil cooler fan but that was basically for traffic duty where the motorcycle could be parked with the engine running for hours  on end with a high load on the charging system (higher engine load) due to all the lights & radios & police accessories.

 

A good up-level synthetic oil is your friend for that hot stop & go traffic commute.

 

You also want to keep the oil cooler as clean as possible (remove bugs & road crap often). 

 

Thing to keep in mind is: BMW never had a heating problem or any hot engine complaints UNTIL they added that darn dash temperature gauge. 

 

 

 

 

[Skywagon]

Roger... when I had my 1150rt I worried about heat as well. Stuck in traffic in Houston @100+ would nearly peg the rid. If I was stuck and not moving for 5 minutes or so I shut it off too. I could hear the change in sound (Ticking)and was also worried about melting the fairings. That said I rode it here for 7 years and about 50k miles and never had an issue. No lane splitting here either. If someone didn’t shoot at me they would probably try to block. I lane split a lot when I lived in Ca. 
one last thing... I changed my oil more often (4000 miles)in hot weather and used synthetic as DR suggested

 

 

 

 

[RogerC60]

Thanks for the replies. I'll stop worrying, stop looking for fan solutions, and put in a good synthetic oil at my next oil change!

 

[Railbender]

I put a R1150RTP fan on mt R1150RT sidecar rig.  I have a manual switch on the dash and only use if the temperature gets close to the red zone.  I have actually only used it once or twice but it is nice knowing it is there.