Just wondering since carburetted bikes are so hard to keep the temp down, how do you guys keep the temp down especially in stop and go traffic? My bikes fan turns on but im convinced that it doesn't do much because the temp gets hot real fast at lights... I have engine ice in the bike and it doesnt heat up as much as last year but still gets up there.

if im in stop and go traffic, i have to stop every 20 mins to cool down... also cuz my clutch starts acting up when the temp gets high up there too

any suggestions... I havent rigged my fan yet but i feel like i need to now if i ever want to ride in NYC when i go home

 

I don't have any problems with overheating, and I'm here in S. Florida. It's possible that you've got a thermostat that's not opening fully. The thermostat is what actually controls the flow of coolant through your engine and radiator.

 

+1 on looking elsewhere for the cause. In Philly here so our temps aren't that much different. Mine has never approached the red zone on temp. And I'm pretty sure Honda designed their bikes to run in 130F temps thru overengineering.

Was talking with Trout bout this. Lot of the temp issue is just paranoia. We have overheat warnings for when something is really wrong. If you ain't hitting the red zone, then why are you worrying? If you are hitting the red zone, why are you looking at coolant types instead of finding the mechanical cause?

 

well the only reason why im concerned because i had the same problem last season. I pulled apart the entire block this winter and had everything checked out. New headgasket, new (well used) water pump, oil cooler gaskets, as well as other misc gaskets (oil pan, oil pump etc). The radiator is fairly new since i got it when i got the bike becausei had this problem last year. I

I didnt replace the thermostat it self because i figured, it must be reading correctly if its fluctuating in temp when i am riding and it turns on the fan when i turn off the bike.

With what i have, would it really be the thermostat?

 

Well first out, how hot is she getting? In the red? Second there's a difference between the thermo sending unit, which reads the temp. And the thermostat in the radiator which opens when the engine is warm to allow coolant to circulate.

If the thermostat is bad coolant won't flow (or will only partially flow), causing higher temps and overheating. The gauge is only telling you how hot she's getting. It's not doing anything about it except turning on the fan.

 

My bike ran warmer than most f3's when I first got her...
She idled at 2500, which is what I blamed it on.

I dropped the idle down to about 1500, and she ran a lot better for me

 

well when i begin riding it stays around half way and lower but today when i went riding and we were stuck behind someone infront of us, it got up just before the red.... i can feel it under my seat it getting WAY warm... i had to change into shorts for the 2nd part of the day cuz my nuts was roasting

 

My temp shot up the other day, got stuck in some traffic (30C + day temp). Fan only kicks in when the gauge got pretty high. Actually this was the 1st time I have ever been in this situation with the bike. Nice to know my fan actually works.
And it does not take much riding for the temp to drop again. I've had a lot of air cooled bikes & they suffer a lot worse in stop/go traffic & never had any problems.
With K1 Beemer I owned (water cooled), the petrol used to bubble in the tank when it got hot, until they did a recall & replaced the heat shielding between the donk & tank.
To test your thermostat, put it in a saucepan & pour boiling water into it or boil the water with it on a stove. You should see the thermo valve open & atleast eliminate that a suspect.

 

Get one of those infrared temperature guns, and point it at the back end of the radiator when its "overheating," and also into the coolant. See if your readings are similar to the bike's.

 

When I first got my bike the fan would never turn on, road in stop and go down town Portland, OR traffic on 90+ degree day with bike temp in the red. bike didn't explode and nothing catastrophic happened, figured out it was a blown fan fuse. don't worry about it getting hot, these things happen, as long as its not in the read ur golden.