Cooling tips and trick??

[TheCafeKid]

With the current blast of a heat wave in the midwestern states (yes I understand that the Southwest normally reaches such temperatures, but add in 90% humidity...its not fun ) I thought maybe, with the wealth of knowlege on the board, some people would like to contribute to a "Keeping your bike cool" tips and tricks thread. I certainly would like to know some for myself, and perhaps there are a few members who would be interested too! Yes, I know some of you run oil coolers as well, but what about things that dont involve oil coolers? Its going to be in the triple digits around here this coming week they say (its 97 in the Ohio Valley today) So..what do you guys do?

Me, I run 20W50 in the dead of summer, and will be swapping to that now, since we've reached these high temps so early. I also check my oil every morning before I set out on a ride, as at high temps, its not uncommon to see a little more oil consumption. If im out on a ride of any length, I check it at every fuel stop, and also, give some time at fuel stops to let the bike cool down a bit, as well as myself ( Thats another thing boys and girls, be sure to keep YOURSELVES hydrated in the heat! Dehydration can lead to clouded thought process and slow reaction times!) Anyone else??

 

[tkent02]

Use synthetic oil and don't worry about it, the high humidity does not effect an air cooled engine like it does a person, since it isn't cooled by evaporating sweat.
Maybe don't sit in stopped traffic with the engine running.

For the rider, wet clothes turn you into a big swamp cooler, but this does work better in dry heat.

Just drink a lot of water.

 

[Guest]

I bought a cheap camel back knock off to keep me hydrated, and the wet tshirt under mesh jacket works really well. As for the Ole Girl (82 1100EZ), she gets M1 15w50, and has a pretty fair size oil cooler up front. I do all I can to take routes which go around congested areas, too. Sitting in traffic in 95*/95% humidity SUCKS. 80,000+ miles on the clock and she pulls like a freakin' freight train all the way to red line \\/

 

[Killer2600]

Ride around topless with a 3/4 helmet and aviator shades...No? I saw a guy on an old KZ doing it :-D

Seriously if it's hot drink non-caffeinated liquids even if your not thirsty, by the time you feel thirsty on a hot day your already way dehydrated. If you do end up dehydrated: stop, relax, drink some liquids, and cool off...splash and dash will not make things better.

As for keeping the bike cool I personally won't ride, unless I have to, when the sun is at it's peak otherwise I'm miserable, the bike is miserable, and it's just no fun.

Brings me to a question for all you others with no oil coolers and a oil temp gauge, on a hot sweaty day what's your oil temp running at, does it run at or close to usual temp or does it end up noticeably higher. Also which is better for engine temp; running 2500-3000 in 5th or running in 4th at somewhere in the 3500 area?

 

[Grandpa]

Use synthetic oil and don't worry about it, the high humidity does not effect an air cooled engine like it does a person, since it isn't cooled by evaporating sweat.
Maybe don't sit in stopped traffic with the engine running.

For the rider, wet clothes turn you into a big swamp cooler, but this does work better in dry heat.

Just drink a lot of water.

Totally agree with these statement, CafeKid.

My (soon to be yours) GK runs all year long on 5W40 Synthetic Shell Rotella. No noticeable oil consumption, hot or cold. It just keeps rolling along...:-D

I see no need to swap oil brands or weights on this GK, since it runs great at all times of year.

My Joe Rocket Ballistic jacket is great in hot weather. I'd rather ride at 40 degrees than at 90.

 

[Grandpa]

Brings me to a question for all you others with no oil coolers and a oil temp gauge, on a hot sweaty day what's your oil temp running at, does it run at or close to usual temp or does it end up noticeably higher. Also which is better for engine temp; running 2500-3000 in 5th or running in 4th at somewhere in the 3500 area?

I have neither an oil cooler nor a temp gauge. I can, however, tell you that, after 22 years and almost a half million miles on air-cooled shafties, no bike of mine ever had overheating problems of any kind. A well-tuned GS bike runs fine in all weather conditions. 4th gear at high rpm, 5th at lower rpm -- I don't care. I just ride it.

I live in Maryland, where it can get hot. High of 96 today, in the 100's tomorrow.

 

[Griffin]

Brings me to a question for all you others with no oil coolers and a oil temp gauge, on a hot sweaty day what's your oil temp running at, does it run at or close to usual temp or does it end up noticeably higher. Also which is better for engine temp; running 2500-3000 in 5th or running in 4th at somewhere in the 3500 area?

My GS700 has a small oil cooler (stock from factory) and a temp gauge. Normal operating temp for my bike is about 180-200 degrees F when the ambient temperature is below about 90 F. Once temps get above 90, even with steady state 60-70 mph cruising the oil temp creeps up to aobut 210, at 100 degrees ambient it's up to 220, so I guess one could say the approach temperature on my cooler is about 120 degrees.

Stop and go traffic on a hot day will raise the temp up to what I guess to be 250 or so. At that point, if it's really bad and I'm not moving, I'll either slowly drive on the shoulder to the nearest exit ramp (if on the freeway), or cut through sidestreets to get some airflow overthe engine and through the cooler.

I really don't like my oil getting above 250 degrees. Although those temps won't hurt the engine (it'll run fine with 300 degree oil), the oil will rapidly break down at such high temperatures.

 

[Skateguy50]

Not saying any of you are wrong, but thought I read somewhere on here that you should never use synthetic oil on GS bikes.

Anyways not sure how I will tell since i dont have an oil cooler and dont think I have a temp gauge unless some light comes on some day I never knew I had.

I have 10w40 in now and hope that does me fine, only 10-15 minutes ride to and from work.

 

[Grandpa]

Not saying any of you are wrong, but thought I read somewhere on here that you should never use synthetic oil on GS bikes.

Total nonsense. Lots of people on this forum use Shell Rotella Synthetic, and with good results.

One of those myths that keep on living.

 

[emjay]

... Shell Rotella Synthetic ...

Love that Shell Rotella Synthetic. Works great for me.

 

[Dogma]

...
Seriously if it's hot drink non-caffeinated liquids even if your not thirsty, by the time you feel thirsty on a hot day your already way dehydrated. If you do end up dehydrated: stop, relax, drink some liquids, and cool off...splash and dash will not make things better.
...

No doubt. I was out for a couple hours yesterday in this heat. I drank about 32 oz of water and too a nap over the next few hours, and didn't pee until later that night. Usually, that much water goes right through.

Proficient Motorcycling recommends a wet rag wrapped around the neck. I've also heard of super-absorbent shirts to wear wet under the jacket.

Oh yeah, I accidentally had the black jeans on yesterday. Not good, when sitting at a light. Time to get something safer anyhow, as I was practicing chasing sport bikes through the twisties between Morrow and Mason.

 

[Griffin]

Love that Shell Rotella Synthetic. Works great for me.

My GS700ES loves the 5W40 Rotella Synthetic. It runs much quieter than on dino oils, and and on hot days, about 10 degrees cooler too. My GS750E seems to run quieter on the Valvoline 15W40 full synthetic than with the Rotella. The Valvoline is about $10 per gallon more than the Rotella, but that only translates to about $20 per year, so I use it in the 750.

Every bike is different, but I think they can all benefit from using synthetic lubricant.

 

[Guest]

You can use synthetic, but what you don't want is anything with "friction reducing" addidives, which will ruin your clutch and just plain suck.

no lucas oil
no "energy conserving" oils
etc

 

[lurch12_2000]

Don't know on my G but the ES with oil cooler and gauge was staying under 210 even though it was 95 degrees today and during a 70 mile ride with some stop and go.
Side question.....did the '83 ES come stock with an oil cooler?

 

[Jethro]

I've had both my GS's overheat on me after some hard riding then getting stuck in traffic. On my bikes it seemed the clutch gets funky first. You can feel it happen, then if you are too stubborn to stop or don't have enough ballz to lane-split (both conditions I have suffered from) the gas seems to pre-ignite and the engine looses power fast. My experience has been that no oil choice has improved or degraded the hot performance of my motor to a degree that warrants note.

 

[Jethro]

Don't know on my G but the ES with oil cooler and gauge was staying under 210 even though it was 95 degrees today and during a 70 mile ride with some stop and go.
Side question.....did the '83 ES come stock with an oil cooler?

Good question, they may because of the fairing, but i doubt it. The airflow can't be any different to an "E" just becasue of the bikini fairing.

:Edit: Your ES in that picture, did it come with those lowers?

 

[lurch12_2000]

Good question, they may because of the fairing, but i doubt it. The airflow can't be any different to an "E" just becasue of the bikini fairing.

:Edit: Your ES in that picture, did it come with those lowers?

I recently purchased the ES and got the lowers, not mounted, with it(aftermarket according to the minds on the forum). I bought some new mounting screws and put it back on 2 weeks ago. I've put over 200 miles with them on and don't notice too much difference(handling at high speeds) other than warm air redirected on my shins. They may stay "off" when I do my next oil change.
I wanted to see if they trap heat on hot days (95) like today in traffic, but no problems according to my temp gauge(200). Recently during cooler days in the 60's and 70's the temp stayed around 180-190.
Here's a closer look:
http://s298.photobucket.com/albums/mm262/lurch12_2000/?albumview=slideshow

 

[Griffin]

Don't know on my G but the ES with oil cooler and gauge was staying under 210 even though it was 95 degrees today and during a 70 mile ride with some stop and go.
Side question.....did the '83 ES come stock with an oil cooler?

No, it did not.

 

[Guest]

I've had both my GS's overheat on me after some hard riding then getting stuck in traffic. On my bikes it seemed the clutch gets funky first. You can feel it happen, then if you are too stubborn to stop or don't have enough ballz to lane-split (both conditions I have suffered from) the gas seems to pre-ignite and the engine looses power fast. My experience has been that no oil choice has improved or degraded the hot performance of my motor to a degree that warrants note.

Had a similar experience on my Z1 during the Bi-Centennial fireworks in Boston (1978). Got stuck in endless traffic leaving and after several blocks of stop and go, pulling in the clutch wouldn't do squat, the bike just kept going. Hit the panic stop button on the handle bar, pulled over and waited for an hour or two till traffic cleared, then headed home and that was at 1 am.

With the Earls cooler on the 1100EZ I never get over 200 degrees. Before the cooler 280 was the low end of the operating range. On the oil front I use M1 10-50 in the bikes and Rotella in the truck and cars. I'd like to change the oil every 2500 miles or less but in todays busy world its hard to hold to that schedule especially with five vehicles to maintain. With the synthetics I feel like you can go 5000 without worry, in fact there have been studies that say M1 gets better ( more luberisous) after 2500 miles.

 

[Dark Jedi]

I like a good cotton T-shirt under my leather. I can tip some water down the front and it will wixk in to the entire shirt. Airflow through vents keeps you nice and cool as a result.