.png "Powered by vBulletin")
I guess I just don't understand some people's mentality. My dad used to say "Don't fix it 'til it turns into something wrong." Obviously, preventative maintenance was not in his vocabulary, as evidenced by the many, many vehicles he's gone through rapidly in his life. Squeaky belt? Ain't broke, is it? Car overheating? Put some more water in it and loosen the radiator cap, it'll be fine.
BOOM! What was that? The engine blew up? Big surprise.
The situation is, this guy is wanting to know if the large amounts of heat coming off of his bike is normal, and if not, how to fix it.
First off, you need to find out if the bike is overheating. The only thing I can think of is to somehow install an oil temperature gauge. Maybe you can use one of those heat sensor guns (don't know right now what they're called) to find out the external temp, which isn't as accurate a gauge but it'll get you a baseline. If your oil is getting so hot that it's losing viscosity before the recommended 2k oil change, chances are you're either getting it too hot or gasoline is somehow seeping into your crankcase. No chance of the petcock leaking, is there?
Another thing: oil coolers work. If you have one of the older bikes with the low-pressure oil pump then it may not work for you without putting a higher-pressure pump in, but saying oil coolers don't work is like saying gas isn't flammable. It's a tried-and-true technology. If your oil cooler leaks, chances are it's a poorly made unit, the seals are bad or it was improperly installed.
I've installed oil coolers on bikes before, pretty common in South Texas where I used to live, and on every bike I installed them on the result was a significantly cooler running bike. The only one I ever had leak was the result of pure error, I forgot to install the seal on one of the lines. I installed the seal, cleaned the mess and no problems.
Air cooled and even oil cooled bikes run hotter than water cooled bikes, no argument there. Is his bike overheating? I honestly don't know, I'm not there to diagnose it, but I can try to help him diagnose whether or not it is and if it is try to help remedy the problem. Telling him to quit whining over whether or not his bike will make a long-distance trip is not great advice. Before every long trip I've ever made on a bike I did everything I could to make sure that the bike was in the top condition it could be in. I'd much rather spend an extra hour wrenching in my driveway that three hours cussing and wrenching by flashlight in the middle of nowhere.
Granted, these bikes are bull-tough if they're running right, or there wouldn't be as many as there are still on the road. But no bike, no matter how well made, can withstand unlimited abuse. Aluminum warps easily. Heat warps aluminum. It's a valid question based on a valid concern. It may turn out to be nothing. But I'd rather help prevent blowing up a motor he's obviously spent a lot of time and money on than tell him to quit worrying and ride the crap out of it.
I'll get off of my soapbox now. Find out for sure if it is overheating. If it is, we've given you some ideas on how to remedy the problem. If it's not, at least you'll have the peace of mind that the engine should last you for years to come.
BOOM! What was that? The engine blew up? Big surprise.
The situation is, this guy is wanting to know if the large amounts of heat coming off of his bike is normal, and if not, how to fix it.
First off, you need to find out if the bike is overheating. The only thing I can think of is to somehow install an oil temperature gauge. Maybe you can use one of those heat sensor guns (don't know right now what they're called) to find out the external temp, which isn't as accurate a gauge but it'll get you a baseline. If your oil is getting so hot that it's losing viscosity before the recommended 2k oil change, chances are you're either getting it too hot or gasoline is somehow seeping into your crankcase. No chance of the petcock leaking, is there?
Another thing: oil coolers work. If you have one of the older bikes with the low-pressure oil pump then it may not work for you without putting a higher-pressure pump in, but saying oil coolers don't work is like saying gas isn't flammable. It's a tried-and-true technology. If your oil cooler leaks, chances are it's a poorly made unit, the seals are bad or it was improperly installed.
I've installed oil coolers on bikes before, pretty common in South Texas where I used to live, and on every bike I installed them on the result was a significantly cooler running bike. The only one I ever had leak was the result of pure error, I forgot to install the seal on one of the lines. I installed the seal, cleaned the mess and no problems.
Air cooled and even oil cooled bikes run hotter than water cooled bikes, no argument there. Is his bike overheating? I honestly don't know, I'm not there to diagnose it, but I can try to help him diagnose whether or not it is and if it is try to help remedy the problem. Telling him to quit whining over whether or not his bike will make a long-distance trip is not great advice. Before every long trip I've ever made on a bike I did everything I could to make sure that the bike was in the top condition it could be in. I'd much rather spend an extra hour wrenching in my driveway that three hours cussing and wrenching by flashlight in the middle of nowhere.
Granted, these bikes are bull-tough if they're running right, or there wouldn't be as many as there are still on the road. But no bike, no matter how well made, can withstand unlimited abuse. Aluminum warps easily. Heat warps aluminum. It's a valid question based on a valid concern. It may turn out to be nothing. But I'd rather help prevent blowing up a motor he's obviously spent a lot of time and money on than tell him to quit worrying and ride the crap out of it.
I'll get off of my soapbox now. Find out for sure if it is overheating. If it is, we've given you some ideas on how to remedy the problem. If it's not, at least you'll have the peace of mind that the engine should last you for years to come.
Comment