Engine TOOO hot!

[Guest]

Got my bike "80 GS1100E" out for it's first leg stretching and it runs very well. Took it for a 20 mile round trip with a little break at the half way point. By the time I got it home the whole engine was as hot as the header. Even the clutch cover was hot enough to boil spit into vapor. I have yet to change the oil as when I picked it up the guy had just put fresh 10w-40 in it. I'm sure the oil filter is old and I am also suspecting the oil pump strainer. It isn't burning oil though as it still has oil at the full mark in the window. Do these things run HOT normaly or should I start suspecting a clogged passage way if I can't remedy the problem with the filter and strainer?

At the very least I'll most likely get an oil cooler and preasure guage. Where can I find the largest capacity cooler that would suit my bike well?

[KitKat]

Everything on the engine, near the engine, or by the engine will be hot, extremely hottttttttttt.

hope this helps

[almarconi]

A lean engine will run hot like that.

Everything on the engine, near the engine, or by the engine will be hot, extremely hottttttttttt.

I disagree, the clutch cover on my 750L is warm when running but not hot. Even the valve cover is no where near as hot as the header. Something is wrong..they should not run that hot.

[spyug]

I agree. There is something not right. My valve cover will get warm but not too hot to touch. Same for the side cases.

As mentioned, this could be as a result of too lean carbs.

I would check the carbs in addiiton to checking the oil pump and filters.

I would limit useage of the bike until you can figure this out.

Good luck with it.

Cheers,
spyug

[BassCliff]

Hi,

What color are your plugs?

Here's some oil cooler info to get you started...

Oil Cooler Adapter Tutorial
(by Mr. Nessism)


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[cdnoel]

Should have checked the filter.

My manual says that the filter and filter bypass are the first place to start. I'm getting a new stator cover so I'll be draining the oil compleetly. I might wait on the strainer till I drop the pipes but if I don't find any obvious problem in the filter I'll error on the side of caution and drop them right away. The plugs are not too lean although I did recently drop the main jets to 112.5's. Every thing is stock and the stock jets were originaly 107.5's. The boner who had my bike last put 122.5's in it and it wouldn't even run on them.

I feel like a bit of a boner myself for not changing the filter and oil right away. I was thinking I would run it for a week or so and change it then.

[propflux01]

Unless the maintenenace on your bike was non-existant, and sludge was a major issue, I would suspect a lean condition before I blame the oil.

[KitKat]

sorry for the bad reply there, i was wrong, again sorry.

before i did some work to my bike, it was running hot like that. and i just realized today (after all the work is done) that the clutch cover isn't as hot as the header, i gave you info for a bike that needed work, so it looks like you'll have to do a bit of work yourself, but its not a hard thing.

Good Luck, and again sorry

[trippivot]

if the clutch cover is as hot as the header your engine is literally TOAST!!! -- no really what is the exact temperature?
do you have a laser pointer temp gauge?

[rapidray]

PM sent. Ray.

[chuckycheese]

Hot

The 2 bikes mentioned so far are the '80 GS750L and the '80 GS1100E. I own both so will comment on their differences. My 750 runs like most bikes I've had....it gets hot but not any more so than one would expect; probably about like almarconi said.

On the other hand, my 1100 gets incredibly hot....about like cdnoel said. I've heard others say the same thing about the 1100's. I think your situation is most likely normal. ("Hot" is about as subjective as any term can be so it's impossible to know more without temperature readings.....and maybe not even then.)

[Clone]

Operating temp on my bike is between 80-100+ degrees C (176-212F for the metric challenged).
It is really hot and you wouldn't want to touch anything on the engine after about 15 minutes.

[tas850g]

I know my 850 gets pretty hot. You can't stay in contact with the clutch/stator cover for more than 5 secs and that may be stretching it. I know my plugs are grayish, a bit on the lean side. So to richen it up i need to turn the air screws our or in? I just can't seem to grasp that theory.

[almarconi]

So to richen it up i need to turn the air screws our or in?

You want to turn them out.

[cdnoel]

I'll get a reading next time I ride it.

I'll get a reading next time I ride it but that wont be till I do some work on it. I can tell you for sure that I don't buy that it is operating normaly. When I say it is as hot as the header I mean that you can't touch any part of the motor without getting a severe burn imediately. Any ways I appretaite the replys. I'm going to look into both conditions of the motor runing lean as well as bad oil circulation.