1982 Suzuki GS 1100 E Temperature Gauge

[Turtleface]

I'm curious as to the accuracy and reliability of the stock gauge? I'm assuming it's both accurate and reliable. I've noticed the bike getting quite hot lately, but as this is my first experience with air cooled engines, I'm not terribly sure. Here's the scenario: During normal city driving (in Phoenix, mind you) the engine seems to be sitting around mid way between the 210 and 320 mark on the gauge. Which would put the bike at about 265, assuming the gauge's temp marks are graduated evenly across the face. According to most of the post I found with the search feature, this is rather hot. I'm not noticing any change in performance, and I can still touch the engine with gloves. I'm only running the engine up to about 4.5k or so. Oil level is good, and the oil doesn't smell burnt, or look bad. Now, having said all that, the bike's temperature drops when at stop lights, which I chalked up to the lower rpm of the bike at idle. That I can comprehend. It's just the rate at which the oil temp cools is quite quick, maybe 20-30 seconds or so to settle back around 210-220, which seems to me to be the correct operating temp. The only modification I know of is the exhaust, and I'm not sure the carbs have been re-jetted. I plan on installing a stage one kit when I rebuild the carbs in a month or so. Would the lack of proper jetting cause that much of a temperature change?

Wow, that was a lot. Things just keep coming up in my head while I was typing. Thanks in advance, hope that's enough info to get a starting point.

[Dave8338]

Are you sure that the R/R is working correctly? From what you've described....your bike is doing just the exack opposite of what you should be seeing. IF, when stopped and air flow over the fins is nill, then your temps should rise. On the other hand, since your gauge drops at idle it would to me suggest, that you are getting too much voltage at 4500RPMs and in effect, your gauge is reading higher than it should.

[TheCafeKid]

Uhm....yeah. the jetting will make the temp in the whole motor hot. Mainly in the cylinder itself. You looked at your plugs lately? What colour are they? Running lean to the point of hot hot temps is bad news. You can burn valves, rings, piston crowns...etc. You need to take a look at your plugs, Do some plug chops at different throttle positions, and see what they look like at each. How does the bike run? Smooth? Does it buck and surge? does it blow soot or bog out? These are questions you need to answer for yourself and then get them sorted. If you're not sure what plugs SHOULD look like, they should be a nice even greyish or light tan. If they are dark and sooty, you're too rich. If they are clean and white, or white with black speckles in them you're lean... Lots of info on this stuff.. do a search to find your answers

[gearhead13]

The stock gauge is reliable, as in it owrks if hooked up right, but definatly not accurate. Mine hits 160 Celcius (320 F) quite quickly and stays there. Will go higher if I am in traffic. From what I understand 320F would cook my oil fairly fast. I have tried a few things like swapping out sensors. The '82 EZ model seems to be the only bike with an oil temp gauge. I would rather not even have that gauge really, just makes me anxious about where the needle climbs to.

[Turtleface]

Alright, I've got some work to do tonight. I pulled the plug on the number one cylinder when I had the tank off for a clutch cable change, and it looked almost exactly like the plug in the upper left corner of this chart I found, here: http://www.verrill.com/moto/sellingg...colorchart.htm

Took the bike out for a quick spin, the engine pulls fine all the way to 9k. No misses, hiccups. Couldn't find any dead spots in power. During engine braking, only a few quiet pops, no backfires. I can touch the side covers of the engine for a few seconds before I have to move my bare fingers. I'm going to go ahead and do an oil change, and pick up a set of new plugs as well. And out comes the multi-meter, it's possible I bumped a wire or something when I was changing the clutch cable.

I think I'm going to need to get some sort of A/C for the garage.

[Dave8338]

Alright, I've got some work to do tonight. I pulled the plug on the number one cylinder when I had the tank off for a clutch cable change, and it looked almost exactly like the plug in the upper left corner of this chart I found, here: http://www.verrill.com/moto/sellingg...colorchart.htm

Took the bike out for a quick spin, the engine pulls fine all the way to 9k. No misses, hiccups. Couldn't find any dead spots in power. During engine braking, only a few quiet pops, no backfires. I can touch the side covers of the engine for a few seconds before I have to move my bare fingers. I'm going to go ahead and do an oil change, and pick up a set of new plugs as well. And out comes the multi-meter, it's possible I bumped a wire or something when I was changing the clutch cable.

I think I'm going to need to get some sort of A/C for the garage.

A beer fridge works well for a quick blast of cold air and a refreshing beverage as an additional reward...