Supplemental cooling for heavy traffic

[mf70]

This isn't a performance mod, but it IS a mod.

I don't like being caught in hour-long stop-and-go fests that regularly happen around the DC beltway. Lots of riders happily keep going between the lanes, but I'd rather not chance the lan-changers etc.

On the other hand, I don't like idling the poor bike for an hour; looking down and seeing 350 deg. head temps is uncomfortable.

Solution: What if I mounted a 7" pancake fan ahead of the cylinders? Would it move enough air to keep engine temps in a reasonable band? Has anyone tried this?

[gsrick]

I don't think it would hurt as long as your charging system is up to snuff to deal with the extra draw. I thought about doing this being stuck in traffic in Florida. Seeing the engine start to smoke while stuck in traffic is not a happy time.

[limeex2]

Cant answer your question, but I got mine hot enough to take the temper out of the rings while in a traffic jam. I shut mine off or lane split

[Mosquito13]

What does your bikes alt put out? How much draw is your fan? . Use a thermal switch? Is there high output alts available? I would just ride the medium or split lanes... have you added a external oil cooler? If so think about a external oil filter also . More oil, more cooling. This might give you an idea... http://www.jegs.com/i/B-M/130/70298/10002/-1 and this http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...51715/10002/-1 Use that with a inline thermal switch so fan runs only when oil temp gets too high or do a manual on off.

[thebrandonbeezy]

What about an oil cooler with a fan on it.. to further your idea

[tom203]

You might try a variation of this... Two 3 inch muffin fans on a bar. I don't used this for traffic ,cuz my area doesn't have traffic! After a long ride, a magnet holds this gizmo on, and keeps the heat from rising up and evaporating gas as the bike cools down.This pleases jerry brown to no end. Current draw is minimal.. you could probably add a simple thermal switch to make it auto.



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[Dogma]

...

Lots of riders happily keep going between the lanes, but I'd rather not chance the lan-changers etc.

...

There are other chances you are taking, besides the lane changers. Specifically, the chance of getting rear-ended in the stop-and-go. If lane splitting is being tolerated on the DC beltway, I think you should learn to take advantage of it. Done correctly you get to exchange a large risk for smaller ones, and it helps reduce congestion by taking a vehicle out of the gridlock and reducing the chance of an accident that would make things worse..

Do some research on whether lane splitting is safe. Sometimes it's called filtering, because bikes can filter through traffic. It's legal in most of the world, with mainly the US not tolerating it. Californians have been doing it for a long time, and it was recently made formally legal there. Post a new thread asking about it, and those in the rest of the world can give their opinion. Joe Garfield just moved to the LA area in the last year, so I'm sure he's been learning it. You could shoot him a PM to ask about it next time he logs in (I think he's mostly logging in now to check on a rally thread, so it may be a while).

Anyhow, I think that is the better solution to your problem. That said, I'm technically curious about whether a 7" fan can effectively cool a 250 in DC heat. But I'd be more interested in the rating for how much air a fan can move, versus the diameter. That may not be easily available, but you could take the electrical power ratings as a proxy measure of whether one fan will move more air than another (for similar fans). I think a small radiator fan from an auto salvage yard would be your best bet. The good news is, you already have a head temp gauge to tell you whether it's working.

[mf70]

Interesting thoughts. Yes, these days there are a lot of small electric fans in the junk parts market. I was thinking of a large 12V computer cooling fan, since they don't draw much current -- certainly less that the "always on" headlight.

I'll do more thinking about splitting as well.

[posplayr]

Interesting thoughts. Yes, these days there are a lot of small electric fans in the junk parts market. I was thinking of a large 12V computer cooling fan, since they don't draw much current -- certainly less that the "always on" headlight.

I'll do more thinking about splitting as well.

If you switch everything over to LED you could probably save 2-3 amps which would be able to drive a 12v fan at a reasonable idle speed (e.g 1500 rpm)

[Gorminrider]

But I'd be more interested in the rating for how much air a fan can move, versus the diameter.

I think I've seen it as "CFM"? (cubic feet per minute)? My main trouble with the concept is that little fans don't blow over much area so you need a big ugly one or lots of little ones .


Plus, maybe worse, they are all going to freewheel when you speed up. AND a freewheeling prop is actually a blockage to air flow. Acts a bit like a dinner plate blockage when it's at max TSR.(tip speed ratio related to propelleor "pitch" limits the rpm of a prop...