what do yall think about this??

[jtrip]

i have a fan from a old bike that had a radiator on it i took the fan off and i was thinking i could put it on my gs850gl to keep it cool on hot days when i was riding 98+ temps outside or in traffic waiting what do yall think ..would it help or am i just wasting my time?

[Dogma]

It would have to be a pretty substantial fan, I would think, to simulate the bike moving fast enough to cool itself.

How much supplemental cooling does it need on hot days? I think you need to know the magnitude of the problem before trying to solve it. My thinking is, if you're going to sit still long enough to overheat it, just shut it off.

Installing the fan for you might be a move effective use, especially with a fairing on the bike.

[Octain]

Actually it only takes a little bit of air movement to aid in cooling an air cooled motorcycle engine.
But unless you sit in traffic a lot its not worth the trouble.

[trippivot]

parade fans been aropund a long time. great idea It will keep the cylinders from distorting and the usual oil buring and leaking will be reduced somewhat. expansion and retraction is normal on air cooled machines.

it is a little overkill but a cool engine is a happy engine

[TheCafeKid]

parade fans been aropund a long time. great idea It will keep the cylinders from distorting and the usual oil buring and leaking will be reduced somewhat. expansion and retraction is normal on air cooled machines.

it is a little overkill but a cool engine is a happy engine

So long as it's not too cool. The oil needs to be at at least 212 degrees, or reach it at some point to burn off condensation. In the fall and early spring, i have sometimes covered my oil cooler with tape or foil because the bike won't reach temp. Honestly,for your fan idea, I think it would possibly cause more problems than help really. You've got the power draw of a fan on an already notoriously weak charging system. Plus, what happens if it rains? Is it water proof? I've run the SNOT out of my GSs, running at 7-8K nearly the whole time in 95+ degree heat. With an oil cooler, as long as you're moving, I seldom see it climb past 215-220 degrees. An oil cooler would be a bigger help than the fan IMO. And if you're worried about traffic, just shut the bike off.

[jtrip]

i let my bike idle for about 5 min i have a guage that says the motor temp the left side was at 270 and the right was at 200 -210 but i was touching it on the motor so i dont know how acurate it was but why would it be hotter on the left side ?? and how hot is to hot for are bikes

[posplayr]

i let my bike idle for about 5 min i have a guage that says the motor temp the left side was at 270 and the right was at 200 -210 but i was touching it on the motor so i dont know how acurate it was but why would it be hotter on the left side ?? and how hot is to hot for are bikes

How about The crappy connection in your charging system is causing the R/R to continually short the stator raising the temperature of that side of the motor.

[jtrip]

lol your prob. right havent checked it since it was fixed . see thats why i came here to gs i learn every time i log in

[GEE-S]

I’ve owned my GS for now 20 odd years and live in Queensland Australia. Probably means nothing to you guys on the other side of the planet although our weather should when it comes to this question…

Compared to here, you guys live in bliss (today is winter and its 22 degrees). I have ridden this bike in 40 degrees plus (that’s Celsius), with FULL fairing and WITHOUT an oil cooler. I will say this I can remember on one or 2 occasions the bike did suffer in the heat (starts bogging down/lagging in power) although it was about 40 degrees and stuck in traffic jams…..god I was sweating like I was in a sauna, the heat that was generating up from the motor was incredible, I distinctly remember it starting to smell (getting hotter), pulled off the road and sat under a tree till it cooled. What I did find was that it was comparable to a long ride (the overheating), the motor lacked like it did say after a 8hr ride....boggy and down in hp. Next day fine although never have done compression tests to see if damage resulted.....

So in 20 odd years I reckon I would have turned that “fan” on maybe 2-3 times….you need to take this into account it’s a catch 22 with the fan, although it generates air flow it still restricts it, meaning its in front and will restrict when not on so it will probably now need to be used almost all the time as your blocking some of the airflow….