CxBXR Posted June 20, 2008 Share Posted June 20, 2008 Got done sifting through the PO wiring job where he bypassed the thermostat & installed a manual fan switch, and noticed after replacing all the wires back to there stock location I now have a "normal" bike without worring about the dawm switch. I noticed the fan coming on a exactly 220 degrees, and wanted to make sure this is sufficient ? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John01XX Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 mine kicks on at 217 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BackStreet Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 In traffic on a hot day, mine comes on by about 220, cools it down to 210, and kicks off again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01xxallen Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Yep. I thought my fan was broken until one day I let it get to 219 and the fan came on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Odd. After my fan failed to keep my bike from overheating, I put in a bypass switch and find that 1,000X easier than trusting the fan switch to do its job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CxBXR Posted June 21, 2008 Author Share Posted June 21, 2008 Odd. After my fan failed to keep my bike from overheating, I put in a bypass switch and find that 1,000X easier than trusting the fan switch to do its job. Have you flushed & cleaned your rad. ? Do you have bent/dirty fins ? Is your coolant mixture dilluted 50/50 ? Tried Water wetter ? I use to like the manual switch but had a tendency to overuse it, & it killed my battery by overdraining it too often. The Thermoswitch is doing just as good of a job for me if not better than the manual over ride did. Thanks for the info, big help all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beondwacko Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Strange to hear of so many variations in starting temps. Mine kicks in at 210(on) and off at 200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 I wonder why there would be so much variation? Mine ('03) turns on at 216 and off at 200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Have you flushed & cleaned your rad. ? Do you have bent/dirty fins ? Is your coolant mixture dilluted 50/50 ? Tried Water wetter ? I use to like the manual switch but had a tendency to overuse it, & it killed my battery by overdraining it too often. The Thermoswitch is doing just as good of a job for me if not better than the manual over ride did. Thanks for the info, big help all. So far, and not just my experience, sportbike cooling systems just don't do the job if you wind up in traffic. The systems are designed for the track/open road, not congested traffic, so overheats are common....sometimes, all it takes is for the heat to creep up and do something and nothing seems to work right since then. I had a Kawasaki. Overheated. I know that the fan was not coming on. I put on a new switch, and that fixed it...then it happened again. With the cost of the sensor switch, I said "screw it" and put a manual switch in....never had a overheat problem ever again. The 'Bird overheated and punched a leak in the radiator on my first cross-country trip. It was hot, and IIRC I was drafting a car in front of me which likely compromised how much airflow was going over my radiator...in high heat, that was bad. I put a bypass switch on the bike after that, and never had a problem again. You do have to remember to know what the on/off positions are and be certain that if you turn off the bike, the fan turns off as well, but other than that, I've never seen a battery drained by an override switch. It may seem inconvenient, but frankly, the "on" setting for the sensor is way too hot for off-track applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Sounds about right, the variation among our different cooling systems and maintenance levels should explain the differences. Mine kicks in at 220 and off at 210. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CxBXR Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 You do have to remember to know what the on/off positions are and be certain that if you turn off the bike, the fan turns off as well, but other than that, I've never seen a battery drained by an override switch. It may seem inconvenient, but frankly, the "on" setting for the sensor is way too hot for off-track applications. Switch was installed on the ignition hot wire , meaning it would not come on until the bike was started. I think what mainly killed the battery was running it non-stop in slow traffic or waiting a red lights, when the charging system isnt exactly running at its best. I agree the setting seems a little hot, but if it cut on at an earlier temp, you would have the same problem I described above, too much drainage & not enough replinish. Though a do agree with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Well, frankly, stuck in traffic is bad for any bike's battery. If you don't keep the fan running, the bike will overheat. If you run the fan but stay idling in traffic too long, you'll kill the battery. I choose to avoid congestion just on principle when traveling. In commuting, I think the problem would creep up fast since you don't spend a lot of time running the RPMs high enough to get some quality charging to the battery. I took the shoulder to get past a real bad traffic jam in NC because it was a choice of cook slowly in stalled traffic or kill the battery....or both. Motorcycles are not designed to idle for hours in stop and go traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airborneXX Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 I'm wondering if there's a switch from an automobile (cheaper than anything m/c related) application would work. All you would need to know is the thread size, temperature rating and no/nc switching action. Maybe something that switches on around 190-195 might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CxBXR Posted June 23, 2008 Author Share Posted June 23, 2008 I'm wondering if there's a switch from an automobile (cheaper than anything m/c related) application would work. All you would need to know is the thread size, temperature rating and no/nc switching action. Maybe something that switches on around 190-195 might help. You mean like this one, it is fully adjustable from 150*-240* with auto shut off at 10* less $49.99+ $9.99 shipping http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/DERALE-ADJU...1QQcmdZViewItem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuffguyF4i Posted June 23, 2008 Share Posted June 23, 2008 Variation is very normal on any sensor. For the temperature to vary 10 degrees at 200, is only a 5% variation. Between the sensor, indicator, and all the leads between, thats is very normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 I'm not sure if the XX fan will cool the engine down at all...it may slow the climb to high temps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbrzxxx Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Let me add something to get you thinking. Water condensates in the oil naturally, and unless it turns to steam it can't get out. 212 deg is normal. And nessasary. If the motor materal could take it 400 deg intake temp would give twice the gas mileage. Smokey built one. Tom Oggle did too. No not the water, but it did have a high pressure water system. The hotter the better to a point that it is designed. I have run the xx to much hotter than anybody. And I am the only one to loose coolant. It had to be 120 deg day, and running over 7k rpm to red line for a hour all with much less air than most could imagine. I had to run very rich to keep it cool. I could burn three gallons of gas in 60 miles. Never had a problem due to to hot. I have seen 250 without loosing coolant out the overflow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnoGecko Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 I always find these threads interesting because everyone talks about the bike overheating or getting too hot, yet has anyones bike actually overheated? On the bird if I'm in stop in go traffic sure it gets "hot", and by hot I mean warmer than if I was moving - but the bike never overheats, never dumps coolant, and never fails to run. As soon as I start moving in traffic again the bike cools right back down. A bike getting "hotter" and "overheating" are two completely different things. I'd be curious to know how many blackbird owners have actually seen their bikes overheat versus just "get hot". ... and considering I live in a state where it's 103 outside right now, and its 11:30PM - I'm not sure how much hotter it could get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Para045 Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 I'd be curious to know how many blackbird owners have actually seen their bikes overheat versus just "get hot". ... and considering I live in a state where it's 103 outside right now, and its 11:30PM - I'm not sure how much hotter it could get +1 As I ride in 45C temps and never had my 98 over 3/4 on the gauge I may overheat but not the bike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I saw 240f-250F many many times on my 02 XX and it never lost coolant. I got to the point where I didn't even look at it anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Let me add something to get you thinking. Water condensates in the oil naturally, and unless it turns to steam it can't get out. 212 deg is normal. And nessasary. If the motor materal could take it 400 deg intake temp would give twice the gas mileage. Smokey built one. Tom Oggle did too. No not the water, but it did have a high pressure water system. The hotter the better to a point that it is designed. I have run the xx to much hotter than anybody. And I am the only one to loose coolant. It had to be 120 deg day, and running over 7k rpm to red line for a hour all with much less air than most could imagine. I had to run very rich to keep it cool. I could burn three gallons of gas in 60 miles. Never had a problem due to to hot. I have seen 250 without loosing coolant out the overflow. Yep... When I went to the Evans waterless coolant, because it has a lower specific heat than water/eth mix, it doesn't take heat out of the engine quite as well, so it runs a little bit hotter just going down the interstate. I picked up 2mpg on the interstate when I just changed the coolant. It still doesn't even get over the temperature that water/eth would overheat, but the fan does run a little more than it did. I have a Datel DVM, so I can watch the voltage. If I have the idle at 1000rpm, the voltage will be OK with out the fan on, but when the fan kicks on and stays on for any length of time, it'll get down into the 11.5V range... On the other hand, if I have my idle at 1250-1300rpm, it'll stay above 13V most of the time and doesn't start the "downward spiral" of voltage from running the fan. Even if it does get hot, who cares now... The engine and synthetic oil are just fine with it, and this coolant doesn't boil until 375*F at 0-PSI... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emillard Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 I saw 240f-250F many many times on my 02 XX and it never lost coolant. I got to the point where I didn't even look at it anymore My 02 never gets that hot but it sees 220 all the time. My fan kicks on at 217 as well. I never had a problem overheating and it's 90+ with mucho humidity in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I saw 240f-250F many many times on my 02 XX and it never lost coolant. I got to the point where I didn't even look at it anymore My 02 never gets that hot but it sees 220 all the time. My fan kicks on at 217 as well. I never had a problem overheating and it's 90+ with mucho humidity in the summer. I would be more worried about the charging system than overheating..the fan running all the time might add some stress on the charging system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I saw 240f-250F many many times on my 02 XX and it never lost coolant. I got to the point where I didn't even look at it anymore My 02 never gets that hot but it sees 220 all the time. My fan kicks on at 217 as well. I never had a problem overheating and it's 90+ with mucho humidity in the summer. I would be more worried about the charging system than overheating..the fan running all the time might add some stress on the charging system. Set the idle to ~1200-1250, and it'll stay above 13V even with the fan on... At 1000, mine drops to high 11's once the fan kicks on... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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