Cruzmsl Posted May 17, 2003 Share Posted May 17, 2003 OK.... Here we go again with the engine temp thing.... My 2001 Bird just seems to run hot. Now, I had a 2000 Bird and I don't recall that it ran so warm. Maybe it's the calibration of the digital gauge...maybe it's the resolution and therefore "perceived" accuracy of the digital gauge over the earlier analog one....or maybe, Honda, in their never ending effort to please the clean air folks, has "leaned" things out when they went to fuel injection.... But the bottom line is that I've had to pull over twice for awhile because I reached that magic number of 251 degrees. Yes, in town driving, stop and go stuff and yes, it does cool down when I'm at speed on the freeway but it is just disconcerting to have this happen and I often find myself in the mid 200 range. I now that Carlos and other with earlier versions (non FI) don't seem to experience this (And yes, Carlos lives in a hot place) but I have seen a few posts from people with the fuel injected versions that report similar concerns. Now, I'm the guy that experimented with a 50/50 mix of Redline and water based on a racer's input and that didn't work...not to mention the additional heat generated by friendly "flaming" and I would still like to improve upon this irritating situation. Has anyone out there tried "Engine Ice" and if so, what sort of results have you seen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warchild Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 If I were a betting man..... I would bet that you inadvertantly did not completely refill your cooling system when you changed to Redline and water. I recently serviced the cooling system myself (been negligent; went 2yrs/42K before flushing/refilling), and it took a full 0.8 gallon between radiator and overflow reservoir. Did you recall if you put in roughly the same amount? I didn't use anthing special (distilled/de-ionized water and Texaco Havoline DEX-COOL coolant), and I never have cooling issues, and I run in some *very* hot places in the Desert West. You might try the following just to make sure: when your bike is *completely* cooled down (i.e. sitting overnight in the garage), remove the right main cowling so you can access the radiator cap. If you remove this cap and don't have coolant and the very, very VERY top of the filler neck (to the point it's just about spilling out), then obviously, you need to add. If you do this and your radiator is, in fact, completely full, then of course the issue must lie elsewhere. But try this first, and hopefully you'll find your just a little low on coolant, is all. An easy, cheap fix if that's the case... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted May 18, 2003 Share Posted May 18, 2003 So what's in your cooling system now?? Still that excess of WaterWetter? I have not had this problem since I changed to a PROPER mix of 20% coolant, distilled water, and 4 ounces of WaterWetter. I did have the problem a lot before. I helped someone change his XX to Engine Ice the other day and it made an obvious improvement in cooling. Seat of the pants, just in the driveway, it seemed the same as my mix. Expensive though, at about $15/half gallon (you have to buy two, no water mix). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 Why do the FI XX's run so hot? It is a non-issue with the carbed ones. In stop and go traffic with fan on my gauge only goes 1/2 way. There was a post a while ago about carbed ones running too cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spEEdfrEEk Posted May 19, 2003 Share Posted May 19, 2003 I changed to a PROPER mix of 20% coolant, distilled water, and 4 ounces of WaterWetter So are we talking 20% coolant, 80% water and then an additionl 4 ounces on top of the mix of WaterWetter? (I wanna make sure I am reading that sentence right..) We're about to start having some of those wonderful 130 degree (heat index) days in Houston and I wanna be prepared for my long hill country runs.. :grin: :cool: TJ :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzmsl Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 I completely flushed out that earlier mix of 50/50 Redline and water and put in a new mix with the proper amount and combination.......still ran warm. Am currently running with the pre-mixed Honda coolant. When I changed mixtures, I did my absolute best to get everything out...burping hoses. shaking and leaning bike, flushed it and repeated the process.... I haven't pulled the radiator cap recently and will give that a try just for grins.... Too bad Honda doesn't employ the curved radiators (ala Kawasaki) for more cooling area and even a second fan (again, ala Kawasaki) but then again I guess that it all starts with a big engine and small frontal opening. My only real gripe with the Bird....on my second one and I love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzmsl Posted May 20, 2003 Author Share Posted May 20, 2003 Checked coolant level in the radiator and it is filled to the max......overflow tank is within limits as well. Cooling fan does work...comes on at about 215 degrees (per temp gauge) and spins like crazy. Hit 245 degrees today going through Watsonville (stop and go stuff) and it wasn't that hot of a day, maybe high 70's but it cooled down to high 150's, low 190's when I got out onto Highway 1. That in town stuff just bothers me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzmsl Posted May 20, 2003 Author Share Posted May 20, 2003 Oops..sorry...make that high 180's and low 190's when I got out on the highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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