Hobicus Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 A friend of mine from work has a bird. Try as I might.. I can't get him to participate on the board :roll: However... he's been having trouble with his bird overheating in traffic. '02 with not much in the way of miles. I explained that they run a bit hot, and that as long as I'm moving, mine usually runs up to 220 when stopped, but once I take off it cools right down. That's not the behaviour he's experiencing. Temperature runs up to 250, and the bike shuts off. The fan DOES kick in, though. Note that this is in Wisconsin, not Florida. The temperatures aren't hot enough yet for it to do that. I was thinking that it might be a weak water pump. I'm going to suggest that he bring the bike to my place, let me do a flush and fill, just in case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squareman357 Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Bad thermostat not letting the coolant circulate properly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhanxx Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 I can't vough 4 this, but a couple of things i have observed (unscientific) between my two '02 birds. 1st one had oem exhaust, no PCIII using std Honda oil filters & Honda dino oil (for most of it's short 32K life). 2nd one has full yoshi, PCIII using PL1610 (3/4" longer than std since fits in full yoshi cavity) & Rotella 5w-40 Syn since i got 'er w 3k. Both had K&N air filters. The 2nd one definitely runs cooler (approx. 10-12 degrees). My $.021394 theory is the full yoshi exhaust/PCIII is the bigger contributer and the syn oil/bigger filter to a smaller extent (syn oil should be more slippery casing less friction heat build up). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John01XX Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 seems I had the same problem and it turned out to be a bad radiator cap. Change the cap (cheap) when you flush and refill. My .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZITPRO Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 My 03 has been up to 240F but not shut down yet. it gets very hot during the summer in AZ during stop & go in traffic. Next time I change the coolant I using Engine Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 I don't sell it or use but have heard good things about Two2cool, search around and there are lots of people that swear by it, say it drops temps.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechnoGecko Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 I was on the 101 in stop and go traffic yesterday and the bird got hotter than it ever has. Ive got a 98 so no exact temp readout for me, but it was damm close to the top H. It usually only goes to about half. Although I was crawling along the 101 at about 5mph for ~20 minutes. The second I got on to the 51 onramp I punched it and got her up to 6th gear and it only took 30-45 seconds for the temp to come flying back down. I cant imagine riding the bird whenn its 110+ outside, I bet she'd just blow up. The big things to check in the cooling system are: 1. Bad radiator cap not keeping the system under pressure and therefore making the boiling point of water less than it should. 2. Bad thermostat not opening all the way and therefore not allowing adequate flow of water to and from the radiator through the engine block. 3. Bad water pump not moving enough water or some type of obstruction in the hoses. Thermostat and radiator cap are probally your two most likely culpruits and theyre both cheap to change. I'd start there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey_XX Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 My 02 never goes above 235 EVER and, these days, it has not been past 230 for over a year. Regardless of the oil I run. Stock CA model (with O2 sensor). Hugo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXBIRD Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 A friend of mine from work has a bird. Try as I might.. I can't get him to participate on the board :roll: Somebody got to do work, right?. :wink: Mine (CA, w/O2 sensor, PCIII, BOS slip-ons) was up to 234F once in a stop and no go traffic at Laguna Seca last year. I flushed the radiator and since then never above 220F sitting in the traffic. Normal running temp while moving is about 185-190F depending on the weather. Is there any temp sensor/controller to start the fan at lower temps? Thermostat starts opening at 176-183F and fully opens at 203F according to the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Hopefully someone is online right now to tell me HOW to drain the coolant on an '02 bird.... Waiting for help as we have the fairing off sitting in the driveway right now to correct an overheating problem on my friend's bike... Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northman Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 The two drainplugs are located: 1) on the front side of the crankcases, left side, IIRC, near the bottom of the cylinders. 2) on the lower side of the water pump cover, left side of engine, just in front of clutch slave. Both are silver colored bolts with copper gaskets. Hope that helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Got 'em... Thanks Read Warchild's write up in a different post for instructions... Should be simple... time consuming but simple. Thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 I just changed out the factory Dexcool in my 99 Monte Carlo Z34 for the new Prestone all makes all models coolant and it's running cooler now. (not that it was running hot) It will be going in my XX when the time comes. (it's never run hot with the Prestone Dexcool) http://www.prestone.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rockmeupto125 Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 Keep in mind, folks, that the temperature sensor only measures at one point in the entire system. When coolant is circulating well (highway revs), your gauge will reflect an honest interpretation of the overall temp. But when the small water pump is idling, its not very efficient, and hot spots can develop. The temp sensor is high in the system where coolant can stall and give the impression that your bike is going to melt in seconds. This is demonstrated by the simply act as Jason described...jump on the highway, and watch your temp gauge come down. Just a mile at speed is not enough time to bring the temperature of a lump the size of your engine down 40 degrees...I don't care what refrigerant you are using. What you are seeing is the temperature of the coolant as it equalizes throuthout the system. I'm not telling you that you should ignore your temp gauge, or that occasionally there isn't an overheating problem. What I'm telling you is that the temp gauge does not appropriately reflect the condition of the entire coolant/engine system when operated at low engine speed. Base your evaluation of overheating on a few more observations than just the temp gauge. Oh....and Rich...your friend's bike probably just needs the system burped, or a new cap. A change of coolant isn't a bad idea, as you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azxx Posted June 9, 2005 Share Posted June 9, 2005 I was on the 101 in stop and go traffic yesterday and the bird got hotter than it ever has. Ive got a 98 so no exact temp readout for me, but it was damm close to the top H. It usually only goes to about half. Although I was crawling along the 101 at about 5mph for ~20 minutes. The second I got on to the 51 onramp I punched it and got her up to 6th gear and it only took 30-45 seconds for the temp to come flying back down. I cant imagine riding the bird whenn its 110+ outside, I bet she'd just blow up. The big things to check in the cooling system are: 1. Bad radiator cap not keeping the system under pressure and therefore making the boiling point of water less than it should. 2. Bad thermostat not opening all the way and therefore not allowing adequate flow of water to and from the radiator through the engine block. 3. Bad water pump not moving enough water or some type of obstruction in the hoses. Thermostat and radiator cap are probally your two most likely culpruits and theyre both cheap to change. I'd start there. I was out in stop and go last year in Scottsdale when in was like a oven out on the road, my 98XX it was able to maintain right at 1/2 way on the temp gauge, I have the stock exaust cans drilled out and a little rich on the low speed jetting, you may need to check the cooling system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helvet Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 As I posted earlier on the board (don't remember the link, sorry) I had a big overheating problem with my bike, and had to refill the cooling fluid every half hour (boiling a lot...). The problem turned out to be the sensor that measures the temperature of the cooling fluid. I have a 1999 bike with an analogue dashboard so I could not measure the temperature accurately, but as it turns out the fan just started way too late (just before the boiling point). I don't know about the digital version, but is it possible this sensor for the temperature read-out is the same as the sensor that starts the fan? If this is the case, the bike actually could be running hotter than it appears to be on the read-out.... It is a fairly cheap item to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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