sibber Posted April 21, 2003 Share Posted April 21, 2003 Hey all, I've had my 02 bird for 10 days and I put 100 miles a day on for the first six days, in 40 degree weather, for break in. It took A LOT of restraint not to get on it. Anyway, after changing the oil at 600 miles, I got caught in the rain. It ran fine until I got home and it was at 180 degrees and it boiled over in my driveway. I took the panels off, cleaned it up, reseated the radiator cap, let it dry out and it did not boil over again at idle Was it the rain? or the cap? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rehellek32 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hey all, I've had my 02 bird for 10 days and I put 100 miles a day on for the first six days, in 40 degree weather, for break in. It took A LOT of restraint not to get on it. Anyway, after changing the oil at 600 miles, I got caught in the rain. It ran fine until I got home and it was at 180 degrees and it boiled over in my driveway. I took the panels off, cleaned it up, reseated the radiator cap, let it dry out and it did not boil over again at idle Was it the rain? or the cap? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rehellek32 Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 Hey all, I've had my 02 bird for 10 days and I put 100 miles a day on for the first six days, in 40 degree weather, for break in. It took A LOT of restraint not to get on it. Anyway, after changing the oil at 600 miles, I got caught in the rain. It ran fine until I got home and it was at 180 degrees and it boiled over in my driveway. I took the panels off, cleaned it up, reseated the radiator cap, let it dry out and it did not boil over again at idle Was it the rain? or the cap? Thanks Same thing happened to me a few times, no rain relation though. Dealer was no help an I feel my engine has never ran right since(hard starts, rough idle, clanky not cct done that) time to buy a new bike and not sure if I will go with Honda again since I was stonewalled on this and was never happy with the outcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 See this post about just how well the Bird is made. http://www.cbr1100xx.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=72263 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 These are my thoughts FWIW.... 1. Air in the system? Air bubbles fuck up how coolant works (can't properly pressurize) and the coolant boils easily. Air SHOULD work out on its own, and the XX does not require that you bleed air out of the system like older bikes, but if the guy who slapped it together did a sloppy job, maybe air pockets were still in there? 2. Overfilled overflow tank? You're supposed to put some coolant/water mix there so air is not drawn into the radiator when it cools back down. Maybe it was overfilled and when you motor heated up, the expanding fluid shunted to the overflow tank made excess dump out? 3. Obstructed radiator? Something got on that blocked air flow. Could have fallen off on it's own or you washed it out without realizing it. 4. Radiator cap not seated properly. The frustrating thing with the XX's cap is that there is so little room to get your fingers in and to seat it properly you really must push down and turn it fully. The first bit is easy, the rest is work (at least for my fingers). If the guy who put it on didn't seat it properly, maybe that caused it. I will note that most all cafe racer-style bikes (full fairings) tend to be horrible for engine cooling because the radiator is placed behind stuff that blocks natural air flow. At highway speeds, you get great air flow, but at slower speeds, you really need the fan to pull the air through the system. Stuck in traffic, slow speeds, strong cross winds, etc. can negatively impact how effectively a motor is being cooled when the radiator is hidden behind plastic panels. Of the two bike's I've owned of this style, both mandated the install of a manual bypass switch to the cooling fan so I could ensure it came on before the coolant overheated under adverse conditions. Just the way my luck has run. My 2 cents is that the fan switch on these bikes are set too high for effective cooling. I'd rather have a fan kick in way early but have lots of time to help fight heat buildup than have it kick in close to the overheat point. It takes time to disperse excess heat, and maybe under 90% of the time the fan kicks in with enough time to do the job, but that other 10% it's probably kicking in too late to prevent it from happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVLXX Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 1. Air in the system? 4. Radiator cap not seated properly. +1 ... 180 degrees is just up to the bottom of normal operating temperature. A glycol/water mix (coolant) needs pressure to work correctly, even at that temperature, and it sound like you didn't have that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IcePrick Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 I'm thinking the OP probably resolved his issue. It sounds like the second poster is already done with his bike... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spicholy Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 holy searching through back logged files batman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 holy searching through back logged files batman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eye for detail for the WIN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 holy searching through back logged files batman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eye for detail for the WIN. No offense to Spicholy, but it doesn't take much attention to detail. Anyone with basic reading comprehension skills is going to think "WTF, he's talking about breaking in a nine year old bike?" and then look at the date of the post. You seemed to have employed your usual strategy of missing a key point and then typing a useless response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero Knievel Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 holy searching through back logged files batman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Eye for detail for the WIN. No offense to Spicholy, but it doesn't take much attention to detail. Anyone with basic reading comprehension skills is going to think "WTF, he's talking about breaking in a nine year old bike?" and then look at the date of the post. You seemed to have employed your usual strategy of missing a key point and then typing a useless response. Just as you employ your usual strategy of pointing that out. :icon_wink: 4 days out from WVXXT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01xxallen Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 So how does it happen that post #1 is from 2003 and post #2 is from today? Nobody responded for 9 years? But it still was in the list of "New Posts"?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbird Posted May 23, 2011 Share Posted May 23, 2011 So how does it happen that post #1 is from 2003 and post #2 is from today? Poster number two stumbled across this thread somehow and decided to respond to it, his motivations for doing so are his own. Nobody responded for 9 years? But it still was in the list of "New Posts"?? It's a new post if you haven't read it. Age is irrelevant. For anyone registering today, every single post on this entire forum is a "new" post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rehellek32 Posted May 24, 2011 Share Posted May 24, 2011 So how does it happen that post #1 is from 2003 and post #2 is from today? Poster number two stumbled across this thread somehow and decided to respond to it, his motivations for doing so are his own. Nobody responded for 9 years? But it still was in the list of "New Posts"?? It's a new post if you haven't read it. Age is irrelevant. For anyone registering today, every single post on this entire forum is a "new" post. I thought it would be decent to respond to fellow xx rider that had a similar issue, be it 9 years later, since noone else did. I remembered how infuriated I was when my two week old shiny new bird puked in traffic and I distinctly remember hearing the change in combustion sound, sometimes called pinging or knock, when it happened. I remembered researching the knock sensor and how it didn't do it's job and adjust timing, or whatever it does, and felt like ranting, sort of. Didn't intend to stir the pot with anti honda blaspheme but it's my actual yet unfortunate situation. I'd like to thank everyone on the site that has offered advise and/or responses to my questions on this issue through the years, especially Northman, he knows his shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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