Engine Overheat Question

How long is TOO long to leave your bike on without moving on the Air Cooled models. I'm pretty sure most of us dont have a gauge on our bikes that tells us when our baby is Overheating. They say use fans on them to keep them cool, which is smart and easy.
But lets say you're at a stoplight. I'll use my favorite one for expample, at the corner of Upton and PA Rd. I ride my bike to work in the morning. and the only stoplight from my house to work sits at a fourway intersection. Now, i'm at work at 7am. There are usually NO cars on the road that early where I live, cept tractors.
I pull up to this stoplight... and wait.. and wait.. and wait... I stomp my feet, flick my high beams, and worry about my engine. This particualr stoplight lets ALL the other lanes go, except mine, going into town. The light wont change unless a car pulls up behind me.
How long should I wait before I cut my engine off?
Or even if I'm warming her up, how long is too long to let her sit?
Been curious about this for a while
-SLKid

 

lets put it this way i drove through SXSW (austin live music event) traffic 1.5 hrs i noticed it was acting a bit too warm after about 25 - 35 min....
now operating temperature on these bikes is 225 - 250 degrees

 

In Minnesota they have now changed the law on this. You can proceed thru the light if no vehicles are coming from either direction. You of course must make a complete stop first. Other wise you can buy the chunk of metal that you stick to the underside of your bike that triggers the light change. Do not know if they work or not.
http://www.cbxmanmotorcycles.com/Kwik-G ... anger.aspx

 

not to hijack the thread, but is there a way of hooking up (so it looks nice ;-) ) a temp gauge so you do know how hot your ride is, so you can be proactive and know if you are potentially causing damage?

 

I installed an oil temp sensor on mine in the back end of the oil pan (needed to get a 1/8" NPT tap to tap the hole - the gator clip was temporary while setting things up):



In my case this feeds the ECU, but you could just as easily have it feed an aftermarket gauge. Question is: how hot is OK for oil on these bikes? Mine got up to about 300 degrees on the dyno, which is why I'm running Amsoil now.

Also, if you don't already have one, like most US XJ's don't, adding an oil cooler might be a good idea.

 

Unless it's 105F in the shade I wouldn't worry about overheating from sitting at a long light. Stop and go traffic will push the temp up, true, but remember Yamaha knew their primary market was southern California so I wouldn't worry TOO much.

One other point: These motors are as much OIL cooled as they are air cooled. There are oil sprayers all over inside the motor; an occasional blip of the throttle will splash some more oil about and help too.

 

I've seen something about tripping red lights before.
http://lifehacker.com/302108/trigger-gr ... or-bicycle

Read the comments, they have some good advice, like this one:

"I solved this problem by getting a bigger motorcycle!

However, my friend rides a Rebel 250, so he can't trip most of the stoplights in town (LA area). He heard about the special magnets and discussed it with me. We decided to skip the over-priced market scam and just got a fair sized neodymium magnet and attached it to the underside of his bike. Hasn't had a problem since. "

 

Fitz covered the subject but let me add that a stoplight is 5 minutes most. Tuning and sync can be an hour or more with no real movement. Fans are to protect your ride. I wouldn't worry about normal usage. I have not had any issues in over 100 degree weather.

Now stop and go with a good load like hills can be an issue so I would be looking to have cool off periods as needed.

 

SQLGuy, that is a brilliant setup! I am impressed (and inclined to do the same). Which sender/gauge setup did you go with and what readings do you typically see?

 

Where is that read? outside of the head somewhere? oil temp?

 

SLkid, don't worry too much. An airhead bike won't overheat when idling only. Actually when they idle they running cold. At least way colder than running WOT in any gear.

Think about that: warming up your engine properly from cold (including everything not just the heads but the gearbox and the whole engine block) takes at least 20 - 30 minutes when idling. Do the same under load and the bike will run hot in 5 minutes.

Don't worry, if everything is set up correctly those engines won't overheat.

 

Thanks for the info guys! Without a gauge of some kind this question has been buggin me since I started riding!
I've made a couple and read a couple posts about getting an Oil Cooler. I think with my current mechanical skills that seems almost impossible to fabricate one, but I'm still messing with the Idea in my head. I'll have to go scope out a Junkyard and find one and bring it home and figure out how to attach it. Hmmm, where to install it without taking away from the beauty of the bike...
I actually saw a thread the other week on here about a Voltometer (Or something like that) and I cant re-find that thread again! It read outside temp, engine temp, and a BUNCH of other things and the guy said it was quite easy to install!
-StreetLegalKid

 

I have a friend who recommended a "dip stick" gauge. Replace the cap on the oil fill and reads temp there. Don't know if there would be an issue with the stick interferring with parts down there though. Don't think any thing would be in the way.

 

The mass of the bike does make a difference at stoplights. My new ride will trip BOTH the in-ground inductive coil loops and also the sensors that sit adjacent to the signal lights on top of the arm that suspends the light above the intersection

My Maxim? Just as well have a sleeping bag on the seat behind you. At least you can stay warm until a cage happens along!

Hail Minnesota. Stop, look all ways and go if it's clear. Nice soiution. You can do the same thing in Washington too. Only difference is you get a ticket!

 

Ha ha, true true. Wanted to SOOO many times. But anyone ever see Harold and Kumar? As soon as I cross that line, "WOOP WOOP" Cops man. I've got luck like that. There could be no one else on the road and I'd get popped.

 

I'll have to 2nd this. My XJ650 got way hotter doing a 1 mile run at 70 than it got idling for extended periods.

 

My buddy has the dipstick guage in his harley that he bought as a aftermarket gauge. We are going to see if it would work in mine. The only problem i can see right now is, the harley's dont screw in they use a rubber seal and push in. Not sure if the probe is long enough either. I do know that he said his oil temp never gets above 200. How is it that ours gets so much hotter? I would think that over 200 the oil would begin to break down so much faster.

 

My bike seems to trip them just fine.

My first bike (Honda CT-110) however wouldn't. Was stuck at a light in G'ville that always got me at like 11:30 pm after leaving the job. Waited, then eventually ran it. Cop pulled me over. I explained it to him and he didn't believe me. I told him I would show him so I went back and sat at the light for 5minutes before he came over and said okay...

 

RE: Oil coolers. European market bikes often had them when ours didn't. From what I can tell, they all "connected" via an extension collar with fittings on the sides that screws onto the front of the engine BEHIND the oil filter/housing. Then it's just a matter of mounting the cooler itself.

I've got one from an FJ600 I plan to eventually install on one of my Seca 550s, as soon as I get the tach switched over to electronic (so I can get the cable out of my way.)

Seems like a reasonable (although POSSIBLY unnecessary) bit of insurance...