07A heating issue

[Slappy]

Coming home from TWN's memorial it got rather chilly around Lompoc so I decided to extend the side fairing to keep the damp cold air off me. All the way home the temp never read higher than 4 bars. The outside temp never went above 73 until 5 miles from home when I finally got out of the fog. It quickly rose to 85. I sat in very light traffic and the temp gauge quicly rose to one from the top. When I moved the temp quickly went down. Having had 5000 mile old oil I thought this was the problem. Changed it last night and this morning while riding in 70 degree temps I got the same high temp reading. I still have the faring flaired. Anyone still riding in warm conditions have this issue? While riding at speeds the temp is normal but when stopped for any lenght of time the temp shoots through the roof. This only seems to happen when the fairing is flared wide not in its normal position.

 

[Fairlaner]

Coming home from TWN's memorial it got rather chilly around Lompoc so I decided to extend the side fairing to keep the damp cold air off me. All the way home the temp never read higher than 4 bars. The outside temp never went above 73 until 5 miles from home when I finally got out of the fog. It quickly rose to 85. I sat in very light traffic and the temp gauge quicly rose to one from the top. When I moved the temp quickly went down. Having had 5000 mile old oil I thought this was the problem. Changed it last night and this morning while riding in 70 degree temps I got the same high temp reading. I still have the faring flaired. Anyone still riding in warm conditions have this issue? While riding at speeds the temp is normal but when stopped for any lenght of time the temp shoots through the roof. This only seems to happen when the fairing is flared wide not in its normal position.

Maybe the radiator is full of sand from you off road riding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R

Sorry could not resist

 

[Slappy]

What you didnt see the squirrel? It was right there in the middle of the road. I saved its life by cutting that corner short. Im a squirrel hero.

 

[eeksnake]

I you SURE you're a squirrel hero? Perhaps you're a squirrel killer and you've got him wadded up in the radiator?

 

[Slappy]

Thanks Eeek. I never thought of that. Maybe the little guy didnt make it across the road after all. I will check it out before my ride home. Here I thought I was a good guy but I may just be a lowly squirrel killer. The horror.

Still nothing about warm weather riding and having the vents open and possible higher engine temps. I cannot figure out why at highway speeds the engine temps are fine but when idle it really heats up. The only difference between what WAS normal and NOW is the fairing.

Can anyone pull some sort of SWAG out of their posterior so I have a place to start other than flushing and filling a 10,000 mile barely broken in engine and seeing if that fixes the issue.

 

[eeksnake]

Aside from squirrel guts blocking airflow <wink! wink! nudge! nudge!>, you might want to check that your fans are kicking on. Easy to check, just fire her up in neutral, let her warm up and see if the fans kick on when she gets hot.

If the fans are working, I would check the coolant level and then the connections to the thermostat. I'm not buying the "wings" having something to do with it just yet.

See? I can be helpful when I want to be.

 

[Slappy]

The fans are definitely kicking on. Both of them. But I dont feel any hot air like I use to with the wings closed.

I will pull the fairing off tonight and see what I see.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I realize it's way obvious, but checked the coolant level in the reserve bottle lately? I've been surprised at how much my 07 drops at times. Very sporatic, but a lot of stopNgo summer commuting in 90+ will cause it to weep some coolant.

 

[Slappy]

Well, radiator is clear of all obstructions. Air moves through no problem

Overflow is over full. I just took the whole side of the bike off and the overflow is maxed. At first if felt kinda sheepish thinking the overflow was empty but it is max full and wont go back into the radiator. I have not added any coolant since owning the bike. I am the only owner. I will check the overflow in the morning and see if fluid leaves the overflow and goes back into the radiator. If not, anyone else have any ideas? This is actually starting to scare me a bit. I dont want to take it in if I dont have to.

 

[NSrider]

I will be interested in anything you find out because my 08 has started doing the exact same thing. I don't have the fairing flared but while riding in 50 to 60 degree weather the temp is fine at highway speed but as soon as I slow a little the temp shoots way up there and takes a while to come back down.

 

[sin_loki]

Coming home from TWN's memorial it got rather chilly around Lompoc so I decided to extend the side fairing to keep the damp cold air off me. All the way home the temp never read higher than 4 bars. The outside temp never went above 73 until 5 miles from home when I finally got out of the fog. It quickly rose to 85. I sat in very light traffic and the temp gauge quicly rose to one from the top. When I moved the temp quickly went down. Having had 5000 mile old oil I thought this was the problem. Changed it last night and this morning while riding in 70 degree temps I got the same high temp reading. I still have the faring flaired. Anyone still riding in warm conditions have this issue? While riding at speeds the temp is normal but when stopped for any lenght of time the temp shoots through the roof. This only seems to happen when the fairing is flared wide not in its normal position.

Maybe the radiator is full of sand from you off road riding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R

Sorry could not resist

Am told Jdog has a video of this? of this off road trip?

And it always about that cold in Lompuke, lately forest rat have been littering the sides of the roads...

 

[S76]

I'm not buying the "wings" having something to do with it just yet.

I also can't believe the wings are affecting this. They are after the fact. On mine I do find the temp runs very cold, 3 or 4 bars in cold weather. Once you stop it will naturally climb to 3/4 of the gauge. At this point the fans should kick on and the temp should drop one bar. Then the fans kick off and it goes back up and the cycle continues until you are moving again. If you are not going full gauge reading you probably don't have an issue.

How high is the highest you have seen it?

 

[Slappy]

I figured it out but lets see who is paying attention.

2007 FJR 1300A

5 months old

10,000 miles

Problem with over heating

The bike warms up normally.

While riding the temp stays at 3-4 bars

When stopped the temp rises

When sitting at a light temp rises even after pulling away and moving then falls quickly

Fans kick on at 6 bars

Temp continues to rise

What is known

There is no obstruction to the radiator

There is coolant

For those playing at home, I am betting on a stuck thermostat. This just started after the long ride from Santa Maria to San Diego. Long slabbing at 75+ mph caused the thermostat to stick or I just have a bad stat. Having the faring open was just a coincident.

Can I get and Aye Men?

 

[Fairlaner]

I am gonna close my vents today and see if there is a difference in temp.

will let you know.

R

 

[Slappy]

just called the local shop and they said a bad or stuck thermostat is exactly what it sounds like. I need to take it in ASAP IE today and they will fix it. Will let you know after its done what the outcome is.

 

[RonBB]

Agree, sounds like the the thermostat is stuck Slappy. Best of luck.

 

[Slappy]

Gonna take two days to get the part in. I am not gonna play with Yamaha over a $40 part. Tonight I am gonna pull the thermostat and run the bike without it for a couple of days. Better to cool than to warm especially now that it has ben in the high 90's down here. Pretty easy fix. The radiator cap is screwed into a metal houseing. Inside that housing three screwes hold together is the thermostat. Once you get all the tupperwear off its a 5 minute fix. Probably the easiest fix on the bike.

 

[Mike101]

Gonna take two days to get the part in. I am not gonna play with Yamaha over a $40 part. Tonight I am gonna pull the thermostat and run the bike without it for a couple of days. Better to cool than to warm especially now that it has ben in the high 90's down here. Pretty easy fix. The radiator cap is screwed into a metal houseing. Inside that housing three screwes hold together is the thermostat. Once you get all the tupperwear off its a 5 minute fix. Probably the easiest fix on the bike.

Might want to rethink that logic. It is true it will take longer to warm up, but with no thermostat the coolant will not stay in the radiator long enough to cool it down.

In my teeage know it all days I did this once in a car and it over heated real bad. It took a while to get to that point. But in a car you have gallons of coolant.

Just My 2 cents.

Mike

 

[motorcycle-ed]

There is coolant

For those playing at home, I am betting on a stuck thermostat. This just started after the long ride from Santa Maria to San Diego. Long slabbing at 75+ mph caused the thermostat to stick or I just have a bad stat. Having the faring open was just a coincident.

Can I get and Aye Men?

If the thermostat checks out don't overlook the possibility of a bad hose. I chase a problem like this on a car for months. It turned out that one of the radiator hoses had delaminated and the inside rubber surface pulled away when water was flowing in it and fell back in place when water quit flowing. When tests showed that one end of the hose was hotter than the other end, we removed the hose and tried running water through it and found it. A truly weird end to a long process over finding the problem.

Ed