Engine Heat

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I have to admit that my KLR650 puts out much less noticeable heat than my 05 FJR. Perchance he should look at a dual-sport. I also have to complain that when it is cold my FJR does not put out enough heat. So what do ya do. Ignore the heat/lack of heat and go out and enjoy the ride. I personally do not mind either situation for that is why I ride so as to get out to the controlled environment of a car and enjoy the outdoors.

You are not going to convert your guy it sounds like so he should trade it in on a car.

 
Get him a pair of leg warmers. That will keep the ants from crawling up his legs and biting his candy *** Phuuuuk

 
I agree with skooter...ride the bike and confirm if there is or isn't a problem first. Perhaps the radiator is clogged with grass, bum thermostat, or just look at the temp guage.

After that...take a can of starter fluid, a lighter, and visually explain what is taking place between his legs every few milliseconds.

 
Make sure he has those little vents on the side (fairing) open, makes a HUGE difference. I felt heat blowing on me until I opened those.

I've owned lots of fully faired bikes and they all threw heat. After opening the vents on my '07 I can honestly say its the coolest bike I've owned And I'm a Yankee moved/riding in Georgia. No heat now!

Steve

 
What did this guy ride before?

And why does he thik most of those Harley riders keepsticking their feet out on the engine guards?<G>

My Harley gets even hotter than the FJR, especially in stop and go traffic.

No matter what you're riding, it's an iinternal combustioin engine and makes heat, especially the big motors.

riding across the sesert last summer in 100+ temps, I really wasn't thinking about the heat on my feet.... my face was hot!

Oh well. JM.0002

Mary

 
Make sure he has those little vents on the side (fairing) open, makes a HUGE difference. I felt heat blowing on me until I opened those.I've owned lots of fully faired bikes and they all threw heat. After opening the vents on my '07 I can honestly say its the coolest bike I've owned And I'm a Yankee moved/riding in Georgia. No heat now!

Steve
Ok, this has been a question of mine. I did a lot of research on this forum, and I came to the conclusion that closed (or closest to the bike) is the coolest position. That open (or pulled away from the bike) allowed air to pass by the engine, get hot, then hit your legs.

So which is it? I havent ridden in hot weather yet, just really, really wet, so I havent been able to try it both ways.

J

 
Open, Fins in the "Out" position is the coolest. I am 1,000,000% sure from personal experience in 102-104 heat on the slab. Kick that hot air around the body as best you can. My theory on the reason behind this is Yammi redirected the heat and it come out the sides (toward front) and yus gosta get it around you.

In slow traffic, Makes no nevermind

 
Last edited by a moderator:
And here today (104 on the slab today) I was just sliding my feet out on the pegs a bit farther to midigate any engine heat. Guess I'm gonna have to putz with those fins and see what difference it makes, there inboard atm.

 
And here today (104 on the slab today) I was just sliding my feet out on the pegs a bit farther to midigate any engine heat. Guess I'm gonna have to putz with those fins and see what difference it makes, there inboard atm.

Same here...most of the heat is from the lower left ankle area. When I get up to speed, I just kick out my left knee a bit and it allows more airflow between my left leg and the side of the bike. My leg cools off real fast when I do that in 95+ deg temps. I haven't tried moving out the side vents yet, I thought that was for cooler Wx to allow more heat to flow over torso area.

Herkypilot

 
Last edited by a moderator:
My 04 FJR directed more heat onto my left foot compared to the 07 I have now.

 
Heat is subjective IMHO. I came from a Honda Magna and I think it put out more heat than my 05 FJR. Bottom line though, you're sitting on a 140 HP four cylinder internal combustion engine, it's gonna be hot. Get over it and up to speed and it ain't no issue for most.

 
I think that a lot of people have ridiculous expectations of how motorcycles should be. They get a little heat and buffeting so they are disenchanted. We know ,it is part of the experience and do not expect a car like environment. Hell,some even complain about Goldwings which are as car like as can be!
And you know this because???? Do you own a Wing? I have both and I can tell you that the GL1800 gives off a huge amount of heat. Appreciated in winter, but not so much in triple digit temperatures. As car like as can be? Certainly more than an R-1, but it's still a pretty high performance motorcycle.

I can say from experience that both the FJR and the GL1800 are excellant touring bikes and I like both of mine. Heat is just the price one has to pay. Best way to minimize the discomfort is to suit up.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I am a new FJR owner and I will say that it does put out some heat. Mind is much better now that I have about 1500 miles on it but compared to my warrior the FJR is one hot puppy. I have learned to just wear proper clothing, a good pair of cotton jeans and proper foot wear. Tell the guy he is riding a motorcycle, the engine is right between his legs, the bike puts out well over 100 hp so its going to get hot. I have heard that the scooters are very cool and comfortable.

 
Coldest liter-plus bike I have ever ridden are the older Venture Royales. The engine was basically isolated in a tunnel. Vents on the side covers could allow heat to waft up if needed or shut the doors and heat is tunneled out the back of the bike around the shock. It also had vents to pull air from in front of the fairing directly to the shin area to push out any remaining heat. The venting near the steering head on the new FJRs is very similar in design. Behind all that plastic the VMax’s father put out prodigious amounts of heat. The rear bank of cylinders was right at your calf about 4 inches away. The early Ventures simply had an uncontrolled opening there. Your legs would bake, literally. Yamaha sold a lot of chrome Ventureline block-off plates to fill that hole in the ’83 thru ‘85s.

 
I loved my old '84 Venture Royal. I never did notice a heat issue with it tho. Just pop the lower vents open and off to the races. I'm kinda surprised that Yamaha did away with rider controled venting like the old Ventures had. I've thought about maybe wings to direct the air twards the rider more to aleviate the heat, but the heat from the FJR is not a big enough issue for me. Might be an idea for those that are bothered by the heat tho.

 
Just a short comment regarding "heat" and my 06 FJR. On June 21st, on a ride from Ozona, TX to San Diego, temps were mostly above 100 after El Paso (much cooler around Deming). I began noticing a stinging sensation just below my left knee around Las Cruces. At a stop in Yuma, (111 degrees), I moved the fairing wings outward and the heat was much less. Point is when I got to San Diego, I noticed that I had burned three blisters just below my left knee with one being about the size of a quarter and the other two were very small.

I am certain that had I moved the wings outward sooner, it would have prevented the blisters. I have ridden in extreme heat on a number of motorcycles over a number of years without that kind of outcome. Please note that I am not complaining, just mentioning facts.

I like my FJR a lot but I suggest, for consideration, that one who takes the position that it puts out no more or even less heat than other similarly sized motorcycles, may not have ridden an FJR in extreme heat.

DG

Madison, WI

 
Tell him he's a ***** if he admits to owning other bikes that were hotter [and is bitching about the fjr]. Tell him to find a buyer and switch to a Miata with a/c.

and...

1. yes i've ridden wings; owning 3 (83 gl1100a, 84 gl1200a, and a 98 gl1500se) they were all hotter than the fjr in the summer

2. yes i have ridden my 2003 fjr in extreme heat (sw usa summers and over 115°F stuck (go-and-mostly-stop) in a traffic jam for 3 hours in Ogen, UT in august 2003). in spite of that i still stick to statement #1.

bike's aren't cars. if you want comfort and isolation from the elements, get a convertible.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top