Heat shield for 05 is working

[HaulinAshe]

After studying the 06 pics and carefully looking over my 05, I decided to fabricate a heat shield from some firewall insulation. My last ride was in about 85F weather and the tank was too hot to touch through jeans at 80mph! Something had to change.

Here are some pics. Not sure if anyone needs this info, but I am trying to contribute for once rather than always being a blood sucking forum consumer newbie!

My 2005 FJR in bondage. Ropes are tied over my garage door tracks. Works pretty good!

My theory is that the heat from the upper part of the radiator, combined with heat from the exhaust headers, gets pushed through this area and heats the crap out of the underside of the tank. So my goal was to form a makeshift heat shield similar to what the 06s have.

Rough fitted shield with basic cutouts for fuel hoses and connections. This is adhesive backed insulation, but I left the backing on to prevent the shield from sticking to everything. Didn't want the adhesive exposed and one big dirt magnet to deal with. So far, no problems with the backing paper etc.

After a little more mashing and fitting. The goal is to form-fit the material as much as possible. A lot of pushing and pressing is required and it takes time.

Right side rubber panel goes in place first, over top of heat shield. Screw for rubber panel helps hold down shield at top.

Left side rubber panel goes in next. Take time to fit everything well. Cut out for cable retainer on frame side. I used a piece of scrap material to bond the cut edges together and help close off the rear, left edge.

Testing so far indicates a huge improvement. I feel this is a better solution than insulating the tank itself because it channels the heat downward and away from both the rider and the tank.

Comments welcomed. This is very much an experiment.

SECOND FOLLOW-UP:

Test ride #2 - Medium length trip, 1.5 hours each way, mixture of open highway and stop/go city traffic, 85F and sunny.

Temp gauge read two bars on highway. Bumped to three in light traffic. Just touched on four bars sitting in heavily congested, walking pace, heavy city traffic.

Radiator fan kicked in/out several times. You could feel the hot air blowing from under the bike when the fan was running, but nothing unusual radiated from around the tank. Tank was a little warm to the touch, pretty much what you would expect with intense sun. As soon as traffic opened up to 45 mph, the tank immediately cooled down.

City driving was at 1/3 tank of gas.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

3 things come to mind.

1) Does it achieve your goal? So far so good!

2) Will it cause the engine to overheat?

3) The backing that is meant to be pulled off for the adhesive may be messed up by heat? That could be a problem!

 

[HaulinAshe]

Yeah, I thought about the backing paper getting messed up. I'm sure it will happen eventually. But I'm hoping by that time the adhesive will have given up as well and I can just toss the backing paper that's left behind. It's siliconized paper with very little mass and it really does not have anywhere to go unless you lift the shield for maintenance.

Ideally I would prefer to use aluminized heat shield without any adhesive backing.

No sign of the engine overheating so far. This mod does not alter the intended cooling pattern at all. It simply controls blow-by from hot air that is going where it was not intended to.

It would be nice to also channel some cool air over the shield like the 06s do. I'm working on that idea next. Also working on how to change the air flow around the frame sides to get them cooled better.

Ideas anyone?

 

[FJR_pig]

Ideas anyone?

Yeah, get an '06 on the way like mine..

Sincerely,

Blood-sucking, forum consumer

PS - Actually, sincerely hope that improves things, looks like you've gone to a great deal of work. If it doesn't help, I'll come do circles around you to stir up a breeze.

 

[painman]

If it does become a problem, maybe could purchase the 06 shield if it fits. Just a thought. Hope the problem is cured though. PM. <>< :cownoy:

 

[HaulinAshe]

Would definitely like to have the 06 heat shield when it comes available. But only IF Yamaha does not want a few hundred bucks for it!

 

[FJRMGM]

till you take out the two rubber thingies on each side of the tank that hold the heat under the tank you are just keeping the heat trapped and it can't escape.

Four of us were on a ride this weekend in 90 degree weather. We stopped to get gas at 135 miles into the ride and so we had less than half a tank of gas each.

I have removed the rubber thingies on my bike - so, I had them feel how hot (not warm) their tanks were, then feel my tank, which was just warm. A very noticeable difference.

They were convinced because they were all complaining about how much heat was coming off the tank.

 

[HaulinAshe]

I agree that the rubber thingies only serve to channel the heat all the way under the tank. The hot air tunnels down each side of the airbox and heats the rear sides of the tank where it is most vunerable. Pretty much a big heat gun.

My objective was/is to redirect that hot air downward, away from the rider. My observation is that there are two distinctly different sources of hot air (three if you count most forum threads! ); air passing through the upper part of the radiator, over the headers, then through the woods to Grandmother's house... Oh Sorry! Anyway, it winds up being forced under the tank and around the airbox.

The second source comes from the frame sides, near the openings that are intended to direct heat outward. An appreciable portion of that hot air slips between the fairing and the frame, instead of blowing all the way out the fairing openings. There might be a way to change the aerodynamics of the fairing, or perhaps fabricate some fresh air ducts to blend in cool air near the frame. I'm still working on this one and scratching my head a lot.

I do know that even at 100mph plus, the frame gets too hot for my comfort. I would estimate that near those openings it runs about +60F over ambient temperature. Which around here puts the frame temp at 150F and above during summer.

I know everybody is saying just buy an 06. But I just bought my 05 and it will be about two years before I can buy another. Besides, I don't think this is a major problem or an insurmountable one, just something that needs attention in hot climates.

 

[Pappy]

I'm going to get one of those '06 shields (same comments apply about price).

A long time ago I saw a post here (or at the other board) that had pictures from a guy that used vacuum-cleaner parts to create a venting system. It's starting to get hot here so I'm gonna have to do something soon.

Seems like it should be a simple solution but it's harder than it appears. I tried taking the rubber pieces out but I got a lot of heat blasted on my legs when I did this...

BTY: Nice job on that shield.

Edit: I measured the frame temperature with an IR thermometer once and with four bars, fan running, it was around 175F. Radiator was around 230F. Hot man!

 

[Fabone]

I couldn't tell by your photos or didn't read if you removed the 'T' bar and ran material all the way to the front. You however don't want to cover the front holes in the frame which allows incoming air.

The biggest problem is that the frame is a giant headsink and it's collecting mostly off the left side. That's because the left side is the pressure side of the radiator and where to focus your attention. You either remove or redirect the heat. I'm thinking either moving the fan to the left more or having 2 fans.

I tried a plate similar to the Crommit fix, but it did nothing. Good Luck!

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

wow...I guess I'm glad I'm not as observant as you are! I din't know any of this stuff and I'm gonna pretend I still don't and be happy and ignorant! What heat problem?

 

[HaulinAshe]

First, I must confess... It's the little head that gets all the attention when things get really hot. Thus, my motivation for making changes!

I appreciate the confirmation of the frame temps. I was just guessing, but I have a lot of experience with 4-strokes and heat, since I race MX with a YZ450F.

To clarify...

My heat shield stops at the T-bar. It lays on top of the T-bar and is held in place by the two screws that also hold down the rubber thingies on each side.

 

[painman]

I think there was another thread about the new heat shields and the new tank possibly being redesigned so it may not fit under the earlier tanks. PM. <><

 

[Windjammer]

My '05 came from the factory with adhesive heat shielding stuck on the bottom of the tank, reflective side toward the motor. Tank don't get hot, not more than what I consider normal. I've had it out in 100 degree weather, which should qualify.

There is some hot air blowing around when the fan kicks in, but it's tolerable so far.

Nice mod Jeff. No worries on overheating the motor, since it's liquid cooled, the temp bars will tell you the story. As long as you don't insulate the radiator, all should be well!

 

[Ramblin Man]

Some guy? geez how could anyone forget a staple of the FJR community like me? Thats like forgetting Bounce or Torch or that one guy whos name escapses me.

I did the vacuum cleaner parts thing. I took it out. I may revisit it, but I want to get a gas analyzer and set the CO. Why screw around with heat shields and vacuum cleaner parts when the problem is the bike is set waaayyy lean from the factory? Every person who has had their CO set vis gas analyzer has said their bike no longer runs hot.

 

[spcombs95]

Jeff, thanks for the great pics! I was going to attempt this myself and your guidance will really help.

 

[3dogs]

Where did you get the insulation? Tracy...

 

[markjenn]

You really did a nice job here and I'm glad it's working for you. But I've always been nervous about major changes like this which totaly enclose a lot of electrics, wiring, injectors, etc. in a small baking space. Maybe the 2006s do it, but I wonder if they've given some thought to the ventilation necessary to keep temps in check.

On my 2005, I'm probably going with the Crommit mod to try and reduce that jet of superheated hot air that bakes my left shin. That's the only thing I find truly objectiionable and then only if I ride in jeans. I may look into different undertank insulation at some point, but I'll stick to stuff adhering to the tank. So far, I've not had unacceptable tank or frame temps, but YMMV. The biggest factor varying between riders is our seating position and what gear we wear.

- Mark

 

[FJRmogul]

What if you were to use 2 pieces of material and mate the sticky sides together to form a double sided shield? No more worries about the paper backing and the glue messin' things up. It seems to me the insulation would do it's job better if it were facing down towards the engine.

How thick is this material your using and is it thin enough to double up?