Seriously though, I've seen the gauge rise to 6 bars on a really hot day while stuck in traffic, but it returns to normal pretty quick when I start moving again.
You have Gen II FJR which I believe has a total of 8 bars for the temperature gauge?
Us Gen I owners, like the original poster only have a maximum of 6 bars for the temperature gauge. Before this past weekend I had never seen over 4 bars which is pretty typical of a Gen I FJR. When the temp gets to the 4th bar, the fan comes on and in a short while it goes back down to 3 bars, and the fan cuts off. Now for the original poster, I am not saying something is wrong, but it sounds abnormal to me to get to the 5th bar. I live in one of the hottest places in the U.S. and like I said have never seen 5 bars. Until..........
This weekend my fan stopped working. And on about 4 separate occasions while stopped with the engine idling, my temp gauge went to the maximum 6th bar and started blinking. Which I believe meant my FJR was about to blow up.
Fortunately, as soon as I started moving, the natural air flow through the radiator cooled things down rather quickly. One time however, it pinged like an SOB as I got going. Not enough throttle/RPMs for it's overheated liking me thinks. And this was in cooler climates while traveling. Now back in Phoenix, I need to get that fixed ASAP, but it's just one of several electrical problems I am experiencing. Something is very wrong right now. Just hope I can find it easily.
Yo Iggy. Your chart doesn't differentiate the difference between the 6th bar, and a blinking 6th bar. I THINK I saw both of those conditions. Or perhaps the 6th bar always blinks. New stuff to me, I'll have to find out.
Also, as already clarified, the fan, located behind the radiator, pulls or 'sucks' the air through the radiator in a 'front to rear' direction. When working, is very effective.