Anyone elses bike get really hot, especially in traffic? My frame heats up to the point you can barely touch it, right where my knees sit

 

I have that same problem too, I thought my bike was over heating.

 

Change the coolant if it hasn't been done in a while.

Replace the radiator cap.

If you have no leaks the issue will be solved.

 

Check to see If your fuze is blown. The fan should move freely by hand. I Had an overheating issue and turns out a bug big was stuck in my fan causing it to blow the fuze.

 

This is an age old issue. Honda (sorta) know about it. The side rads are part of the issue. On the VFRs and goldwings its even worse since their fans blow the wrong (opposite) way.

I have posted pages on this but what temps are you running? Frame too hot to touch is not a real precise way to guage temp.

I have put an aux switch to turn the fan on when I want as well as put in a lower temp auto switch in the radiator to turn it on sooner (lower temp).

Also put in a zx7 oil cooler which is 4 times bigger than stock. And I run evanscooling waterless coolant. Doesnt boil or even pressurize the system. TMK the best you can get but its @$50/gal, but lasts about forever.

Here is a thread so you can see into the past talks Superhawk running temperature - Page 2 - SuperHawk Forum

 

replacing the coolant with engine ice is also very good... It keeps the bike around 15 cooler than normal and doenst get hot enough to boil like coolant http://www.engineice.com/

 

I was given some "engine ice" and it really made no difference in my bike.

 

+1, a properly functioning cooling system trumps special additives every time to the point that as far as I'm concerned they shouldn't be used to "fix" any overheating problems.

 

I wouldn't use it as a problem fixer just saying our bikes run hot any way so can't hurt

 

7moor. Its not just an "addative". It actually is different chemical formulations of liquid, depending on what you use. It actually changes the specific gravity of the coolant, and/or changes the coolannt altogether (as in evans which has 0% water).

From the last 2 hrs of reading I did, the engine ice actually raises coolant temps slightly but theoreticly due to greater heat removal speed (maybe).

The evans doesnt boil at any temp a live engine would reach so thier thing is no "localized boiling" which creates serious hot spots in the combstion chamber or cylinder.

So there again, the more efficient cooling of the evans would yield higher coolant and oil temps at the benefit of cooler cylinder. (theoreticly).

From what I read/comprehend, distilled water with water wetter (a surfactant) at the CORRECT amount cools best.(there is a whole writed up on too much or too littler wetter being less efficiant).

The trick is be super careful to change it out before it freezes, which isnt an issue with engine ice or evans.

Anyone who has more/better info let me know, I am interested.

 

Well I don't know what to add to this. The statement :
"our bikes run hot" strikes me as odd but then my bike has never run hot so call me confused.


With good coolant (you guys do flush the cooling system and change the coolant from time to time, right? Like every 2 years max)) and a good cap my bike never goes past the 1\2 mark on the temp gauge.

To get the bike to the 1\2 mark it does need to be around 100F out and then throw in some stop and go traffic. Start rolling and its right back to 1\2.

So IMHO the Evans stuff is good but expensive but the way to go if you really have problems and Water Wetter is a proven product.

Other than that standard 50\50 mix coolant is the way to go. The claims of sudden temp drops can be accounted for by just fresh coolant, IMHO and most of theses "special" coolants are just snake oil.

 

Standard coolant, fresh every year, and my bike has never ever been "hot"... Half the gage in stop-n-go... And just above a third most of the time...