Zwer

So I did it, went and got the bike that I posed about in the general discussion thread, but after the ride home, I noticed that it seemed to be running a little hot. When I parked it and was looking it over I found out that the fan on the left side of the bike doesn't seem to be running (this assuming that the bike should have a fan on both sides). I am going to check it over and try and see what is up. Anyone have such a problem?

Thanks,
Zach

BTW pics will be coming in the next day or so, when I jack a friends camera.

zmaniv

The VTR does not come stock with a fan on the left side.

lazn

How do you define hot?

Being a 98 it only has the analog gauge, that will run above halfway normally, but shouldn't get into the red stripe on the far right. They are a hot beast, but shouldn't be puking coolant on the ground, nor should the needle be in the red, otherwise it's fine.

Are you sure you have enough coolant in there?

And as already said, it only has a fan on one side, that only comes on when the bike is hot.

nothing

does the fan on the right side work?

SlowHAWK

Also note... unless the temp switch is malfunctioning, your fans will only kick on when the bike needs them too.... I pulled my bike out of the garage this past weekend just to start it up and let her run a bit... it ran (idled) for about 20 mintues before the fan kicked on and it took a good couple revs from me to get the temp that high... it probably would have idled much longer without the fans kicking on... it was about 60 degrees out.

(The guage was just past 1/2 way before they kicked on BTW)

J.

Zwer

OK, yeah, I was checking out the bike, and noticed the lack of fan on the left, after I posted and nearly sh@t myself when I saw that there was no fan on the left side. Glad to here that it doesn't exist. The bike was about 3/4 of the way up the guage, but it felt real hot to me. I am going to go check all the fluid levels when I get back from class, and replace all the oil and coolant this weekend, just for the hell of it. It gets real hot here down in miami.

RickB

Check the fan fuse and you should be able to pull the electrical wire at the radiator temp sensor and then ground the wire to something metal - the fan should run when the ignition is on and that wire is grounded.

Hawkrider

Make sure and use silica-free coolant. Actually, down there in Miami you could just run distilled water and Water Wetter and be perfectly fine.

CentralCoaster

What coolant are you guys using? I'm always paranoid about mixing the wrong stuff, so I just use that Prestone that claims it's compatible with everything.

yruyur

and just because the fan is turning does not mean it has enough umff behind it. I had a fan on a car that sure as hell looked like it was working like it should but found I could stop it with one finger. Of course you should watch how you do that.

nothing

i don't know about yours, but my honda dealer sells their honda coolant. i use that.

RickB

It should be pretty straightforward if its working properly both by the sound of the fan (I can hear mine just fine with my helmet on) and the airflow you will feel pushed out of the radiator.

Zwer

Ok so after replacing the battery on my two day old, to me, '98 I went for a nice little ride, and the bike still seems to be running hot in my opinion. I am thinking that I am going to flush the cooling system when I replace the oil this weekend. I was also contemplating the fact that the bike only came from the factory with a fan on the right, I was wondering if I could install a fan on the left. Well I know I can install a fan on the left as I am an engineer by trade, but was wondering if there is any reason not to?

lazn

Well they are made to run fairly hot.. But the gauge should only be in around half way up when cruising. (though when stopped in traffic or full throttle racing getting up to ~3/4 is normal)

However if you are running 3/4 when cruising and getting close to the red on occasion then I would look at doing a coolant flush and replacing the thermostat.

There is no real reason not to add a fan to the left, but remember with the thermostat it will still keep the temperature up to whatever it is supposed to run at..

aka Yamadog

What is the correct operating temp? My '04 runs between 194 and 220. All other water cooled bikes I've ever owned run up to the operating temp and stay there as long as there is proper airflow through the radiator.

lazn

That sounds about right. Pre '01's didn't have a digital dash, so we only have an analog gauge with no temperature markings.

But from what I remember an average around 215 is pretty normal, with up to 220 being fine.

Nanotech

My '05 always ran from 180's cruising through the hills, to 220 in town.