Over heating
 

Today my Chicken Hawk started to overheat at idle. I watched the temperature gauge rise from just past the quarter mark over the half way mark sitting at stop light. It was barely 70 degrees out :confused:. The bike has been sitting for a couple of years, so I'm going to start by draining, cleaning and replacing the coolant/cooling system. Any other ideas? My R/R has also died (and not been replaced yet) so should I be worried that my water pump has been compromised?

Possibly there could be a blockage of minerals caused by the water evaporating. I'd try and flush it a few times with fresh coolant and give it a run.

What colour is the water?

Did the cooling fan on the right-side radiator turn on?

Most common is something that caused the fan not to turn on, possibly a rock between the fan blade and housing. Check that it rotates freely. Then check the fuse.

Or, since it's been sitting, check the thermostat... They are likely to fail if gunked up, and when not in use... How to do that is in the service manual, nicely described, step by step...

I'll be sure and check the fans and fuses. Thanks all.