Thermostat out!
 

Has anyone tried running their bike with the thermostat removed from its housing? :confused:

Seems to me that it would allow constant coolant flow through the engine, constant cooling rate to the engine reguardless of operation temperature. I guess it would increase the cooling efficiency in stop and go traffic.
It may take longer for the engine to warm up in the morning, but it's 70 degrees out anyway... Anyone?

You might think it would cool better but in fact it does not. The thermostat is required for proper cooling since it allows the hot coolant to stay in the radiators to dissipate heat better. If the coolant is always flowing it may not have as much time to dissipate the heat. Another reason is that it could keep the motor from heating up to the proper temperature in colder weather. Even race cars run either a restrictor plate or a thermostat for these reasons.

I performance car mags I have seen an extra hole or two drilled into the thermostat body to give some flow around the normal opening. I ran my '66 chevy pickup like that for a while and it did seem to help hot weather cooling.

Ok, I'm running my 98 Superhawk with reduced radiator volume, no radiator fan, no temp guage, no OEM oil cooler, 10/20/70 coolant/Water Wetter/distilled water..

I'm trying to think of other ways to increase cooling efficiency in stop and go traffic at 90+ weather.

Any suggestions other than drilling the thermostat? which I might just try..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...y/DSC03007.jpg

a fan would be your best bet. you can buy sending units with different on and off temperatures or buy and adjustable one to turn the fan on when needed/off when not.

You can try removing the thermostat but I wouldn't recommend it. If you do remove it try to make up a plate (the size of the thermostat body) to restrict the flow and you might get away with it. these are what the cars use and it gives the sizes - you would need to experiment with sizes but maybe start with 5/16 to 3/8 and see what happens.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

The thermostat is there for a reason. About 70% of the engines wear occurs when it is cold. The engine is designed to operate at a specific temperature range. The thermostat ensures that the engine warms up quickly, thereby reducing engine wear. It also ensures that the engine operates at its optimal temperature range, thereby increasing performance, reducing emissions and once again reducing wear.

On an efficiency note. Cooler coolant may sound like it will be more efficient but this is not the case. Water is most efficient at absorbing heat when it is around 100 degrees C, unfortunately this is when it also boils. To stop this the system is pressurised to raise the boiling point and coolant is used to also raise the boiling point.

Cheeers
Colin