DirtyToes

so i rode my bike through some twisties far away with a bad radiator(had a leak/hole), when we got to the top i realized it was outta coolant.

so had to ride it back home with no coolant in there, maybe 20-30 miles. but the weather was cool and i was on the highway so the temp stayed between 180-200.

replaced the radiator with a good one and filled it back up.

anyway, now, the temperature reading is completely off, it almost always shows the bike as really hot.

...so i'm thinking and HOPING the thermostat is busted since that's what puts out the temp reading.

found this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-...spagenameZWD1V

but where the hell is the thermostat and how hard is it to change?

*Tanus*

is the fan stock wired? also is their any leaks?

DirtyToes

no leaks, and yes, the fan is stock wired. (or still has it's stock wiring)

but ever since that ^^ happened, i hooked up a switch to it, (the extra/separate ground method)....tested the fan, left my switch off and let it reach 230ish and it turned on so the stock wiring werks.

now i turn it on as soon as i turn the bike on so it keeps the bike cool or fools the thermostat into thinking it's cool.

*Tanus*

well if its wired stock, you heat the bike up till the fan comes on(220), then if the fan shuts back off after a minute than the thermostat is good.

also if the thermostat is bad after the bike runs for 5-10 minutes the motor will be hot but the radiator will still be cool to the touch because the water never cycled through.

DirtyToes

ahhhhh i see.

well, the fan comes on ad 220-230ish but it never goes off unless i turn the bike off or start going really fast so the wind starts cooling down the motor.

i'll try ur idea today and see if the radiator gets hot.

DirtyToes

RESULTS:

test #1...
bike idling at 1:50rpm sitting still, temp went up to 231, fan kicks on, temp drops to 229, fan stays on. 5 secs after i turn off the bike, the fan kicks off, turn the ignition back on and temp is at 228.

test #2...
bike was cold, let it warm up, rode it for 5 minutes, stopped, the radiator was hot as ****.

so do i need a new thermostat or what?

50slut

i believe if your thermostat wuz stuck closed your bike would get super hot fan or no fan!
if your thermostat was stuck open you probably woundn't even know it except it may take a bit longer to get up to temp
from wut you've said in your couple posts, it dont even sound like you have a problem but wut the hell were you thinkin riding 20-30 miles with no coolant in your bike

mabey the thermostat in your replacement radiator is wacked out, try swapping it out

*Tanus*

that would be a temp sensor, I would swap with old one and if that doesnt work a would say waterpump more likely than thermostat

Wheeliest

ps: your all wrong.. when u replaced your radiator u drained all your fluid...

u have AIR pockets now.. when the bike is cold take off your rad cap and start your bike up.. let run to 216 +/- degrees rad fluid will drop significantly.. now add rad fluid install cap after it cools for a little while PROBLEM solved.


and thats how u burp a radiator.

DirtyToes

basically the problem is the bike gets hot WAYYYY too quick, and i noticed it warmed up very quick this morning(from a cold start)....for example, i'll be riding with other 600s (including other f4is) and they'll be at 180 and my bike would be at 210 or 220.


stupid question but...wat does the water pump do?

hmmm..i HOPE you're right, caz that has the easiest solution. i thought the way to do it was to basically...
1. pop the cap off
2. start the bike for 2-3 seconds
3. add fluid

tried that, fluid level didn't go down at all. didn't know you're supposed to let it warm up to 216 +/- degrees.

...i'll try it and post up what happens.

50slut

come on now bud, it pumps water!
i'd say just start trying sum of this stuff n see wut happens

Towlieee

yup, and for future reference, its the same on cars or whatever

Anytime you drain your coolant, gotta run the motor tell its hot with the cap off

DirtyToes

good ****

did this last night, made huge mess! thank god i did it outside the garage.

so around 170 (temp) the coolant started rising and coming out of the radiator, thought it was no big deal and i'd clean it up, i let it keep going.

little air bubbles started coming up, it reached 217, i let it keep going as there were still air bubbles coming it, it hit 230, and off goes the fan, as soon as that happened, it started shooting coolant everywhere, then i turned it off and big air bubble came up and i filled it back up with 1 and a half bottle of honda coolant.

rode it today for 2 hours with the fan off and it didn't go past 210!

big thx to all u guys

poni

yea dude, risde her with the cap on and the res' half filled, any airbubbles will be displaced with coolant when the system cools off and draws coolant to fill the void where the air was....just keep an eye on the res' level and top up what the system takes to get rid of air..

bratt

burping the cooling system kool

DirtyToes

****!

i was riding last night in pretty cold weather, 2am, 50ish degrees, my **** was constantly around 220 and quickly reached 230 (the fan turned on) when i stopped.

i'm gonna to bleed the radiator again.

old man roger

don't let it get so hot this time because when the coolant isn't under pressure it will boil at a lower temp just let it run long enough so you can see the coolant flowing in the radiator then just put the cap on and ride it for a few minutes so it is up to temp then when it cools take off the cap and make sure it's full

Wheeliest

also it helps to use actual honda coolant and to flush the system with distilled water so there is minimum contaminants

DirtyToes

omr, i'm gonna do it again tom., i'll just let it warm up(with the cap open) until the radiator fluid starts rising....rite?

wheeliest, how do you "flush" the system? ...and i always use honda coolant, the one that comes in the blue bottle.

ps..likin the new avatar ^^

old man roger

not till it starts rising but till it starts flowing , if you look in the radiator while it is warming up you will see the coolant shooting out of the little tubes