Overheating in Traffic Rule of Thumb

I have overheated one time in my life. It was a horrible experience. Of course it was in rush hour, of course it was perpetuated by a slow drip leak I had not taken care of... and of course it was on I95.

So, I have a question for the seasoned air cooled riders. What do you guys do in heavy traffic? Apologies if this has been covered, in my quick search I did not see any recent topics.

Right now its 70 degrees at its hottest, and I feel like overheating is not exactly likely at these temps. But I always get worried, especially if i just pushed the bike, and had to come to a stop.

What about 90 degrees + ? what does everyone do. Lane splitting is not legal here, not that I would not do it... I have shouldered myself out of traffic many times.

How long do you think a 1000cc bike can idle in hot weather?

Should we all have oil coolers installed?

I've owned my KZ650-C1 for 39 years; it now has about 60,000 miles on it. The daytime temperature where I live is usually more than 90 degrees during the summer; sometimes it reaches 100 degrees. The traffic here is very heavy; it is the second worst traffic in the country - just behind Los Angeles. I have no oil cooler and my engine has never overheated. Ed

650ed wrote: I've owned my KZ650-C1 for 39 years; it now has about 60,000 miles on it. The daytime temperature where I live is usually more than 90 degrees during the summer; sometimes it reaches 100 degrees. The traffic here is very heavy; it is the second worst traffic in the country - just behind Los Angeles. I have no oil cooler and my engine has never overheated. Ed

Guess you would have to define "overheating".

Oil temperatures over 300F are common with an air cooled bike on a hot day. Some people would consider this overheating, however these bikes seem to tolerate these temps well.

The Japanese added oil coolers to most all air cooled bikes by the mid 1980's, so obviously the large OEM bike companies thought the high temps should be managed.

I added an OEM oil cooler setup to my 750E during the bikes rebuild. I also run synthetic oil since it doesn't thin out as much as mineral oil at high temperatures. Can't hurt anyway.

Buy infrared thermometer from HarborFreight ($25) and check temperature, pointing laser next to spark plug.
I do that when I need to adjust carbs and keep motor idling. I can also see when engine is warmed up.

When RIDING the bike in hot weather, it doesn't seem to bother it even at 118+. Last summer I watched my head temp gauge and it got really hot when stopped but came down quickly once moving again. I bought a oil cooler from Ed and worked out how to adapt it to my bike. Last weekend I was on a dirt road moving through soft sand at a very slow speed. The cooler was very warm but not HOT. I rode two years this time around but figured a cooler would help keep it from overheating. 115-18 is coming so we'll see.
Steve

I live in northen europe where this is not a problem. When I had the Wiseco pistons fitted,I asked the guy (old school engine builder for drag racers), 'Should I fit an oil cooler?'. He looked at me,chuckled and said ' No point,This is Holland'!!

Yea. My brother is under the impression of "if it didn't come stock. you don't need it."

I really see a varying opinion on oil coolers i guess it all depends on how hot the temp is where you are. It can reach into the 90s here in the north east. But I would say the killer for me is cruising at 80mph, then come to an abrupt stop and stop and go traffic. Engine gets nice and warm then... WHOA WHAD YOU DO TO MY AIR FLOW!

I have thought about keeping a temp infrared sensor in my jacket, but by the time i get it out and aim at the heads ill likely be rear ended... :blink:

I like the idea of a gauge. I think I might look more into that... maybe I can mock something up that's more permanent.

Does anyone have an opinion of how fast a hot engine can get into dangerous temps? I have heard 5 mins and some say 10 mins... I know there are alot of factors... But more curious if anyone has had any horror stories on a kawi...

I want to take my bike down the shore the summer, and im scared of bridge traffic, tunnel traffic and parkway traffic.

Seems this was discussed not too long ago but I think it was a segue within another thread about oil.
The general consensus if I recall was managing your oil changes appropriately and often suggested was using oils that are heavier weighted for high temps I think.

In my experiences if the traffic grid-locked bad enough that I began looking nervously down at the engine, I just shut it off and waited until I saw traffic begin moving a few cars ahead and start it back up.

I don't know that there is a perfect solution to all situations; maybe a cooler and fan?

Be sure to do a valve clearance check & adjust to the wide side of the specification.

Anyone ever used one of these? Oil Temp Gauge that swaps into your fill plug. Might be the simplest mod to achieve a minimal amount of variable info..... would be interested in the temp of the heads... but this is a start.....

I thought about those gauges but I wanted to know the head temp. This is what I have.
Steve

I always planned on a cooler when I went with the 810 kit but backed out of it with the 700..... almost all my rides are from 60 to 85 degree's and almost all of that is in wide open country so I decided like in Holland....not really a need for me...... as soon as it hits 90 you almost can't get me outta the air conditioning....... always joked for as long as I can remember you couldn't get me to move to Florida or out west even if you offered me a free house but I gotta admit now that I'm old the cold does really go through me in the winter.