Overheating in Traffic Rule of Thumb

The max, red lines of oil and cylinder temperatures in another of my air cooled engines, at 180HP, is:
Oil- 245 deg F
Cyl- 475 deg F

Here are some temp measurements that OMR posted a while back. He measured these on his bike. Ed

www.kzrider.com/forum/2-engine/371259-en...?limitstart=0#371304

and - i found a pretty cheap bolt on gauge.

www.amazon.com/Trail-Tech-Temperature-Me...&smid=A19YKPF28SH7S5

for $40 i think i will get the piece of mind i am looking for. Ill let you know how it goes.

I rode a KZ1000 all over the country in hot weather and it always made it, but I believe it was overheated many times. Had to be if in a traffic jam for one hour travelling only a couple miles. I know it would ping real bad after these extended slow speed runs. I finally got the biggest oil cooler that could be fitted and by seat of the pants couldn't tell it helped, but it must of a little at least.
Air cooled engine not much you can do but ride and not worry about it.

Synthetic oil helps.

Grnole wrote: 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.....

Attachment OTG720lg.JPG not found

I have one of those for my XS650 for peace-of-mind. Didn't know they had them for the GPz. Thanks!

ThatGPzGuy wrote: I have one of those for my XS650 for peace-of-mind. Didn't know they had them for the GPz. Thanks!

www.americanclassix.com/kawa_improvements.html

I wonder how accurate those are. Don't they depend on oil splash rather than being submerged in the oil?

agreed. And the temp down there is not exactly the temp I want to know. More curious about head temp. Hence the reason I am going to try the other thing i sent. Attaches to spark plug, and sends a reading up to the bars.

When I lived in Miami my KZ900 overheated in traffic once - screwed up the points. After that I rode slowly in the e lane until I got caught by a cop. I explained why I was doing it and he let me go.....must have been a biker, he just told me to stop doing it. I installed an oil cooler and never had a problem again, even while riding 2 up through Death Valley in August. :woohoo: My wife has never let me forget that one! :ohmy:

I held off getting another cooler for two years remembering the lack of oil pressure with the last one. It would take a couple seconds for the oil light to go off. I hated that. Last summer I could tell the bike was getting REALLY hot. I decided to get one this time around. I routed the lines up, along the back bone tubes then down to the engine to keep oil in the cooler. Not only does the light go off the second the bike fires up, I have more pressure too. When it cools off in fall I'll install a bypass valve.
For now I'll RIDE THE PISS OUT OF IT. :woohoo:
Steve

I got stuck in horrible stop and go freeway two or three times last summer at 95 degrees...while crossing all of Denver rush hour traffic. God awful!
I really did notice the extra heat with the 1075cc , 10.25:1 piston kit.
No oil cooler installed.
I have a nice Lockhart oil cooler and proper fittings... Plus that good factory one from that rotten $25 KZ1000ltd I found in that lady's back yard.
Which cooler did you put on and how about a detailed thread on your installation Steve?