83 KZ550ltd - How hot do your motors run?

Searching around for some info on this topic for a while now. Just curious as to the experiences of other KZ550 owners out there.

I am new to this bike and while I have owned many air cooled bikes, most have been thumpers and most have had oil coolers. Just curious how hot your motors get in normal riding conditions. Not stop and go traffic or prolonged idling. Mine does not have the oil cooler.

Mine puts off some heat (to be measured) when I get home from a long ride. Temps are in the mid 80's here in GA. Motor is still hot to the touch an hour later sitting in the garage.

No power loss or hesitation. Runs fantastic actually. Plugs are a light tan so I am a bit more lean than rich, but nothing in my experience that would cause excess heat.

Curiosity prevails.

That sounds normal. The motor stays hot a long time in the summer.

Don't worry about. Air cooled engines are fine. The oil coolers are mostly to remove the heat from the wet clutch....it is cooled by oil.

......most people with air cooled engines seem to have an inferiority complex thinking air cooling is inadequate. It is not. Air Cooled engines are built beefier than liquid cooled ones to literally "take the heat"

The VW beetle saw combat in WWII from the deserts of North Africa to the Russian Steppes as the Kubelwagen. No German soldier ever complained of having a VW overheat (unlike the US Jeep)...……….and still went on to sell for 30 years unchanged to become the most successful automobile in history...

thanks for the info. I figured as much. After a 2 hour ride nonstop, with some traffic sitting, I figured if there was a problem I would have been calling for a tow truck. lol

My dr650 with the oil cooler ran pretty hot, but just seemed to bleed heat off fast after the motor was shut down. Maybe the difference between the wider motor on the kz and the single cylinder on the DR. I do love the simplicity of an air cooled motor. Thats why I chose the Dr650 for the TransAmerica Trail. Less to fuss with, less to go wrong on the trail

Hopeful to put many more miles on this thing!