Kawasaki 1400 GTR

1400 GTR - All Models => 1400GTR Discussion => Topic started by: gunslinger on December 17, 2012, 06:56:13 PM

Title: over heating?
Post by: gunslinger on December 17, 2012, 06:56:13 PM
Went out yesterday to get a good feel for the bike.Was out for about hour and a half with no stops( A roads) no probs and loving the bike.Pulled up at home fan had cut in and the temp gauge was on 5 bars ! Is this normal?this is the north east of England we,re talking about not the Italian riviera.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: howard on December 17, 2012, 07:20:10 PM
Hi no its not normal,your 1st port of call must be your coolant level,i suspect you might have a leak,my bike runs with 3 bars on the temp gauge and the fans only cuts in about 5 bars when the bike has been in prolonged heavy traffic.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: SirToU on December 17, 2012, 07:54:10 PM
Could be an air blockage in the cooling system, or the thermostate has stuck.  Do modern bikes still have thermostates?

Just ideas.

Neil
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: gunslinger on December 17, 2012, 08:34:39 PM
the bike was serviced before i got it last week and the coolant level is fine and no sign of any leak.I was out last week and there was no temp issues i think it hit 3 bars.The only differance was that i was riding quite hard and the bike had been ACF,D the day before,but i can,t see that having any adverse effects.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: 2kwacks on December 17, 2012, 08:36:41 PM
Quote from: gunslinger on December 17, 2012, 06:56:13 PM
Went out yesterday to get a good feel for the bike.Was out for about hour and a half with no stops( A roads) no probs and loving the bike.Pulled up at home fan had cut in and the temp gauge was on 5 bars ! Is this normal?this is the north east of England we,re talking about not the Italian riviera.
before you pulled up at home I asume you were riding in a built up area to get to your house then how long was the bike running for at standstill? if you rode in a built up area for a few miles at low speed, then let the bike tick over at standstill for a few minutes this would most likely light up the 5 bars and cause your fans to cut in :smiley: just trying to save you alot of worry and messing around if you have not got a problem with your bike :smiley:
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: gunslinger on December 17, 2012, 09:08:19 PM
cheers 2kwacks, i did come through town with a couple of sets of traffic lights on red,and left the bike ticking over for a couple of minutes while i opened the garage.Not used  to  having all this  display info.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: 2kwacks on December 17, 2012, 09:17:40 PM
Quote from: gunslinger on December 17, 2012, 09:08:19 PM
cheers 2kwacks, i did come through town with a couple of sets of traffic lights on red,and left the bike ticking over for a couple of minutes while i opened the garage.Not used  to  having all this  display info.
well then you don't have a problem :nono: it won't take long for a 1400 sized engine that's coverd up with a fairing that as been rode in a built up area at low speed then left idling for a few minutes at standstill to reach the temp set limit for the both fans to cut in :smiley:
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: Lonewolf on December 17, 2012, 11:26:58 PM
 :agree:  2kwacks is spot on.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: Deon on December 18, 2012, 05:09:31 AM
 :agree: . No problem at all. As long as the fans cut in then it's OK.
With our hot climate down here in SA, this happens often when you get into town after a ride.
If your bike is showing 5 Bars but the fans have not kicked in, THEN you need to panic.

Deon
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: O.C. on December 18, 2012, 07:48:45 AM
Quote from: Lonewolf on December 17, 2012, 11:26:58 PM
:agree:  2kwacks is spot on.

:agree: I've seen 5 bars on mine from time to time in similar circumstances, (the ambient outside temperature will affect the temp of the bike) , but as long as the fan is cutting in and the temp dropping as a result I would say that there's nowt to worry about

Continue to enjoy  :smiley:
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: SirToU on December 18, 2012, 10:48:29 AM
Sorry, figured the worse...... its the tablets.

;-)   TBH it doesn't take a lot to go up to 5 bars temporarily after a run and the fans to cut it - what was I thinking..........

Neil
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: O.C. on December 18, 2012, 04:57:04 PM
Quote from: SirToU on December 18, 2012, 10:48:29 AM
Sorry, figured the worse...... its the tablets.

;-)   TBH it doesn't take a lot to go up to 5 bars temporarily after a run and the fans to cut it - what was I thinking..........

Neil

You're excused Neil, tablets have a strange effect on you after a while

Out of Interest I'm currently on 14 a day  :shocked:
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: Max Way on December 18, 2012, 08:45:48 PM
Mine does much the same sort of thing, by the time I pull up at my garage door after a couple of miles of low speed through town the fans are always running. I wonder if you have a radiator protector fitted, mine does and I think it blocks enough airflow to make a (small) difference.

When you think about it the bike has an engine similar in size to many small cars, in a fairly high state of tune and with a radiator probably half the size or less than what would be used in a car.

I think you only really have a problem if you get a warning message on the dash.

Max.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: 2kwacks on December 18, 2012, 09:25:29 PM
can't see the rad cover making it run anymore than 1 or 2 degrees over.. if that! :no: the rad gaurd is full of holes the only part of the gaurd thats solid is the edges and those are no more than 2mm wide, for example.. I've just fitted the beowulf rad gaurd I had on my gtr on my zzr1400 :smiley: I went for a run before I fitted the gaurd and did a steady 70 m.p.h and the out side temp display was reading + 8 and my temp gauge was reading 64 degrees, fitted the gaurd done the same run at the same speed with the same outside temp, and the temp gauge was reading 65 degrees. although this can't be precise, it would depend on wind speed e.t.c. so I think it's safe to say that fitting a radgaurd will not make your bike run any hotter :no: :smiley:
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: gunslinger on December 18, 2012, 09:35:00 PM
PHEW!! That was slight worry.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: Max Way on December 19, 2012, 05:57:36 AM
I wouldn't risk not having a radiator guard - I'm reasonably sure a stick or rock through the core would bring a rapid and costly end to a ride.

My thought that a guard would cause slightly hotter running was just my gut feeling not backed up by anything scientific at all ( but if you saw the size of my gut  :grin:)

I've got into the habit of switching off the motor if I get caught in stationary traffic for any more than a minute. When my bike was new I got stopped at roadworks for about 5 minutes and the bike spat coolant out the radiator cap which of course the dealer claimed was normal  :huh:

Max

PS I'm in Australia and it gets HOT here for much of the year - the bike runs one bar cooler in winter.
Title: Re: over heating?
Post by: nige gtr on December 21, 2012, 12:16:09 AM
Hi,the type of radiator guard can have an effect on temp.I,ve had two GTR,s,and this one has a Beowolf rad guard,and runs slightly hotter than my last one.Once up to speed and cruising,the temp guage settles as normal.