So...radiator fan...trouble shoot help

[Shinigami]

Reet, looks like i've another lil problem on the hornet, noticed I felt a bit warm round the legs this eve riding home from work, noticed the temp gauge was actually in the red, when stopped it looks as though the radiator fan isn't coming on.

What am I looking at for troubleshooting?
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[bridgedino]

Coolant level, fuse?

[Shinigami]

hmm oddly, just cleaned out the connector to the fan, got the bike hot and the fan kicked in this time, hopefully it was just being a dick and just needed cleaning
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[bridgedino]

Does your bike heat up quickly? The fans on my previous two CBF's only ever came on in July and August.

Rest of the year they collected cobwebs

[Shinigami]

not really the bikes only just started getting towards the top of the gauge since it warmed up a bit out. over the winter it barely crept above the C mark.

Fan seems to kick in quite high on the gauge though, no idea if that's when it's supposed to or not though
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[andym]

Not sure if that's just your bike or not, but every temperature gauge I've ever seen usually kicks in about half way (all my cars and bikes).

Have you checked if there is any air in the cooling system? Or even a slight water leak can affect the pressure and cause the reading to be high. I've found topping the water up then squeezing the hoses with the cap on a few times shifts the air up.... then top up water and repeat until it doesn't take any more.

Also it might be worth checking your thermostat in a pot of (almost) boiling water

[Shinigami]

i'll have a look at the service manual at where the thermostat is to take it off and have a ganders
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[noobRider]

I don't know about on a bike but I had a similar problem in my car where the pin that holds the mechanism that engages the fan had seized and was stopping the fan engaging. Like you my car ran very cool over Winter and only really started needing the fan in Summer or when I was towing. A good whack might clear it or taking it apart and lubricating it.
____________________
Licence: Nov 2012, Bikes: Suzuki GN125, Moto Guzzi Strada 750, Triumph Sprint ST 955i x 2
AnPhonEh: I need plans, I need contingency plans also, I need back up contingency plans

[Shinigami]

Fan spins absolutely fine and is working fine again just gonna look at the point it kicks in when I can be bothered as it doesn't turn on until the gauge is pretty high, doesn't get into the red on my daily riding though and on motorways & dual carriageways stays nice and low
____________________
Current: Honda City Fly CLR125 2003 Honda CB600F Hornet 2008 Yamaha FZ6 S2 + 1991 Kawasaki GPZ500
"Once you realize what a joke everything is, being the Comedian is the only thing that makes sense.

[moonzoomer]

remove the stat and put it in a pot of water, connect a multi meter across the 2 terminal of the stat set to the Ohms or audio range, turn on the heat and measure the temp of the water with a thermometer to see when the stat goes to closed circuit.