FZ1 Overheating

[TravisBickle]

Hi guys hoping you can help.

Is this normal?

So my temperature gauge reads anything between 80c and 110c once warmed up. If I use the kill switch the cooling fan keeps going like a good'un. Only when I turn the ignition off it stops. 110c seems a bit high to me! Only gets that high when stationary or going very slowly, usually 80 to 90 when rolling. I've checked coolant level and it's at the top of the filler cap once cooled down a bit (but not stone cold, I think I checked it like an hour after I got home from work on it). Also might be a bit of a gurgling noise when running but might just be my imagination
____________________
2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[xX-Alex-Xx]

Yeah that’s normal if you’re stopped in traffic or going slow. You’ll see a warning light usually around the 120 mark.
____________________
DILLIGAF

[TravisBickle]

Thanks. Stupid question but that's put my mind at rest

Just I'm used to seeing my car temp gauge never budging off 90c I suppose bikes are different, I wouldn't know because this is the first bike I've ever had with a temperature gauge.

Also alarming cos my boot melted all over the exhaust. Like not just a bit, made a proper semi circle dent in the heel of my boot about an inch deep and black gunge all over the pipe just in front of the end can. Never done that before, maybe got a smidge of black stuff on the exhaust before but never melted all the way through like that before, so wondered if it was running hotter than usual...
____________________
2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[xX-Alex-Xx]

Just bear in mind a bike has a radiator about the size of a gnats bollock compared to a car, and car manufacturers tend to have the needle sitting in the middle of the gauge unless there’s a problem.

I’d be more worried about where you’re keeping your foot instead of how how the exhaust gets
____________________
DILLIGAF

[FretGrinder]

[TravisBickle]

Thank you sirs
____________________
2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[Fizzer Thou]

My 5JJ-R1 has a digital temperature display and the fan cuts in at 105c and switches off at around 80c if I kill the engine but keep the ignition switched on.

Might I ask what ratio of coolant you use?If you are using a standard mix of 50/50 then it is not going to work effeciently as (A) anti-freeze/glycol is not very good at heat exchange and (B) this country is never going to go down to -30c,even in the worst case scenario.If you were to use 100% ultra pure water then it would be better as anti-freeze/glycol is not very good at moving heat away from hot spots like around the cylinder head and the upper part of the barrel where combustion occurs.But then you need the anti-corrosion inhibitors found in glycol.

Since I first owned a water cooled bike I have used 70% distilled water,25% high quality concentrated anti-freeze/glycol and 5% WaterWetter.Even in the streets of Monte Carlo then the R1 was able to run okay in the 38c heat...unlike me.I sweated buckets
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[TravisBickle]

To be honest I haven't had the bike that long so haven't got round to / felt necessary to replace the coolant that's already in the system, although I did get my motorbike mechanic to give it a thorough going over after purchase as I'm a bit mechanically-able to by no means an expert! Probably wouldn't hurt to flush the system and replace.

What's water wetter?
____________________
2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[Fizzer Thou]

https://www.redlineoil.com/waterwetter-coolant-additives

I use it in the KTM enduro,the R1 and the Exup-R.

The last time I bought some I got it from Demon-Tweeks
____________________
Just talk bikes.What else is there?

Always have a 'Plan B'

[jaffa90]

A spanner in the works,
Q, You think it is over heating so how accurate is a temp gauge??

[TravisBickle]

It's a crude yardstick, but a yardstick nonetheless :-/
____________________
2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[jeffyjeff]

+1 with FretGrinder and xX-Alex-Xx Your temperature range coincides with my experience on the fifth-gen VFR's. The fan switch engaged the radiator fan at 223F. I routinely saw, on hot days in traffic, temps up to 230-233F. As I recall, the ECM would not intervene until the temp reached 250F. Never got that high.

One fact most people don't consider: Once the thermostat is fully open (approx. 195F) it can no longer regulate the temperature of the engine. At that point (wide open 'stat) the engine temperature will increase, degree-for-degree with the ambient air temperature. Ie. if your thermostat is maxed out at 210F on a 100F day, and ambient increases to 105F>the engine temp will climb to 215F. Get it? At that point, the only way to cool down the engine is to 1) increase airflow through the radiator, or 2) lower the temperature of the airflow through the radiator.

That's why seemingly minor cooling system faults have such a big effect; debris blocking the radiator fins, bent radiator fins, wonky thermostat, cooling system fan issues or modifications. Also, the pressure cap is critical. The boiling point of coolant raises 3 degrees F for every 1 psi in cooling system pressure. A 15 psi pressure cap raises the boiling point by 45 degrees from 212 to 257F. More is not better, though. I once had an old Rambler (American Motors automobile) with a 9 PSI pressure cap. I fit a 15 PSI cap, only to suffer repeated radiator leaks. Took me a few years to realize that I had caused my own problem.
____________________
History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men - BOC

[TravisBickle]

https://i.ibb.co/KwSxYWf/20200602-092801.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/YBsZD5Y/20200602-092752.jpg

Any idea how to get the gunge off the exhaust pipe???
____________________
2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[pepperami]

Cold exhaust pipe, petrol, rag, and plenty of elbow grease.
Fine wire wool is good also.
____________________
I am the sum total of my own existence, what went before makes me who I am now!

[jeffyjeff]

[blurredman]

Ah yes, the boot on the exhaust problem.. Mainly when women pillion riders get off the bike then almost break their ankle as the wedge is no longer there. I've still got a pair on my exhausts..

Never bothered to clean them off to be honest..
____________________
CBT: 12/06/10, Theory: 22/09/10, Module 1: 09/11/10, Module 2: 19/01/11
Past: 1991 Honda CG125BR-J, 1992 (1980) Honda XL125S, 1996 Kawasaki GPZ500S, 1979 MZ TS150.
Current: 1973 MZ ES250/2 - 18k, 1979 Suzuki TS185ER - 10k, 1981 Honda CX500B - 91k, 1987 MZ ETZ250 (295cc) - 40k, 1989 MZ ETZ251 - 51k.

[TravisBickle]

[P.]

Don't worry about dropping it. I've thrown some of mine sideways like surfboards.

I have a similar looking exhaust, link pipe + converse = hot mess. Its coming up nicely with some harpic.

[TravisBickle]

Yay I just earned my first gold karma blob.

A bit like Morgan Freeman earning his freckles for his good deeds.

https://i.gifer.com/viq.gif
____________________
2024 BMW M1000XR
2021 Honda CMX500 Rebel S
2016 Triumph Tiger 1050 Sport

[jeffyjeff]

[Andy_Pagin]

My FZ1 runs at about 100 degrees around town, so OPs seems normal. I always make sure I have a spare fuse for the cooling fans, the bike definitely needs both of them spinning to avoid overheating in urban traffic.
____________________
They're coming to take me away, ho-ho, hee-hee, ha-haaa, hey-hey,
the men in white coats are coming to take me away.
Yamaha Vity -> YBR125 -> FZS600 Fazer -> FZ1-S Fazer