VFR Owner Favor...

MY Y2K VFR gets hot, plenty hot. An uphill first-gear cruise up
centennial to the wall, starting with a warm engine, can easily have
the thermostat north of 230 degrees in 70 degree weather, which makes
the bike go into "overheat, stop now" range in 90 degree weather in
stop-and-go traffic or other circumstances.

THere is a school of thought that says "all VFR 800s do that", due to the
side mounted radiators and basic design. But I think mine is 20
degrees plus of what "They all should do that" would be. And I'd like
to test this.

If anyone has a 2000 or 2001 VFR and is willing to join me on a couple
laps around the Berkeley campus (to warm the engine) and then a
first-gear cruise behind me up to the wall, I'd greatly appreciate it,
as it would allow me to conclusively say, one way or another, that
"they all do that, I'm just crazy", or "No, I'm not crazy, there IS
something wrong, either too much heat or too little cooling"

THanks.

 

What about using 2nd gear?
Or change your rear sprocket to lower your ratio, and then you could even
use 3rd, at least along Grizzly
--
Jim Stinnett
VTR1000
NT650
Too much motorcycle information @
http://moto-rama.com

 

It means it WILL overheat in 90 degree weather, stop and go traffic.
It actually overheated (pull over and stop level) AFTER I had
accelerated back to freeway speed.

I don't know if it is "They all do that" crap from the side mounted
radiators or a real problem, with the bike running 10-20 degrees
hotter than it should.

The uphil is a nice consistant test, and more reliable a test than
just stop and go traffic.

 

250 (red bar, pull over and stop) is about 5-10 degrees below the
pressurized boiling point of water/glycol mix, deliberately so.

Fanturns on at 215, which is right where the spec says. Since that is
a separate thermostat, the guage seem consistant.

The VFR fan on the 5th gen (VFR800fi) draws air in, and thus ends up
FIGHTING the normal airflow when moving.

 

The behavior of my '98 is qualitatively similar: It tends to heat
when revved under light or no load. The FI system is quite different;
I think your bike is closed-loop; mine's definitely not.

If you'd like to make a comparison anyway drop me a note; I normally
park outside Cory Hall and go for an evening ride after work.

bob

 

Interesting. My VTR has a similar cooling system with the side mounted
radiators as does the RC51. Mine will tend to heat up in stop and go
traffic, but the aux fan generally comes on and keeps it from overheating.
Have you spammed any of the VFR mailing groups for like experiences?

--
Jim Stinnett
VTR1000
NT650
Too much motorcycle information @
http://moto-rama.com