My bike is heating up....!?

[Ragnarok]

I think I have asked this question here on the forum before but things have changed sinced I have last asked it (if indeed I have).

I think my bike is heating up to much? I replaced all of my coolant lines, my thermostat, put a muzzys fan on, replaced my water pump, flushed my coolant system twice, and am running engine ice..... The bloody thing still gets past the half mark, and pretty easily... The fan kicks on just below three quarters on the temp gauge, which sustains the temperature and maybe drops it for a second.. but then the needle goes up more and more...

I am able to keep temperatures reasonable as it is colder this time of year, but I fear summer! The bike does just fine out on the open road but I can barely get the thing to work and back....

Is there a solution? should I get an auxillary fan that I can turn on at my leisure? Am I missing something simple?

Oh... and some bike info: Its a 2003 Hayabusa, I got some pipes and a PC3 on it....

Thanks guys for your input,
Joe

 

[BlueHaya]

When you refilled the coolant from the work you did...did you burp the system?, maybe trapped air.

page 2-20 of the service manual. I would start there.

 

[Ragnarok]

Yes I did burp the system... I have taken it to two shops to finish some of the work and ensure all was in good working order.

 

[MO-BUSA]

you may have a hose colapsing on it, maybe just a thought

 

[Ragnarok]

I have my fairings off of the bike and I havent noticed anything of that sort... I am not losing coolant either. How would I check for a collapsed hose?

 

[MO-BUSA]

have you ran it with the fairings off and let it get to temperature??? im just taking a guess here, may not even be an issue but worth a look, you might even check to see if the radiater is flowing with the cap off, just dont get burned, leave it off and wick the throttle a couple of times you should see the water move up and down in the radiator???

 

[SnapAttack]

At this point you might not want to take some real readings of the engine/coolant rather than rely on the stock dial. BTW - my fan kicks on just after the half way mark.

GL

 

[jboogey84]

have the same damn problem with mine and i live in florida...ive tried everything but im bout to do the "2nd fan mod" cause summer is coming
never had this problem when my bike was stock tho

 

[Ragnarok]

I have taken my bike to two shops to check if all is in good working order and they say it is! So maybe I will have to do the 2nd fan mod as well... I dont know why, many people I have talked to say the bikes actually keep pretty cool even in summer!

 

[Tufbusa]

Looks as though you have replaced just about everything except maybe the "Sending Unit". You may want to give that a shot before adding additional fans etc.

Also, as already mentioned, I'd check the temp with a thermometer just to make sure it really is getting hot and not your gauge?

 

[99'busa]

you could heat wrap your header but you shouldnt HAVE TO. the shops might not have burped your system (just checked your levels)especially if they were stealerships. did you burp the system by squeezing hose or rocking bike back and forth

 

[Ragnarok]

What is the sending unit and where can I find it? I dont have any fairings on my bike so I dont think heat can really sit in there and build up... As far as how I burped my bike. I squeezed all of the lines, I started it and gave it a quick spin, shook it, squeezed the lines again (alittle later), and started it, then rode it again and checked it one last timne, everything looked fine to me!

 

[Commuta_Busa]

sounds like it's time to test the thermostat, coolant temp sensor, and the fan thermo sqwitch. If all of those are still in spec then something must be clogged in yoru system.

 

[Ragnarok]

sounds like it's time to test the thermostat, coolant temp sensor, and the fan thermo sqwitch. If all of those are still in spec then something must be clogged in yoru system.

The thermostat is fine, the coolant temp sensor and the thermo switch..? Where do I find those and how do I test them?

 

[loboboy]

Do you still have the reservoir tank? If so make sure all of the lines are connected properly and that they are not plugged, then fill it up to the full mark while cold and let it heat up in the garage until the fan turns on then off a few times, then shut the bike down and let it cool off. When you come back you will see that the level in the reservoir will drop. This means you still had an air pocket in the cooling system. this is what I have done both times I have flushed my system and it has worked perfect and no problems with heating.

 

[Mr Bogus]

do the radiators on these bikes ever clog up?

 

[Commuta_Busa]

sounds like it's time to test the thermostat, coolant temp sensor, and the fan thermo sqwitch. If all of those are still in spec then something must be clogged in yoru system.

The thermostat is fine, the coolant temp sensor and the thermo switch..? Where do I find those and how do I test them?

the coolant temp sensor is right by the thermostat side of the cylinder.
the fan thermo switch is on the left side of the radiator

also run the ecm to verify there aren't any error codes.

 

[Tufbusa]

This is how I would approach a heating problem.

First, you need to know if indeed you have a heating problem or is your gauge giving you a false reading.

Check the temp in the radiator with a Thermometer. You can use your wife's meat thermometer if you like? Simply drop the sensor end of the thermometer into the neck of the radiator while the engine is running and see just how hot your water temp is when the thermostat opens. Once you have established the engine is over heating, only then begin to search for the problem. You may not have a heating problem at all, it may be your gauge or sending unit.

Your water temp sending unit is screwed into the rear of the head. Lift your tank and look up under the air box and you'll see the sending unit about the size of a nickle with one single wire attached. Remove the wire and touch the wire to the head grounding it with the key on. Your gauge should peg the needle on HOT! I would replace the sending unit with new. Torque to 12.5 ft lbs.

If the sending unit and guage is working properly, I'd clean the radiator thoroughly and blow it out with compressed air. You may want to remove the radiator and take it to a radiator shop so it can be proper flushed and cleaned.

There are a number of things that can cause over heating. If you have changed the thermostat, I'd move on to check for exhaust gasses in the radiator which would indicate a blown head gasket or cracked head. I highly doubt this is your problem or you would be loosing a little water from the cooling system, but an easy check.

Brush fires have to be put out one at a time, elliminating one suspicious culprit at a time. Most importantly, make sure you actually have a heating problem first, before trying to solve the problem.

Good Luck Man! Hope you weed out the problem soon!

 

[delbert]

had a similiar problem with mine turned out the hose to the bottom of the resivoir tank was blocked.

 

[Churchkey]

From S FL here. I installed the Honda fan switch, turns on the cooling fan about 40* sooner & it keeps it cool even in heavy traffic. Found the mod on this forum.

Found one thread on it for ya.

https://www.hayabusa.org/forums/?act=ST;f=46;t=31086;hl=