Looking for any advice/tips you guys may have. My 03 CBR600RR always seems to run hotter than most bikes, and I'm wondering if there is something I can do or any places that I'm missing to look at. The coolant is changed every spring, and has never shown any evidence of corrosion. I have had a couple of offs that caused radiator/plumbing damage, but I have always been quick to replace any bent/smashed items (radiator, tubing, etc). I can't recall now what temp it runs while actually on the track, but it's up in the 220's pretty quickly after coming off the track. On track is probably around 190ish. I wouldn't worry about it, but it doesn't take long at all for it to reach dangerous temps when sitting at the grid or in pit lane. The only other factor that may come into play is the bike is currently mapped for U4, but I have been using 93 pump fuel. Being that is the case, the bike SHOULD be running rich, hence not causing it to run warm, but maybe there is something else there that I am missing. I'm running U4 this weekend so I will see how that affects the running temp, but it's supposed to be stupid hot this weekend so it probably won't give me the indisputable indication that I am looking for, but I guess I will see what happens. Thanks
Honda's always run hot. On my f4i (2002) the frame would get so hot I could barely touch it after a street ride. Don't worry about it.
Well... the first year or so that I had the bike, I don't recall it running so warm, but I have never been able to figure out what changed. It's been bothering me for awhile, just now thought to ask the question. So hypothetically, say you are at a track day or gridded up to race, and your bike says it's running 228* sitting there idling. Obviously it cools down pretty quickly once you get going, but how long do you let it sit with the temp that high before you shut it down? Or maybe the better question is, what temp do you guys start to freak out at?
As long as it runs cool on the track don't sweat it. The fan is not big enough to cool the bike down, and when you come off the track you lose the 100 mph airstream that keeps it cool. Just bring it in and park it.
Yeah, I've never really had any issues coming off the track, I know the faster I get it parked, the better. My concern is more so when I'm sitting on the grid or in the pits at idle when it creeps up to the high 220's+ (I've never seen it hit 230... but this weekend is going to be a hot one so it might just happen). I've had this bike for almost 5 years, and I really only noticed it the last 2-3. Either something on the bike has changed, or maybe I just didn't pay close enough attention before, who knows... I'm glad to hear that's not out of the norm, though.
Hard wire in a toggle switch and put the oem fan back on if you are worried about it. Sometimes you are held at pit out for a long time so you can turn it on so the temp doesnt get too high before you hit the track (I always turned mine on before it got to 180' at pit out) and you can also turn it back on for your cool down lap or as you enter the pits. People will say you bike wont cool as well with the fan on but if your on-track temp doesnt get above 190-ish now it wont make a lot of difference. The other option is you can get an aftermarket fan temp switch from and autoparts store cheap and wire it in and set it so the fan comes on at 200, or 205 or whatever you want. It comes down to performance vs piece of mind and what is more important to you :up:
I hadn't thought about removing the center of the thermostat or wiring in a switch for the fan. Both are good suggestions. The oem fan is still on it, so it wouldn't take much to do that. I may start with the thermostat and see if that helps. Thanks guys, the beeb delivers again :up:
The only thing to watch with gutting the thermostat (I always did that as it helped the bike run cooler) is that on cold mornings/days or if it rains make sure you have tape on the radiator to ensure the bike is up to a decent temp during a practice/race. It's not hard, just another thing to be consious of.
Sometimes replacing the radiator cap helps a little. Also make sure the system is "full" by burping it after filling. Made the difference between hot and HOT for me.
Higher pressure raises the boiling point of the cooling liquid but does not reduce temps. I forgot to ask if you are running distilled water with water wetter?
Why would you gut the thermostat to solve a problem that doesn't exist (since it's not running dangerously hot now) only to create a potential problem in colder temps?
I don't buy the cutting/removing the thermostat idea. Don't do that or get more opinions and decide for yourself. It will have zero effect on the overall running temp (unless it's bad, and that is rare), and do nothing but take longer to warm up. ie: run like crap as the cool motor map richens the mix. And on cool days, it won't run at temp and run like crap the entire time. As crikey mentioned you need to tape the rad but on an r6 you have to tape the rad on cold days EVEN WITH a t-stat. Taking the t-stat out is not a good idea on todays modern sportbikes. Race or otherwise. There is some good info out there regarding this so read up! and i have read some stuff that suggests NOT runing distilled water as the zero minerals don't do something coolant should do. Deionized i think is the water you should use if nothin else, even TAP water is better but ya need an anit-corrosion additive.. look into that more as im not positive, but only 90% sure of this. ditto on what i said just above. It isn't gonna HELP. If your bike is cooling to 190 on track, your t-stat is WORKING. If it was stuck, you would have a busted bike at this point. Cutting it won't help on hot days, and will make it run like crap longer on cool days. This isn't your issue, if you even have one! We are down here in Florida.. we know about hot running bikes and i don't know of anyone not running t-stats down here. I've tried it in the past too as there are always a few that say it's a good idea.. Won't be a big deal if you do cut it, but your gonna have the same issue.
I'm guessing it doesn't apply to running distilled water with Water Wetter? If you've got some links I'd love to read about it.
