[undii]

Hi, for a 'bit', my bike has been running stupidly hot. I think it used to run 5-6 bars on a 'typical' ride but now even when it's cold (6-7am) and I'm on the highway at 100km/h in 6th gear (so not pushing it at all, 5-6K RPM I think it is from memory), I still get 8-9 bars.

I just had a look at the K&N air filter Charlie @ Turn one put in last year (March probably it was?), seems pretty clean. A heap of dead flies sitting what you would call under the filter, on the plastic bit below the filter, not actually the filter itself but the air duct/cavern bit underneath (I'm brain mush atm, swimming at 7am, went into town with my daughter to book in a tattoo and she took me for a walk/run most of the way so excuse me for not having clarity!)

Doing some searches, it seems air may be in the coolant as the air filter looks to be good/not blocked/falling apart or whatever, I don't know what else could be causing the heat issue at present. And I mean, it's been COLD some mornings on rides and it hits 9 bars pretty damn quick, I hit 10 once sitting at lights and the bike wasn't happy.

Anyway, going to try to to re-fill coolant, oil is good, I put some in a few months back (try to keep it to 6 months between oil changes) and it's like 98% of the level it was when I changed it. Unless people have other ideas what else it could be that I can look at? I posted this in Aussie forum as I'm trying to see what Aussie people put in for coolant, we may have 'localised' stuff so this isn't why I put it in a maintenance/repair section.

Cheers, but I'm happy I was able to get to the air filter by myself with the gimped arm, had to lean the tank on my shoulder whilst undoing the screws for the air filter as the pivot bolt just won't come out at all. I've WD40'ed it and tried everything but the kitchen sink to get the prick turning/out, oh well, air filter stuff doesn't need this bolt OUT, I can save some time by not trying to get it out any more. :curtsey:

 

[Juz]

no idea if bikes are same as cars. Do they run a thermostat?

Pretty typical of a stuffed Thermostat in a car.

 

[zxrno1]

when it is hot can you hear the thermo fan come on?
and check the coolant level in the radiator and not the bottle on the side to see if it is low.

 

[old blue]

It's not unknown for these bikes to suck air back into the system between the rad and the coolant overflow tank via a bad hose joint or a small crack in an elbow or similar.

This will often happen as the bike cools, and of course results in air bubbles in your cooling system.

Watch and listen all along the system as the bike cools after a run you'll hear it sucking quietly. So to speak.

This will result in constantly high running temperatures, and if the 'air leak' isn't fixed, it'll mean that any bleeding of the system quickly goes to crap again as the system sucks in more air after each run.





O.B

 

[Tongie_]

Crook temp sender unit??

 

[undii]

Crook temp sender unit??

Definitely not crook, when I was sitting at the lights (a good 'easy' run then into town/city on a warm day), it rose to full and overheat light came on and I saw steam or smoke but the lights changed, I took off and overheat light went off and all was 'back to normal' (of the unusually hot compared to the past 5 years or whatever it's been since I got it, which was the first 2-3 weeks of them hitting Oz, I ordered mine Dec 05 waiting for it to come mid 06 I think)

And cheers all, will investigate the stuff said tomorrow, I'm way too worn out from today's adventures to contemplate any more work on the bike or anything else. I definitely think it may be bubble/air in coolant, well, just that it seems to be the exact same symptoms as someone else who had this, they changed coolant and it went back to normal hence I was thinking of doing this as it's somewhat easy, much easier than errorchecking the engine which I will need to do if the 'simple' coolant replacement doesn't work but I'll check the pipes and stuff as OB mentioned I think.

For now, back to the couch to chill to this weeks UK Shameless ep And then check out Test Drive Unlimited 2 on the PS3

 

[undii]

when it is hot can you hear the thermo fan come on?
and check the coolant level in the radiator and not the bottle on the side to see if it is low.

Yeah, I hear the fan turn on, coolant is about 9/10ths, maybe 3/4 from memory, it's definitely "near full" as it's one of the things I check (fluid - oil + coolant levels) very often.

And I *hope* I can hear any possible 'air leaks' as OB mentioned, I'm 90% deaf (well, exaggerated but I'm not far off it LOL) due to a life time of loud music, loud bikes and well, general loud noise in the 80s onwards and not knowing of needing earplugs til semi recent (when 'science' told us) . Also have some genetic thing that my dad has, surgery can fix it, a 'loose' bone in the ear(s) but when that happens, I lose ALL sense of being able to direct on a sound, as in if someone is talking to me, I can't zone out other noise, as my dad had surgery for the 'loose' bone, fixed the deafness thing but from then on, he hears all noise as one, really sucks for him trying to listen to a conversation outdoors etc.

So I'm putting off the ear surgery for as long as possible!

 

[tuscani451]

For a coolant Engine Ice works great but it sounds like there's somthing else going on there too

 

[k473y]

its 1;53am and im angling like crazy..

 

[dtrides]

.. as the bike cools after a run you'll hear it sucking quietly.O.B

You make it sound like he's ridding a Harley...:rofl:

 

[k473y]

You make it sound like he's ridding a Harley...:rofl:

Lol .The bad speeling took me ahwile to get that one.

sucking softly?

 

[Sp00ky]

You will probably need some help with this .... but try it anyways.

With the bike cold, remove the radiator cap. All the coolant in the small tank will drain out from the overflow tank under the seat.

Next, tilt the bike over to an angle of at least 45 degrees on the side, hold it for a while, then go around the other side of the bike and tilt it the other way.

This is to encourage any air trapped in the radiator to bubble out of the radiator filler hole.

You need to have purchased some distilled water and some Redline Water Wetter first before you started this procedure. These products are usually available from your automotive dealer like Auto One or similar.

After the tilting is done, [twice per side for 10 seconds] top up the radiator through the filler hole with Redline, replace the radiator cap and make sure it's tight. Now pour the Redline into the top tank under the seat until it reaches the top mark. If needed, add some distilled water to bring it up to the mark.

Go ride. Get the motor nice and hot. When you get home, check the top tank coolant level after the bike has cooled right down, preferably overnight. It should be low. top up with any Redline you have left or distilled water if you used all your Redline ...

Nine times out of ten, this will fix your overheating problems. If it doesn't, take it to your Triumph dealer for a coolant and radiator check-up.

You may need to have the coolant drained and re-filled by the dealer if the above doesn't work, but usually the Redline will solve the problem.

S.

 

[RobNevyn]

Good post Ray, bookmarked for future reference.

 

[old blue]

Good post Ray, bookmarked for future reference.

+1

I also do the tilt-y thing with all my bikes. If you sit your bike upright 100% of the time when you're working on the cooling system ... well, is that how you ride? The moment you lean, particularly with all the vibration and bumps, up come the bubbles. Good tip.

O.B

 

[undii]

You will probably need some help with this .... but try it anyways.

With the bike cold, remove the radiator cap. All the coolant in the small tank will drain out from the overflow tank under the seat.

Next, tilt the bike over to an angle of at least 45 degrees on the side, hold it for a while, then go around the other side of the bike and tilt it the other way.

This is to encourage any air trapped in the radiator to bubble out of the radiator filler hole.

You need to have purchased some distilled water and some Redline Water Wetter first before you started this procedure. These products are usually available from your automotive dealer like Auto One or similar.

After the tilting is done, [twice per side for 10 seconds] top up the radiator through the filler hole with Redline, replace the radiator cap and make sure it's tight. Now pour the Redline into the top tank under the seat until it reaches the top mark. If needed, add some distilled water to bring it up to the mark.

Go ride. Get the motor nice and hot. When you get home, check the top tank coolant level after the bike has cooled right down, preferably overnight. It should be low. top up with any Redline you have left or distilled water if you used all your Redline ...

Nine times out of ten, this will fix your overheating problems. If it doesn't, take it to your Triumph dealer for a coolant and radiator check-up.

You may need to have the coolant drained and re-filled by the dealer if the above doesn't work, but usually the Redline will solve the problem.

S.

Cheers, sorry for the late reply but life has been stupidly hectic. I haven't had a chance to get on the bike or ride it, we've just been *that* busy. Only thing I have a 'problem' with is, I don't know nor have been able to see/find the "top tank under the seat" in which I pour the redline in to? Are you or anyone else able to help me with this, I checked both the main + pillion seat for anything resembling a tank/lid/cap. All I can say is the scorpio alarm I put in mid 06 is still a TIGHT FIT in the tiny gap near the battery under seat.

But anyway, any help with this? I'm going to do the attempt at getting the bubbles out + topping up tomorrow as we have some time for once, so I'd like to be able to find where I'm supposed to pour the redline, before I need to, I really don't look forward to 'wasting' ages in looking for something that I just can't find..

Thanks all! :curtsey:

*quick edit*

Just a thought, is the 'top tank under the seat' possibly the coolant reservoir tank which is 'obviously' seen when looking at the bike's left side (which is under the radiator cap kinda, so not sure if this was meant instead of 'under seat' ?)

 

[Power-Tripp]

Justice Brothers "Radiator Cooler" part number RC/22P works better than any other additive I have tested to date. We go through cases of the stuff each year. Try it, you'll like the results.

http://justicebrothers.com/pages/products/products_carcare_radiator_additives.htm

It does have an odd teal color though.

Some interesting test results other than ours:
http://www.turbomagazine.com/features/0703_turp_cooling_system_additives/test_results.html

 

[Sp00ky]

Cheers, sorry for the late reply but life has been stupidly hectic. I haven't had a chance to get on the bike or ride it, we've just been *that* busy. Only thing I have a 'problem' with is, I don't know nor have been able to see/find the "top tank under the seat" in which I pour the redline in to? Are you or anyone else able to help me with this, I checked both the main + pillion seat for anything resembling a tank/lid/cap. All I can say is the scorpio alarm I put in mid 06 is still a TIGHT FIT in the tiny gap near the battery under seat.

But anyway, any help with this? I'm going to do the attempt at getting the bubbles out + topping up tomorrow as we have some time for once, so I'd like to be able to find where I'm supposed to pour the redline, before I need to, I really don't look forward to 'wasting' ages in looking for something that I just can't find..

Thanks all! :curtsey:

*quick edit*

Just a thought, is the 'top tank under the seat' possibly the coolant reservoir tank which is 'obviously' seen when looking at the bike's left side (which is under the radiator cap kinda, so not sure if this was meant instead of 'under seat' ?)

The "top tank" ...
Sorry for my bad explanation ... The "coolant reservoir tank" under the seat is the small white plastic tank under the seat...[on my 2010 Striple, right in front of the battery.]

So then ... you have 2 fill points. One is the main radiator, the other the small reservoir under the seat.

Use Redline Water Wetter in both the main radiator and the reservoir. I used two bottles and some distilled water to do the job on my bike.

S.

 

[undii]

The "top tank" ...
Sorry for my bad explanation ... The "coolant reservoir tank" under the seat is the small white plastic tank under the seat...[on my 2010 Striple, right in front of the battery.]

So then ... you have 2 fill points. One is the main radiator, the other the small reservoir under the seat.

Use Redline Water Wetter in both the main radiator and the reservoir. I used two bottles and some distilled water to do the job on my bike.

S.

Cool, the reservoir for daytonas are under the radiator cap itself kinda. It's "between" a gap in the fairing on the left side. Now that's all worked out, need a little rest as I just got back from pool/hydrotherapy and I'm buggered.

Thanks, definitely know what you are on about now :biggrinjester::thumbup:

 

[hotwheelsaust]

Replace the radiator cap. I had the same problem a couple of months ago, when it started to feel a lot hotter. The frame would heat up quicker than ever. I took it to my local bike mechanic, who changed the coolant, checked all the hoses and radiator, but it still did it. Went to repco who can sell you the same cap as Triumph will but is cheaper at only $9. Triumph wanted $18 and had to order from UK. Haven't had a problem since. You will probably find that when you turn the bike off it had the coolant bubbling in the overflow tank, this usually means air in the radiator and/or head gasket and that is why the mechanic was focusing on all of the above. If changing the radiator cap doesn't solve the problem at least it only costs a few dollars.

 

[undii]

Wow, an hours work and $4 part finally fixed it. Someone from here with 2 fully working with got the tank off and found a corner joint for the reservoir had come off somehow. We went to supercheap auto purchased the part and after putting everything back, she seems all apples.
:thumbup: