| Author | Message | ||
     Brax4444 |
I'm thinking of riding to Key West from Northern Alabama at the beginning of August. I'm worried about being overheated. More importantly I'm worried about my XB-12S getting overheated. I notice when I ride on hot days here in AL at high speed down the highway my fan cuts on. When I slow down I can hear it. I was under the impression that my fan shouldn't need to cut on when going down the highway in top gear because of ample air supply. I thought it should only cut on when I stop and fresh oil is no longer being delivered to the heads. Could someone please tell me if this is normal and/or my fears are well founded about riding to Key West in the heat of summer? Thanks! | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
In the 115 deg summer AZ sun, my fan runs all the time! It comes on at a certain temp when the bike is running, so yes, your bike is getting hot. Change your oil often, and use syn if your not already as it performs better when hot. This is my bikes 3rd 100+ summer and she's doing great. Oh yea, high octane fuel and maybe a little less spark in the summer helps guard against the knocking problem I had the first summer. | ||
| Poondogger |
Brax I'm in Dothan and commute to Ft Rucker every day. I don't think I'd worry about the fan. I put 6500 on my 12r in it's first 11 months and I haven't had a single problem. Fan comes on all the time on the hwy. I'd quit stressin' about it and get on the road. | ||
| Kenny |
I also live in north alabama and have noticed sine it has gotten alot warmer my fan run most of the time but bike still performs good. | ||
| Anonymous |
Don't worry about it! The fan running is normal when it is hot. It is designed to cool the engine and so happily sets about doing it's job. The XBs have been thoroughly tested for running in hot weather, believe me. All the durability testing is done in Arizona. | ||
| Tomzweifel |
Check out my comments... http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/32777/123768.html?1119801547 Trust me. It's not a problem. I found out the hard way. You'll boil over before your XB does. | ||
| Brax4444 |
Thanks for all the information guys. I think I'll just go with whatever oil the maintenance manual recommends for very hot weather when I take my trip. Normally I run the standard 20W50 since the weather here is so diverse. We get a little of it all. I'll report back if all goes well in case anyone is interested. Chances are good I'll ride it 1000 miles within 24 hours on the way home to join the Iron Butt club. That should be a considerable amount of stress on a street fighter. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Well Brax, I live in Florida and ride all the time. I've done 160 mile trips at interstate speeds (80-85mph) for 2 hours straight and while the fan was running I had no problems. I just recently bought the right side air scoop from Trojan to help keep the fan off by increasing the cooling back there on the interstate. I'll post my results tomorrow once I test it out. | ||
| Daveinm |
Same here...I'm in South Florida. I put almost 20,000 on my bike last year and haven't had an overheating problem yet. I always get worried when I get stuck in traffic though. The ride down to the keys is awesome! I rode my Harley down last October for Fantasy Fest. Such a great ride. Into the sunset on the 7 mile bridge  It's like you're riding straight out to the ocean. One thing, and nobody trash me for this, you gotta go without a helmet. Makes it 100 times better. It's a slow ride, but be careful and you'll be fine. The traffic is usually very light. | ||
| Brax4444 |
Daveinm: How long does it take from the South side of Miami? | ||
| Daveinm |
You want to get to the Turnpike and take that down as far as you can. So, let's say from 836 and the Turnpike, it'll take 3-4 hours depending on stops and lights. | ||
| Mike_bolts |
Brax, I live in Houston and have never had an overheating problem with my City X. I rode during the heat of the day on Saturday (95 degrees with equal humidity) in stop and go traffic without any problems. If your oil light starts to flash, you have a problem. I'm more worried about my overheating problem! Stop and go traffic w. a black helmet and jacket sucks, I'm starting to envy the Harley boys in their tank tops... but then I remind myself of how stupid they are for riding without gear. Enjoy! | ||
| Brax4444 |
Thanks again for the info guys. Daveinm: I'm planning a route, thanks for the advice. Mike bolts: If you ever get really desperate and don't care how you look, a white oversized long sleeved tshirt over your mesh jacket can make a huge difference on a sunny day. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Brax, when in Aug do you plan to make that trip. Maybe us Florida guys can meet ya on the way. | ||
| Dropnstyle |
soak a white undershirt in water and wear it under your mesh jacket..its like air conditing in the 110 weather here (AZ). | ||
| Joele |
Mike_Bolts - I felt the burn Friday while stuck in 610 near the Galleria traffic - black jacket and 14oz. denim britches - sweat'n myself stupid. | ||
| Doughnut |
JUST GO! | ||
| Kdan |
Ride at night. It's cooler. Watch out for critters and don't worry that night bugs are the size of softballs. It's all protein! | ||
| Brax4444 |
Cataract2: It'll be sometime between Aug 6th and 14th. I'm assuming I'll have that week off. I don't mind meeting up with fellow Buellers, at all. But keep in mind I'm 20. :-) Dropnstyle: The wet undershirt idea works great and some biker clothing stores sell shirts that hold more water than cotton so the effect last a lot longer in the extreme heat. Probably an entire tank of gas on a Buell. Doughnut: I plan on just going. :-) Hopefully I won't have an hurricanes waiting on me in the Keys! Kdan: Riding at night is great for keeping cool. I'll probably do a lot of that and ignore the fact I can't see out of my face shield! | ||
| Daveinm |
20 is ok. We're all 26 and under. Don't ride at night. You'll miss all the great scenery. Try and plan it out so it's sunset when you're about 30 miles for Key West. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Dang, I'll have left by that time on my trip. Your heading south and I'm heading north. | ||
| Budo |
'soak a white undershirt in water and wear it under your mesh jacket..its like air conditing in the 110 weather here (AZ)' That works well in low humidity conditions. Here in the South the humidity is too high for that to be effective. The cool-bandanas (I might have the name wrong) that absorb water and you wear around your neck work pretty well, evein in high humidity weather. Good luck | ||
| Vegasbueller |
Brax: Ditto Cataract on that. I would love to ride with you for a while. I live in central Florida, not far from Daytona. Hopefully by then I will actually have some time off! | ||
| Brax4444 |
Daveinm: I'm sure I'll have to ride at night on my way back but I'll make SURE the sun is up during the scenic parts of the ride. Thanks for the sunset advice, I'll keep that in mind. Cataract2: Where are you going? Vegasbueller: What town do you live in? I have a friend that grew up in that area and my father has made 30 out of the last 32 Daytona Bike Weeks. :-) I've managed to show up quite a few times myself. | ||
| Cataract2 |
Brax, I'll be making a trip to Wisconsin (riding the whole way) with my parents and brother. Then my parents and I are going to be heading to Deal's Gap. Can't wait. | ||
| Candy |
I dont see why you guys are worrying about the SUN!! there hasnt been any sun in florida since the hurricanes last fall!!!!-----We do have PLENTY of rain though!!--------Kingfish | ||
| Daveinm |
You're crazy...It's been sunny all year. it's only been raining for the past 6 weeks. It's sunny now....I'm actually going out for a ride. | ||
| Candy |
Where you at------I want to be there too!!! I live in citrus co. (inverness---crystal river etc) I rideevery day that it is even remotely possible without getting slammed. I dont do cages ,only bikes. put on between 40--50 thou. a year-------I do see the sun for short periods at times but,it was a P poor fall and winter and it isnt gettin any better. I have lived here 35 years and remember when the st. pete tmes used to give away a paper if th sun didnt shine.------I just go anyway unless i see a chance for severe weather.-------I dont mind the rain,but, the lightning scares the crap out of me.--------good luck at youyr place!! Kingfish | ||
| Daveinm |
I'm in Coral Springs, just Southwest of Boca Raton. We get plenty of rain, but there's plenty of sunshine for riding. I rode over 25K miles last year between my XB9S and my Sportster. I've got another 2000 miles on my mountain bike too, so I'm probably close to 30K miles on bikes in general in the past year | ||
| Cataract2 |
What sun? It's been cloudy the last week. I was lucky to get the bike out on Tues. Well, if the weekends crap then I'm doing my fork oil change then. |
