| Author | Message | ||
     Eagle1 |
I don't know if this is tied to my previous (and still existing) problem that involves my pipes glowing at idle. Today I was riding in traffic in about 85* weather and was very shocked to see the CT rise to 210. I didn't know at which point I should stop to let it cool down, but thankfully the traffic let up and I got some air on the engine. The bike's an '08 and has had the major reflash done back in September. Pre-flash the hottest the bike ever ran was maybe 204 or so in South Dakota summer heat (80's and 90's). Post flash it was MUCH cooler. Is anyone else seeing these kind of CT's on a post-flash '08? | ||
| Ridenusa4l |
yup, but pre flash i had it up to 245 so i wouldnt worry about 210 lol.. Jake | ||
| Imshaun |
I was told the temp light comes on at 235. You are fine at 210. Mine was up to 218 the other day. | ||
| Ccryder |
Heck it was 75 the other day and waiting for a train (5 mins) I saw 215. Last summer in 95 deg heat, I saw 225 even just slowing down in traffic. There are enough safeties built into the system to keep you from doing damage. One thing to remember. if you shut off your engine while waiting for traffic, etc, you have NO coolant circulating through the engine and that will lead to problems quickly. | ||
| Kttemplar |
I had that problem before the flashes (235) and added about 3.5 ounces of water wetter to the stock coolant. This gives the EG coolant a little boost and reduces temps by about 6-8 degrees without going to water wetter and water only. I was out riding the other day and the temps here were in the 80s-90s and I saw 198-200 on the CT. You might also want to check your coolant level, if you have not already. Mine was low on delivery and I did not think to check it until several months after purchase and found it to be a little low. Another thing you can do, depending upon where you live is increase the % of water in the EG/Water solution. The more water you have, the more heat transfer, but the less EG you have the less "antifreeze" protection. an example is the common 50/50 mixture of EG-water which the HD coolant has gives you protection down to -34 degrees. If you live in a place that does not get below 15 degrees, you can mix your EG at 20/80, giving you protection down to 15 degrees but significantly increasing the heat transfer capabilities of the solution. I looked into this a while ago and posted the various combinations. http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/369156.html I only added 3.5 ounces of water wetter to the stock coolant because I live in NY and did not want to loose the cold weather protection. The best thing to do is to change out the coolant all together and run water plus water wetter, which will give you 26 more degrees of heat transfer over a 50/50 EG/WATER solution. Here is a comparison of heat transfer. 50/50 (EG/Water) = 228 Degrees F 50/50 + Water Wetter = 220 Degrees F Water = 220 Degrees F Water + Water Wetter = 202 Degrees F http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/290 431/370333.html There has been some discussion about water wetter not providing lubrication, but the website for the product claims that water wetter does provide lubrication. I am sure that due to the nature of this bike to run hot, like many other bikes, this topic will continue to pop up now that it is getting warmer. I hope this information is helpful. Mike (Message edited by kttemplar on April 29, 2009) | ||
| Xl1200r |
Warm weather is going to mean hot bikes. I have seen 205-ish I think, but it drops 5-10 degrees as soon as I get moving again. That was in stop and go type riding in 90 degree heat, about as hot as it gets normally in my neck of the woods (though we usually touch on or break 100 a day or two a year). I will probably switch to a track-approved non-EG coolant/antifreeze to make track days easier to get out of the novice class and to increase the cooling ability of the system. | ||
| 1_mike |
If you guys don't want to properly tune the engine to what IT wants rather than what the EPA wants....wrapping both headers in ceramic tape helps noticably. You may notice one tube runs right next to the water pump...the other spits heat on the right radiator. Mine have two layers of tape on them. I'm still awaiting my Spy harness to be able to give the engine what it wants/needs. Mike | ||
| Eagle1 |
Thanks for the advice guys! It's nice to know that nothing is wrong! I'm also glad I know that there's a light for high temps and some other precautions built-in. I did check the coolant level yesterday after the ride and it was about half an inch below the "cold" line, and this was 15 minutes after the ride. I guess I'll top check it again cold and add water as needed  | ||
| Kttemplar |
I stumbled upon this modification to the pods to make the look better, but it also comes with high flow radiators to decrease the engine operating temps. I have seen them before, but never a place to actually buy them. It looks like the price is just shy of $900 when the Euro price is converted and the VAT is added. http://www.solobuell.com/inter/index.php/Eskalation/BUELL-1125CR/Air-Scoops-1125-R/CR.html?busqueda=0&fabricante=0  Mike (Message edited by kttemplar on April 29, 2009) | ||
| Ekruizenga |
I contacted the seller with questions about this product, while their English is fair, they didn't have more information about the installation, whether it is a race application or still has the fans etc. Their response was that the Demo bike was in Germany or some place and that they were waiting on more answers from the manufacturer. Because their claims that it is a high flow radiator that will produce a 20' degree drop in CT and a 5-8% increase in HP seem a little out there. IMHO | ||
| Kttemplar |
Ekruizenga, Thanks for the info. Mike | ||
| Kttemplar |
Ekruizenga, I contacted Eskalation/buell-racing.com, which is the company in Germany that produces this modification. I am pretty sure that the high-flow radiators use a fan because the modification was not purely a racing modification, but an aesthetic modification that Eskalation did. I will post what I find out here. The website is in German, so I hope that there is not a problem with translating the e-mail I sent them. The SoloBuell website just distributes the parts that Eskalation makes. Mike (Message edited by kttemplar on April 29, 2009) | ||
| Ekruizenga |
Mike Thanks I look forward to what you find out. At this point I am going to use the water wetter approach for some heat control. -Eric | ||
| 1_mike |
The above radiator combination comes with the following - Fans Radiators Radiator fairings Required brackets Unfortunately the guy I was e-mailing with said that the guy doing the "kit"...as of now, requires money down..."then" he makes up a kit. While it hasn't been tested by a ton of people, the people that have tested them are very happy with the swap. I'm on the fence about it because of the money down thing. Will it take 3 weeks to put the kit together or 3 months...or...? Mike | ||
| Kttemplar |
Mike, Thanks for the info. | ||
| D3r3k |
This may seem like a stupid question, but when it gets that hot and you make it to your destination, is it better to let the bike cool with the engine running so it gets coolant, or is it better to just shut the bike off? | ||
| Palmer |
I like my stock pods, and I wouldn't change them for those produced by eskalation. But I had an Idea days ago watching a bmw z3 passing by on the street.  As you can see, the z3 has a beautiful "shark like" air scoop on both sides. I was thinking about a little mod: would it be usefull to put one little scoop like this on the top of the original 1125 pods? In fact as far as I know the hot air phisically goes stright up. Wit a scoop like this (mounted with the holes watching the back of the bike) the hot air could easily go out, and the internal temperature of the pod could be cooler too. What do you think? (hope my english is good to understand what I mean :-) | ||
| Sportster_mann |
I too have considered cutting "gills" or vents into the pod covers, but my main concern is how much can be cut out before the pods lose their structural integrity - don't forget the pods also double up as crash pads ! | ||
| 1_mike |
Sportster - I wouldn't go cutting anything open without realizing how the air flows. The above kit reverses the airflow from stock. Similar to the setup on Eslicks "Gieco" bike (at least what they used while at Fontana). Same as on the Honda RC51, and the like. If you cut open a stock pod with stock airflow direction, you will see what hot really is. Mike (Message edited by 1_mike on April 30, 2009) | ||
| Redbuelljunkie |
is it better to let the bike cool with the engine running so it gets coolant, or is it better to just shut the bike off? A hot-running bike is not going to cool down while idling- that's how it heats up in the first place. There must be air-flow over the radiators in order for the coolant to work. While it is true that shutting off an engine stops the cooling system, it also stops the combustion- and therefore the heat. As soon as the engine stops firing- it starts cooling. A hot-running engine is better off being shut down. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Add a product called water wetter to your cooling system. I've yet to see over 200 degrees with it, including two up riding in stop and go traffic in 80+ weather. |
