overheating rc51? how about a fix? must read.

[dadrc51]

i had the same problem that many others had with temp's that seemed way tooo high....asked many times for suggestions on how to make it run cooler....never got any help other then buy the carbon fiber shrouds....not a true fix in my opinion....it still comes down to the direction of air flow

Tired Of Having A Hot Vfr? - VFRD

the vfr has pretty much the same problem...this was the same thing i did with my rc51 and it worked flawlessly!!!! the vfr has only one fan...as does the super hawk..the rc51 has 2...getting the picture? i was told this wouldnt fix the problem....so as usual i went my own way and tried this....you figure it out for yourself....

[wingnutt]

Minnesota....

[wingnutt]

Originally Posted by wingnutt

Minnesota....

Seriously... Too hot is a matter of opinion more to the point it is about degredatiton of horsepower V.S. A sweaty nutsack.

This engine has ZERO history of heat related seizure and you might dehydrate abit quicker without scoops "I personally want a set"

Then again if you have serious climate issues go to rouge. You can get these to run way the hell cooler if you want them to.

[Ex-998]

I've also seen a lot of talk about how the RC runs hot..... this and that.... But has anyone really overheated????

I was at the Pahrump, NV last year and it was 116 degrees on the track.

I removed my left fan, reversed the right one and ran it with Honda coolant and water wetter, and removed the V shroud..... it never over heated!!!

My water temp got to a high of 243 degrees, and the engine ran like a champ. No water spewing out the cap nor any warning lights.... the bike just kept running. The cooling system was awesome and it did its job.

I wonder if Honda just designed their bikes to run a little hotter. I don't think there is anything wrong with a hot running bike as long as it runs.

[wingnutt]

Originally Posted by Ex-998

I've also seen a lot of talk about how the RC runs hot..... this and that.... But has anyone really overheated????

I was at the Pahrump, NV last year and it was 116 degrees on the track.

I removed my left fan, reversed the right one and ran it with Honda coolant and water wetter, and removed the V shroud..... it never over heated!!!

My water temp got to a high of 243 degrees, and the engine ran like a champ. No water spewing out the cap nor any warning lights.... the bike just kept running. The cooling system was awesome and it did its job.


I wonder if Honda just designed their bikes to run a little hotter. I don't think there is anything wrong with a hot running bike as long as it runs.

+100

P.S. 250 F will kill it

[El Pozzinator]

the pig just runs hot. that being said, here's my humble :

i recall a lot of folks saying they're running engine ice or water wetter and experiencing better heat dissipation via that route. i still run the coolant/ deionized water in mine and have a switch to reverse my fans to push air out thru the rads rather than pull it in (i just switch back for city/ traffic riding, and reverse for canyons/ highway). the RC fans pull air from outside the fairings, which simple fluid dynamics dictates is inefficient (fans trying to pull high speed, low pressure outside air and shove it into a low speed, high pressure area inside the fairings just doesn't work too well).

i noticed a drop of about 5-25 degrees F by running the fans in reverse from conventional on the same 50-mile backroad loop.

they're simple stator motors on the fans... put power in one direction, the fans turn that way. put power the other direction, and the fans turn the other way. but of a pain to wire in, but i have a bit of a schematic for the switch if you want. cost all of about $20 including parts and gas to go get the stuff from my local radio shack (with a good bit fo help from the much more knowledgeable folks on the board here... thanks RVT MAVERICK!!!).

hope this helps some.
-mike

[WhipHubley]

I really don't see the issue. As long as you keep moving I rarely see over 80 degrees C on my SP1.

Sure, if you're riding through city streets at 20mph in first then it's gonna get hot, but who rides their sportsbike round town?

You might be going _through_ to a town to get somewhere else, but not _in_ a town...

[Area 51]

I've tried everything but front-mounts and I've come to the conclusion that the only way to make my 51 run cool in summer is to ride in the morning or ride in the evening. I've seen 60 degree swings in one day (180 to 240). It has to be the most inefficient design possible - but it still runs.

[tunnelvis]

i put engine ice and took both radiator fans of and that droped it 20 degrees

[johnyisthedevil]

yeah, well I got sick of lookin at it and put a piece of tape over the guage. problem solved

[bigbach03]

I live where it gets up to 120 deg. in the summer on a regular basis. My bike has got up to about 240 on its hottest day. I just run coolant and water. I think this year im gonna try water wetter and see what happens. Even when it's that hot it runs great.

[06rc]

Water wetter and rad scoops worked wonders for me, living in Southern California.

[Fiddy1]

Here is my setup:

Fins
Fans reversed and on a switch.
RAd scoops.

I never see over 215 on 90+ days. Any speed over 10mph temps drop right down to 175-180.

Make sure system is burped and ride on....

[RxRC]

I have a bone stock cooling system on my 2000. I run Honda Type 2, premixed coolant. I rode in town the other day and she hit 200. I shit a brick.

No scoops, louvers, fins, air dams, shaker hoods. Fans? I think my bike has one, not sure. No reversed, front mount, bottom burped rads either.

Sory, I have trouble taking these threads seriously. I've been reading them on and off for eight years.

[Area 51]

^

Maybe the senders are all screwed and we've all been running at 180 and didn't know it.

[Dansrc51]

Originally Posted by wingnutt

+100

P.S. 250 F will kill it

as in kill it or safety shut off?


here's my cooling mods:



never over heats...

[wingnutt]

Originally Posted by Dansrc51

as in kill it or safety shut off?


here's my cooling mods:



never over heats...

Dood same mods here ....
Just ask Rig .. the only internal combustion engine that can sustain 250 + water temps is the infamous leaning tower of power 225 slant six mopar

demon or was it dart Dave

[ZeroGara]

It is not as much as losing power at high temp but you are losing longevity. Have you heard stories about flaking plating on cylinders and what it would cost to replace?
My other bike's fan goes on at 221 and shuts off at 208 again. Only in real heavy traffic and after a long while did I ever hear the fan go on. Sure the SP2's fans bring the temp down quick, but it only takes one long light to get up to 220. For how long would you think the engine will last if this keeps going on and on?
The guy who said he reached 240 I have a hard time picturing. 223 is the highest I ever saw. I imagine he lives in NM or AZ and I also imagine he rarely if ever sees traffic. A few upshifts and he is off to desert land. Some of us have to travel through a town to get to nicer areas to ride and with full gear on having a 220 engine between your legs is not what I call a fun ride. Having a little switch to flip the fans on above 190 when you encounter traffic can't possibly hurt anything.

Originally Posted by wingnutt

.. the only internal combustion engine that can sustain 250 + water temps is the infamous leaning tower of power 225 slant six mopar

I had one of those, real old, with adjustable valves! Nothing would kill the beast no matter how much you tried. But there is no magic to engine that weighs as much as a Honda civic and makes 90hp at 2800rpm. Diesels are heat monsters and weigh twice as much as gas engines but their cooling systems are so enormous that they can;t tell the difference between snow and 125' weather.

[Area 51]

Originally Posted by Ex-998

I wonder if Honda just designed their bikes to run a little hotter. I don't think there is anything wrong with a hot running bike as long as it runs.

That's one way to look at it (an optimistic way). But the quick way that temps rise and fall relating to speed is what tells the story. The RC is fine at speed (especially if you have the scoops) but anything slow and it's nervous time for me. I've seen fifty degree (F) changes in as little as twenty minutes (from a high altitude downhill to stuck in traffic in a hot valley). The bike is meant to be ridden...fast, and as a street bike the cooling system is deficient because you can't be moving all the time. True, they don't seize, but Honda gave us a cooling system that is barely adequate in stock form.

[turttletoy]

i was running at 246 all day at one of our trackdays. i have to say, i was worried because ive never seen it go up that high ever since ive owned the bike.