Topic: I think Im running hot, what is correct temp?

[narcoticrex]

My bike has been hot.  Today i rode about 80 miles over the course of 2ish hours, temp was like 75 out.  Nothing went wrong, bike ran like a dream, except when I went out like 30 mins later, the engine was still pretty hot. pipes and header were cool, everything else was hot - not comfortable to hold my hand there hot.  The plugs look fine, no hardcore white, 1 was running rich.  Got plenty of oil, it looks good.  I read on another thread some guy measures his oil at anywhere between 150-200, my bike had to be well over that temp from the symptoms, i didnt measure exactly though....

this is making me nervous. 

[HondaMan]

My bike has been hot.  Today i rode about 80 miles over the course of 2ish hours, temp was like 75 out.  Nothing went wrong, bike ran like a dream, except when I went out like 30 mins later, the engine was still pretty hot. pipes and header were cool, everything else was hot - not comfortable to hold my hand there hot.  The plugs look fine, no hardcore white, 1 was running rich.  Got plenty of oil, it looks good.  I read on another thread some guy measures his oil at anywhere between 150-200, my bike had to be well over that temp from the symptoms, i didnt measure exactly though....

this is making me nervous. 

Sounds OK to me. The oil temp should run between 160 and 210 degrees, the exhaust fins at 325 degrees, the cylinder and block (cases) around 200. The cases, especially if the bike is parked away from wind, will stay warm long enough to pitch a tent next to on a cold mountain night, and keep you warm until midnight or so...

[andy750]

If you can feel heat on your face from your engine while sitting on the bike, THEN its probably running hot  (or you have just come through the Mojave desert in summer  )

cheers
Andy

[upperlake04]

The oil temp should run between 160 and 210 degrees

  Is that in the oil tank HM?

[HondaMan]

The oil temp should run between 160 and 210 degrees

  Is that in the oil tank HM?

Yep, in the oil, in the tank.
You can also measure it in the little dimples on the side of the oil tank, it's pretty much the same there.

[heffay]

air cooled bikes FEEL hot... thats exactly how they dissipate heat.
since there is no internal coolant force feeding coolness into the motor... the only option is for heat to go out.
really makes me happy to have a radiated bike on the hottest of days.     no need to put undue stress on my baby. 

[merc2dogs]

 agreed, aircooled bikes rub hotter and noisier than people are used to now. My buddy has a water cooled, hydraulic lifter electronic ignition kawi, and every  time he rides with me he asks what's wrong with my bike.....
 
Ken.

 

[edbikerii]

This thread is primarily about jetting and pods, but there is also lots of information about running temperatures and infra-red thermometers starting with this message:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=22036.msg251098#msg251098

[HondaMan]

 agreed, aircooled bikes rub hotter and noisier than people are used to now. My buddy has a water cooled, hydraulic lifter electronic ignition kawi, and every  time he rides with me he asks what's wrong with my bike.....
 
Ken.

 

 
Boy, you got me there!

Yeah, I'd forgotten about those days! Many of my riding buddies in the 1980s switched to Gold Wings. One day, when I came to lead off the ride I'd organized with them, a couple of guys (who were new to bikes and the group) came over to ask what was wrong with mine! They were concerned that maybe I shouldn't make the trip, but go find out what was wrong with my bike, it sounded like a bucket of nuts rattling around! Didn't I notice? (My wife looked at me like, "Don't they ride?").

So, then we proceeded to ride up Bergen Park Hiway from Denver....I had to wait at Echo Lake about 25 minutes for them to catch up....my bike was young then, only about 55,000 miles on it!

[markjenn]

The beauty of an air-cooled bike that you really don't have to worry much about their cooling systems - they run whatever temperature they run.  Too lean a mixture can have a small, localized effect, you want to keep a multi-cyl machine properly sync'ed with the carbs, and you certainly don't want to do anything to block cooling airflow in hot weather, but there's really nothing to go wrong.  So I doubt there is any problem with your bike.

Of course, this beauty is also a curse - when the going gets tough, they just get hotter and hotter until engine life starts to be affected.  If you think you're having episodes of very hot running due to weather, loads, traffic, etc. it's a good idea to shorten your oil change intervals.

- Mark