[Springfield_16]

About a month ago when temps were getting into the 80"s I used a digital meat thermometer in between the cooling fins on the cylinders of my RM after a ride. Front read ~250 degF, the rear ~300 degF. I removed the lowers to gain more airflow to the engine. It seems to make a difference, about 230's for the front and 250's for the rear. Is this OK?

 

[Kitulu]

Fairly normal for an air-cooled engine of this size.

 

[rpsibew110]

About a month ago when temps were getting into the 80"s I used a digital meat thermometer in between the cooling fins on the cylinders of my RM after a ride. Front read ~250 degF, the rear ~300 degF. I removed the lowers to gain more airflow to the engine. It seems to make a difference, about 230's for the front and 250's for the rear. Is this OK?

Yes, the Indian TS111 is capable of running up to 350F with no trouble at all. Maybe higher but that is the number I was told by an Indian tech that he has seen TS111 run at. Keep in mind that viscosity breakdown is around 400F

If you have a tuner drive with it attached and watch the temp on the tuner. When a motor is first shut off and sitting the temp will increase for a short period of time as it dissipates the internal heat from the engine.

The flame in the cylinder will run approximately 2600F and the cylinders at about 1500F.

I believe the sensor for the engine temp that would be read by the PV3 is at the rear of the front cylinder head.

 

[Riviera1973]

Yes, the Indian TS111 is capable of running up to 350F with no trouble at all. Maybe higher but that is the number I was told by an Indian tech that he has seen TS111 run at. Keep in mind that viscosity breakdown is around 400F

If you have a tuner drive with it attached and watch the temp on the tuner. When a motor is first shut off and sitting the temp will increase for a short period of time as it dissipates the internal heat from the engine.

The flame in the cylinder will run approximately 2600F and the cylinders at about 1500F.

I believe the sensor for the engine temp that would be read by the PV3 is at the rear of the front cylinder head.

I agree with you but there is another post on hear about someones engine that overheated and is now making a rattle noise from the top end, I believe there engine was a stock 111, apparently they let the bike idle for 30 minutes while the bike was stationary, I don't think it was a very good idea to do it because there was no air flow to help cool it, but what happens when your in traffic and not moving, now just so you know I've owned probably 20 bikes in my lifetime and most where air cooled, I've been stuck in traffic where there was no place to pull off on very hot days, I've sat in traffic for 1 hour or more many times where I was in and out with clutch and not moving but only a few feet at a time and I'm saying no speed and no air flow, Ihe bike was so hot you could barely sit on it. I have never damaged or overheated a engine, I don't let the bike sit and idle than to warm it up but it would seem to me sitting traffic is doing the same thing maybe worse because your body is blocking the air flow to the rear head, what is your opinion

 

[pablo94]

About a month ago when temps were getting into the 80"s I used a digital meat thermometer in between the cooling fins on the cylinders of my RM after a ride. Front read ~250 degF, the rear ~300 degF. I removed the lowers to gain more airflow to the engine. It seems to make a difference, about 230's for the front and 250's for the rear. Is this OK?

That's not a worry at all. Hell my old EVO Indian runs 220-230 in heavy traffic, stop and go, and etc. That's measuring actual oil temp in the oil bag. And that bike is only 88CI. Of course it has cam upgrades and other b.s., but still 300 on the rear is not the end of the world on a 111CI engine.

That overheated engine on the earlier post is unfortunate and I feel for the owner, but I can't wrap my brain around leaving an air cooled engine running for 10 minutes unattended let alone 30 minutes.

Shoot, I wouldn't leave mine running even at a relative or friends house unattended for simple fear of theft...

 

[theMucker]

Physics doesn't care about our comfort or our engine's tolerance for heat. Without airflow over the cooling fins, an air cooled engine will eventually overheat. In weather that is uncomfortably hot to the rider, it'll happen faster, but it can happen in freezing temperatures too.
Those who claim to have sat stationary or barely moving for very long periods of time without the engine overheating have been lucky (or ignorant of the life that may have already been BAKED out of their engine).
Besides being a mechanic on motorcycles for about 4 decades, I've been riding since 1971. Like most long term riders I've had a lot of different bikes, but I've only owned a couple of liquid cooled models. And, living on Long Island (NY) I've been caught in miserable traffic so bad that I have PUSHED my non-running motorcycle along, while surrounded by cars on all sides. Sometimes I just went to the shoulder and sat there until traffic started moving again.

 

[rpsibew110]

I agree with you but there is another post on hear about someones engine that overheated and is now making a rattle noise from the top end, I believe there engine was a stock 111, apparently they let the bike idle for 30 minutes while the bike was stationary, I don't think it was a very good idea to do it because there was no air flow to help cool it, but what happens when your in traffic and not moving, now just so you know I've owned probably 20 bikes in my lifetime and most where air cooled, I've been stuck in traffic where there was no place to pull off on very hot days, I've sat in traffic for 1 hour or more many times where I was in and out with clutch and not moving but only a few feet at a time and I'm saying no speed and no air flow, Ihe bike was so hot you could barely sit on it. I have never damaged or overheated a engine, I don't let the bike sit and idle than to warm it up but it would seem to me sitting traffic is doing the same thing maybe worse because your body is blocking the air flow to the rear head, what is your opinion

I never leave a bike running when sitting unattended or for more than a couple of minutes ever. I have also been caught in traffic in Minnesota 95F sunny on the blacktop. What I did was wait for the line of cars to move ahead 50-60' then let out the clutch and roll slowly forward getting the air to move over the engine. If the engine does overheat you will know it. An HD would begin to run differently, noticeably different. Rough idle and so on. This is the time to move over, shut down, or run the shoulder. I have never hit this point in my almost 4 decades of riding.

I have been caught in traffic in AZ at over 105F on my RM 116. Stop and go for probably 25-30 minutes. I thought my right thigh was on fire but the bike ran fine. I was lucky and there was a semi next to me some of the time for shade.

When I start my bike for the first time of the day I let it run about a minute. It will take a little more than 30 seconds for the oil to work it's way to the top of the engine. I never run the bike hard until its at full temp. I have seen too many pictures of scored piston skirts from running a bike hard when cold.

I would rather shut down a bike in the lane if there is no shoulder and sit waiting for traffic to clear than toast a motor. A tow and maybe a ticket will always be less expensive.

 

[doakheg]

Removing the lowers makes a noticeable difference.

 

[theMucker]

Yes! When all need to deflect air from legs that might be too cool, the lowers can go in a couple of boxes until the fall. My lower fairings spend at least a few months of every year tucked away in cardboard boxes.

 

[pablo94]

I don't worry about it too much in traffic. I just split lanes and go on my way...

 

[Axxehead]

Not that I've ever ran into any problems yet with over heating, but anyone know if there's a warning light or code before our 111's get too hot?

 

[Axxehead]

Never mind, CraigB answered it. I'll paste his answer here : "The cylinder head temperature sensor is there for fuel mixture calculations and for component protection. When you are at the point of overheating, the engine light will come on and throw the Temperature Too High DTC. Then if you continue you will get to the Engine Overheat Shutdown mode."

 

[Springfield_16]

Thanks all....very informative discussion. The nice thing is that lowers are so easy to remove and do significantly increase airflow. Does not hurt that the naked crash bars actually look pretty good too

 

[theMucker]

OOPS! How do we delete a post that's empty?