Cruising temperature issues

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clumsyrobot

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Hey everyone, I just got an 09 FZ1 and I've noticed that my temps seem a little high. I'm still in the break-in, just hit 750 miles. I've noticed that my temps will climb over 200 degrees, the fan will kick in, bring it down to 199, the fan will disengage then the temps will rise again. This happens even when I am moving. I had a really long stretch of open road today, I was riding at about 55mph, did not go above 6k RPM, and it was around 65 degrees outside and the sun was setting. I still had the same behavior even though I did not stop at all along this stretch of road. For some odd reason it seems like only the fan can bring the temps down, even though I was moving the entire time. Is this normal or is my bike running hot? Also, changed the oil at 600 miles, using full synthetic 15w-50. Maybe that has something to do with it?
 
harra said:
That's normal. You are just fine.
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Really? Does yours behave like that also? Given that scenario (65° and cruising at 55 MPH) my temperature would probably be around 178-180°, definitely not approaching 200°. However, I will tell you that when you come to a stop (or moving slowly) the temperature does climb rather fast, but once the fans kick on it comes right back down.
 
NJFZ1 said:
Really? Does yours behave like that also? Given that scenario (65° and cruising at 55 MPH) my temperature would probably be around 178-180°, definitely not approaching 200°. However, I will tell you that when you come to a stop (or moving slowly) the temperature does climb rather fast, but once the fans kick on it comes right back down.
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I would say that is not normal at all if it is getting that hot while moving. Especially when it is 65 degrees out. That is considered cool in my neck of the woods.

Like NJFZ1 said, what you describe is perfectly normal when stopped at a light. It will easily rise up to 210 - 220 while the radiator is not getting air flow.

I would say check your coolant and oil levels.
 
The Oil

Well I'm the guy here on the forum screaming the most about all the advantages of Synthetic, theres a couple points to note. The first, I would have run the petro oil untill about one change after initial break-in, though I dont think you'v harmed anything at all, I'd just like to have the initial wear patterns complete with the petro oil. Second is that the properties of synthetic are that they carry the heat 'in' the oil much higher than petro oil. Typical oil is used as to some degree.... a coolant ie. air/oil cooled, as in a air cooled motor like an early Japanese bike of the 60's and 70's before 'water-pumpers' became popular, so in that sence the cooling will tend to be somewhat less with higher temps in the synthetic oils.

As I said, don't let this alarm you, but it's just something to be aware of when comparing temps before and after the change. Other than that, I'd advise using synthetic to just about anyone who's unit dosen't specify petro oil exclusivly. The shifting will be night and day, I can't tell you how much better it will feel. Kudo's for synthetic:+1::shine::tup::tup::tup:
 
You should not be having the fans come on while steadily moving especially at those air temps. I personally have no noticed any difference in temps in any vehicle regarding using synthetic oil, that is not your concern here. What you might check is if you possibly have an air bubble in your cooling system. Take the cap off and start the bike and rock is side to side to see if you can get any air out of it. You may or may not have to start it, just tipping it side to side may be enough to get some air out but letting it heat up some will force additional out. Once it warms up enough the coolant will start to push out so just be careful of that. Once you are sure there is no air in the system top the coolant off and go for a ride.

After that I would start checking to make sure your thermostat is working properly and that the bike isn't running lean.
 
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Antifreeze

Should you need coolant/antifreeze, Automotive has more microscopic abrasives, where motorcycle coolant/antifreeze has virtually none. The automotive kind is tough on bike gaskets and pumps. Honda makes a grade A coolant in their chemical lineup.
 
NJFZ1 said:
Really? Does yours behave like that also? Given that scenario (65° and cruising at 55 MPH) my temperature would probably be around 178-180°, definitely not approaching 200°. However, I will tell you that when you come to a stop (or moving slowly) the temperature does climb rather fast, but once the fans kick on it comes right back down.
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during break-in mine seemed to run hot also. after about a thousand miles it quit that. yep 178 is now where it runs on the open road at normal cruising. At shut off it will often jump to 229 on hot day/hard ride. Then I'll turn off the headlight and let the fans shut down. Only twice did it actually spit out a few ounces from the overflow tube next to the primary. These times I had run hard in hot weather and parked at a big lean and didn't let it cool off.
 
My '08's temp varies a lot - 160F downhill on a cold winter day and 205 uphill having fun in summer. Keeping in a lower gear, say 3rd at 5000 rpm, will drop the temp on winding mountain roads even if the engine can pull 5th.

The FZ1's oil is cooled by a water heat exchanger next to the oil filter. This also helps heat the oil on a cold day so I like to occasionally see 200F coolant temp to cook out any condensation. FWIW, my fans come on at 214 only when I'm letting the bike idle while I take off my gear.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. All fluids are topped off, so I'm not sure what the problem is. As someone already said, I suppose it could be because I'm still in the break in, though I'm not so sure about that. Its been making odd smells that I can't really describe, which I think is normal for a new bike, but I'm at 920 miles now and the smells have grown a little stronger. I was riding to work today and it was around 75 degrees, and I was keeping it just above 6k rpm just to ride it a little harder than usual. Temps climbed rapidly even while I was moving, but they never exceeded 214, but they never went under 200. It seems to be ok because it will never climb over 214, but I'm just worried about what would happen if I'm out in 110 degree weather out in the middle of nowhere.

I'm going to take her in to the shop and see what they have to say. I think I'll also put a lighter oil in there, and switch out the coolant too.
 
He is absolutely in normal limits for break-in. Mine ran just as hot for the first 500 miles but I break it in different from the manual. And, I switched to synthetic after the first 75 miles of hard accel/decel after leaving the dealer. ;)

Once you hit about the 1k miles mark, you can see the temps starting to come down on normal rides. My fan is on a lot these days. It's in the 80's and 90's here in NH and I'm lovin' it!!!
 
Were you ridding into the wind, or with the wind? That can make a 15 to 20 degree difference, even if the wind doesn't seem to be blowing that hard. With a 10 to 15 mph tail wind you may see your bike run 10 to 15 degrees warmer. Also in CO you've got a lot less air to cool with too. Regardless, you're good. The OM says you've got up until about 260ish beffore you've got problems. When you do, the "HI" indicator will display.
 
Just also notice the oil you are using. That seems a bit heavy for this bike. I use the 5w-30 Rotella. 15w is making the engine work a lot harder to lubricate itself.
 
FZ1inNH said:
Just also notice the oil you are using. That seems a bit heavy for this bike. I use the 5w-30 Rotella. 15w is making the engine work a lot harder to lubricate itself.
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I agree, the 15W50 has higher rotation friction and doesn't transfer heat from the piston rings to the cylinder walls as well as a lighter oil. As there is no knock sensor, if the pistons run hotter then the engine is more likely to run hot from high combustion temperatures. It's like having too much ignition advance.
 
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Mine runs at 165F - 190F on normal running. Climbs to 200F ish when in stop start traffic, haven't noticed the fan coming on in normal non-stop riding.

As for Oil I always use (and always have apart from the first 600 miles) Putoline Syntec4 10W-40.

Cheers

GP
 
Mine is 70-71 degrees, i also have an ignition module which is ment to keep the bike running cooler. In town it may jump to 76-78 degrees & in winter cruising 68-69 degrees. I use the always used the genuine Yamaha semi 10w/40 oil, next oil change i might go fully-senthetic. Question? has anyone found the gearbox smoother with a particular oil?.
 
I am having the same issues just runs hot. I was about to post the same thing i am so glade that someone else is asking. It seems I am full of questions but offer no answers.
 
Buildercher said:
Mine is 70-71 degrees, i also have an ignition module which is ment to keep the bike running cooler. In town it may jump to 76-78 degrees & in winter cruising 68-69 degrees. I use the always used the genuine Yamaha semi 10w/40 oil, next oil change i might go fully-senthetic. Question? has anyone found the gearbox smoother with a particular oil?.
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A bit off topic I know, but before the Fazer (09 Model), I had a Honda CB600SF Hornet. When i brought it, it had cheap semi synth in, and when I changed the oil to Motul 300V 10W40 Fully Synth, it made a massive massive difference for the better. Started smoother, smoother running, smoother gear change, smoother clutch action. I couldn't say how it would affect the Fazer, but that Honda CBR600 engine was infinitely better for the fully synth.

Gregg P
 
Buildercher said:
Mine is 70-71 degrees, i also have an ignition module which is ment to keep the bike running cooler. In town it may jump to 76-78 degrees & in winter cruising 68-69 degrees. I use the always used the genuine Yamaha semi 10w/40 oil, next oil change i might go fully-senthetic. Question? has anyone found the gearbox smoother with a particular oil?.
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I'm running Moble 1 10/40 automotive and there are no shifting issues or any other except my bike in 90 plus degrees is running too hot as well. It can't be the choice of oil. I don't have a temp guage but was loosing coolant through the over flow. Bike has 17000 so I decided to flush the system and replace it with Blue Ice. It came highly recommended but unfortunately although i think the loosing of coolant is fixed ( fluid level between the marks is critical) I still find the engine too hot for a comfortable ride.
=
 
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