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Post by wayne on Jan 11, 2023 0:49:12 GMT -5
Went for a ride today and was mystified at my consistently cool running M. It's very stable in it's temps and typical 100 to 110 on the freeway gives the temp on the left. Today, I had the temp on the right regardless of Freeway or 20 klm of urban riding. Doesn't look like much but my temp readings are very stable and this got noticed. Was it that modern wonder Esther two stroke oil? Nah, had that in for awhile now. Maybe that little tuning tweak? No, no such thing as a magic fix all tuning tweak. Then I remembered. I serviced the tacho cable and to do so, took the fan off. Couldn't be bothered putting it back for today's ride. Very suprised how much that fan and shroud choke the cooling air:   |
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Post by Framitron on Jan 11, 2023 19:17:37 GMT -5
I like the clean look of that fanless radiator. What service did your cable need? Clean and lube? (I ask because I've never touched my cables ever, aaaand maybe I should do that...)
Also, how is the 2-stroke oil research going? I'm guessing that it smells much better!
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Post by wayne on Jan 12, 2023 1:00:26 GMT -5
As I had the speedo off I figured it was time to take care of the cables. Plus the tacho did have a tiny oscillation in the needle. I bought some lithium cable spray and did the tacho, speedo and clutch. Did notice on my ride that the tacho needle no longer oscillates so may have been the problem.
I'm nearly through a tank of the esther two stroke. To be really honest, I'm wondering why I should bother. There's no apparent difference in the running, idle, performance, colour of the exhaust ends etc etc I haven't pulled the plug so guess I should and report back.
At the moment that oil is about $36 a litre down here and I have so much GTX already at $4 a litre it'll last my sump and metering tank for the rest of my riding days.
Hmm.......
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Post by multistrada1 on Jan 12, 2023 17:10:42 GMT -5
Interesting,
I don't think I have ever had my cooling fan come on. I've checked the sending unit in hot water and it works. I don't think
I've have ever been stuck in traffic on a hot day too get it that hot. I did put a switch on the fan and turn it on when temp
goes past the half mark (hearing the stories about cracked ports and coolant getting in the motor).
I've had several GT750's over the years and it was the same, the fan never came on. They even removed the fan on the later models.
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Post by wayne on Jan 12, 2023 18:48:52 GMT -5
Yes, can't remember the last time my fan came on. Unlike the GT though, the RE needles move a bit even if they stay mostly to the left of centre. Those GT needles were glued in place. Back in the day, a friend accidentally ran his GT750 metering tank dry and said the only thing he noticed was the temp reading had moved a needle width to the right.
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Post by Framitron on Jan 12, 2023 21:02:00 GMT -5
My fan has come on a number of times. But I live right in the city and have been caught in long traffic lines. On a hot summer day I'll watch the needle crawl to the right and eventually the fan kicks on sending out a kneecap melting jet of scorching air. That fan really works because the needle wont budge any hotter while the fan runs. But once the forward speed picks up a bit the rest of the radiator gets sufficient airflow to bring down the temp. The fan has never turned on if the is bike moving, just when standing still for long periods.
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Post by timpa136 on Jan 13, 2023 13:07:09 GMT -5
My fan has come on a number of times. But I live right in the city and have been caught in long traffic lines. On a hot summer day I'll watch the needle crawl to the right and eventually the fan kicks on sending out a kneecap melting jet of scorching air. That fan really works because the needle wont budge any hotter while the fan runs. But once the forward speed picks up a bit the rest of the radiator gets sufficient airflow to bring down the temp. The fan has never turned on if the is bike moving, just when standing still for long periods. Agreement Framitron. You are not the first person to become aware of this.  A very early magazine article on a ride thru Baja Mexico spoke of taping up the 5 snap flat face shields to the gas tank to help diffuse some engine heat. EDIT: It was Cycle World September 1975, I kept the magazine. Most friends I rode with wore some sort of insulative riding suits. You are right, being stuck in hot humid days in traffic are of concern. Tim P.S. The bike looks nakedly lovely without the fan. |
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Post by multistrada1 on Jan 13, 2023 22:56:33 GMT -5
Since we are talking about cooling, figured I would mention something about hot air from the radiator effecting the carburetor.
My bike has a phenolic spacer added between the carb and the intake. I think this was added on the later models to avoid a heat soak
issue.
Years ago, when I first owned this bike, I did a Death Valley run and experienced what seemed to be a vapor lock issue. I took a pencil and opened up all the fins in the radiator, right behind the carburetor, reducing the heat flowing directly onto the float bowl.
This seemed to fix the problem at that time, and it never happened again. Seems back in the day, another RE5 owner had the same issue.
Just info in case someone else experiences this.
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Post by timpa136 on Jan 16, 2023 10:01:25 GMT -5
Since we are talking about cooling, figured I would mention something about hot air from the radiator effecting the carburetor. My bike has a phenolic spacer added between the carb and the intake. I think this was added on the later models to avoid a heat soak issue. Years ago, when I first owned this bike, I did a Death Valley run and experienced what seemed to be a vapor lock issue. I took a pencil and opened up all the fins in the radiator, right behind the carburetor, reducing the heat flowing directly onto the float bowl. This seemed to fix the problem at that time, and it never happened again. Seems back in the day, another RE5 owner had the same issue. Just info in case someone else experiences this. I also had a lean surging thru Death Valley. I attributed it to being below sea level? The opposite of high altitude with no real concerns but a slow idle for me. Tim |
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Post by timpa136 on Apr 2, 2024 20:49:56 GMT -5
My fan has come on a number of times. But I live right in the city and have been caught in long traffic lines. On a hot summer day I'll watch the needle crawl to the right and eventually the fan kicks on sending out a kneecap melting jet of scorching air. That fan really works because the needle wont budge any hotter while the fan runs. But once the forward speed picks up a bit the rest of the radiator gets sufficient airflow to bring down the temp. The fan has never turned on if the is bike moving, just when standing still for long periods. Agreement Framitron. You are not the first person to become aware of this. A very early magazine article on a ride thru Baja Mexico spoke of taping up the 5 snap flat face shields to the gas tank to help diffuse some engine heat. EDIT: It was Cycle World September 1975, I kept the magazine. Most friends I rode with wore some sort of insulative riding suits. You are right, being stuck in hot humid days in traffic are of concern. Tim P.S. The bike looks nakedly lovely without the fan.  BY September issue the bikes had been out for months, and I already had my Suzuki fairing but certainly this article didn't do any favors to such a new unique motorcycle from the standard norm. |
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A very early magazine article on a ride thru Baja Mexico spoke of