How hot is too hot?

rlew · 08-28-2008, 1:28 AM

Hit 103 degrees in Sacramento today and like a fool, a buddy and I decide to play hooky and do some canyon strafing. Well, it is my birthday today so I think why not do something I love?

Inside the canyons, it's probably around 105-110 degrees. The temp gauge on the Bird is reading 220 or so degrees consistently for the couple of hours we are in there. Climbing out of the canyons, I see 232 on the temp gauge at one point since I'm going slow and waiting for my friend. As I speed up, it goes back down below 220. Once we hit the freeway, it cools off a bit but the gauge is still at 210-215. Of course, I am doing 90 mph, and it feels like a blast furnace out there.

My friend is riding a Ducati ST2 and I ask him what his temp gauge is reading. He says 190 or so the entire day. When I tell him that mine is over 220, he says whoa.

So, the question is, am I doing the Bird any harm by running it at these temps? My coolant is where it should be and just did an oil change, using synthetic Rotella oil. Is the engine designed to withstand these temps? Granted, this is kind of an extreme scenario and don't plan on doing this every day but wondering if any damage has been done to the engine. This is a new to me bike so I want some input from riders who have used the Bird in very hot conditions to see what the long term effects are.

Thanks ahead of time.

Strek · 08-28-2008, 1:36 AM

There have been other threads up on this topic. I believe that 220 is somewhat normal for the bird from what I can recall in the posts. My bike is a 99 and doesn't have a digital temp readout. They run hot. High performance engine and all.

DragonXX · 08-28-2008, 1:37 AM

I was concerned for the first month but after reading this forum and talking to the Honda Techies, it's a no-brainer now.
The 'Bird runs hot ......... Period !
Do a search on this topic and you'll find those temps you quoted are quite 'normal'

SilverBrd · 08-28-2008, 2:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DragonXX

I was concerned for the first month but after reading this forum and talking to the Honda Techies, it's a no-brainer now.
The 'Bird runs hot ......... Period !
Do a search on this topic and you'll find those temps you quoted are quite 'normal'

Living here in Texas my Bird runs around the 210+ range quite frequently but 235 and beyond is getting to be a tad too warm even for a Bird. Run some Water Wetter or Engine Ice. This does help.

bullet · 08-28-2008, 7:52 AM

...happy birthday and best wishes to you..!....use some radiator additives and keep the radiator fins clean and straight will make more efficient cooling...