uis048

As my faithfull 'Blade refuses to give me anything to play with or fix, I've been doing a lot of work on bros' 'bird prior to putting it on E-bay.

She now looks almost mint and rides like it should do. Its power is a bit intoxicating and, generally, I am definitely warming to the 'bird concept.

However, a few Sundays ago during one of our (now regular) sunny weekends, I began to see what people were saying about hot running 'birds. A mix of fast running and slow motorway snarl-ups rendered it almost incandescant, (that's very hot). (As well as a flattening battery at the end of the day).

Taking a long look, I am of the opinion that it is the very 'sliperiness' of the bodywork that is a big factor in the heat thing, (and probably contributes to the electrical problems too).
There is no way for 'cool' air to get in and around the engine block. The rad and oil cooler sit in the open space of the fairing V piece and the exits for hot air are mostely blocked off by the frame to side panel connecting plastics. Also, the alternator case is sheilded from direct air flow by the fairing shape and sits right behind a very hot water hose.

If I was considering keeping the 'bird I would be looking to open up the front to cooling air, maybe even dispensing with the V piece altogether.

Any thoughts or comments?

Cheers

Bordo

mine never gets hot and not enough to make the ride uncomfortable in any case. I dont think anyone here has any particular drama either from memory, but I could be wrong. Cheers.

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dracki

not being silly but what do you call hot,our hot days in Australia are 36 to 40 D cel,anything above that is a stinka,anything below that is a pearla,so what do you call hot?

the bird generally sits around 82 to 87D cel,on a cold day she'll hover around 80. On a hot day in stand still traffic it'll be up around 102 to 110D cel,i've had mine up to 113 & alls good still,i couldn't wait till traffic moved on but its not gonna die on ya or anything like that

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CanadianBird

I agree with the Dracki and other. My Birdi runs between 82-86 as normal temps and when it gets hot up to 102-110 or so I keep a few revs to keep her cooler. I've only had her overheat once in seven years of ownership and 139,000 kms. For sure sometimes I get nervous when I'm stuck in a long line of traffic, and on rare occasions I'm pulled a u-turn or pulled over but mostly because of my clutch hand which can send discomfort up to my shoulder. I've never had any bits and pieces too hot to touch and I'm on my second r&r which I replace as a precaution rather than it "went south" on me. Second stator and a few batteries. I've been using a battery tender to protect battery now. I wouldn't alter anything personally unless it's for the good. IMO As dracki states, we have members in Aussi Land, S. Africa, Egypt, S Europe, and we had a lad from the UAR,(rip) and none have experienced anything drastic enough in the heat to make them trade in their Bird. Keep the Blade, buy your bros Bird. IMO Cheers

2000bluebird

i only had a problem once in that my coolent came from the overflow. upon purging it it has been fine.

i am going into nevada in a week and as a precaution i installed a manual fan switch
as described here:

how to - build a manual fan switch

just to avoid any issues. i turn on the fan before it gets hot. it has worked quite well so far, i turn it on as soon as im above operating temperature. (mine is a 2000 FI bird).

Personally when the fan is on and im standing still i can feel the hot air coming past my legs, so the flow is not that restricted.

as for slickness, lowest drag coefficient is awesome at speed.

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The Blackbird takes off "like a cat shot in the ass" just hear it howl.

smr96

Ever ridden a Buell? Talk about running hot. I went to do a demo day when the 1125 was released. When the group before my outing returned it was comical to hear all of the fans humming as the bikes sat parked all in a line. My 'Bird has gotten up to 225f and it hasn't even gotten that hot where I live yet. It can easily get up to 110f for days at a time here, should I be concerned?

Poundstretcher

keeps me warm in the winter

TheDuck

I was looking at a 2009 Blade on the dyno a month or two ago, that was running at 102-104. This appears to be the way Honda is/has been going. Lets face it packaging is the name of the game, water takes space and weighs a bit ..... why have excess?
Last Saturday was 'summer' it was 'hot' in the UK (yes thats it done and out of the way for another year) I took 'The Duck' for a shakedown run. Stayed 85-90 until I started 'playing' in the lower gears 102-104. So even with a tuned motor and a chuffing great intercooler in front of the std Rad, temperature can be maintained. Same happened on the dyno although 114 was seen. I'm keeping a good eye on this, I believe I am getting close to the limit for a bike that is ridden in towns and on the road.
It would be good to disperse some of the hot air after it has passed through the rads more efficiently, but that would mean blowing it onto my legs or face .......... which I'm not going to do!

smr96

The tech area of the forum gave me my answer. At least the fan turns off with the ignition, unlike those Buell's that keep going and going and going and...

beestoys

Well
been in the triples here for a couple weeks. And Phoenix traffic on 10 east at 5pm is stop and go for about 10 miles. She turns on the fan and doesn't stop till I get back up to speed. she has never gotten into the red yet but she has lit the inside of my leg up above my Sidi when I was wearing my kakhi's. So just learn to watch my leg placement. It isn't just the bikes heat either I have had the tank so hot from the sun you coundn't touch it with your bare hand. Even with jeans on I have to be careful leaning against it. But through it all she hasn't burped yet.

FrankGarvin

Ditto, neither of my Bird's have burped in Phoenix weather/traffic.
I don't ride much in the summer during triple digit temps since the air rushing past at speed feels exactly like a hairdryer. Been considering a lower temp thermostat to run the fan earlier and keep the coolant temps a few degrees cooler.

beestoys

Hey Frank
Haven't heard from you in a while.
Yep ditto on the heat thats why I have the cool vest. Best investment I ever made. With the Tourmaster Flex zipped up the textile leaks just enough air to keep the evap effect going with out drying me out to fast. Makes the 1 hour trip survivable just like being in a car with AC all the way home.
I used the same setup to drive across the desert to San Diego last year for fathers day.

DaveC

Evening all
New to this, as I'm not technically minded (and i hardly ever get on the net - something about the wife not wanting me to look at black birds... ;op).
Got in from work about 2 hours ago (25 minute legal run in rush hour). about 5 minutes from home, had a puff of vapour shoot out between dash and tank. had a quick look round the bike, couldn't see any damage or leaks, just a bit of disipating vapour. left it alittle while, checked the temp - about 1/3 way up, started up, checked everywhere again, and took a chance riding back. got in ok, but noticed that the frame was that hot, the mild drizzle i was enjoying was vapourising on touch. been stood outside now for couple of hours, and it's still warm.
i'm assuming this isn't normal, but can anyone suggest what it could be?

thechamp55

I agree that the fairings dont help with the heat situation, but Ive never had overheating issues. I like when fans keep going after you turn off the motor which the blackbirds doesnt.

I love the look of underseat exhaust but I rode friends 1000RR and 600RR with mufflers in traffic in the summer. Talk about hot!

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XXNUTZ

My '98 has not had a problem with heat...knock on wood...ten days ago when I rode in the Freedom Run it was at least 90 degrees with high humidity...pretty hot...temp gauge stays at the low end of the scale while in the air...when sitting or slow moving, it will creep up to about the middle of the scale and the fan kicks on and off like it should...my guess is if you're experiencing high temps, maybe a new thermostat is in order along with a good coolant flush and change. I did notice on Jeff's bike after he mentioned it, that it runs a bit hotter than mine. Mine is carbed, his is FI, shouldn't make a difference right?? Just my 2c. Cheers.

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1998 CBR 1100XX Blackbird (Black, of course),PUIG Touring Windscreen, Corbin Gunfighter saddle, Two Brothers C2 Aluminum Oval Slip Ons.

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TheDuck

actually I would say it is! The frame does soak a good deal of heat and if you had been sitting in traffic there would not have been much chance of loosing it.
That said, I suspect that the steam came from some water finding its way onto the outside of the rad. In torrential downpours on a couple of occasions when I have stopped I have disappeared in a cloud of steam much to the shock of the car drivers. Again quite normal, its the most direct route out for the steam around the fairing inners.

DeathWish01

my fans stay on if you flick the kill switch then turn the kill swith back to normal... i just tested mine out today after i changed the oil, and without the motor running, the fan will stay on untill it hits 200*F then automatically shuts off

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DaveC

Thanks Duck, that's encouraging. If only you'd posted 5 minutes earlier, i'd have ridden in.

Yeah right

Gonna top up the coolant, check for dribble and take a blast later - if i can get out of this furnace some call the office.

Dave

Banshee

The frame being hot is normal, as the engine is solid mounted, no rubber. Gives better stiffness with a lighter frame, and additional cooling radiators! One early review referred to them as heater elements...

As for disappearing in a cloud of steam, very common in the wet. Quickest & easiest fix is a Fender Extender. Stops so much water being thrown onto the radiator by the front tyre.

CanadianBird

The First time I saw the steam, I freaked out. It clouded up my visor. Eventually my little unscientific pea brain figured that it was because it was raining. Of course I had to ride in the rain a couple of times before I figured it out. Now I do have a fender extender.

Bulloween

DaveC I think it is normal. Both my friend 03 and my 97 BB have that sound when we drive them in traffic when its hot. The sound comes from the reserve tank, like boiling water. And a few times water flushed from the radiator over flow tube.
Also the frame gets hot too and if you're wearing a short sometimes it hurts.

DaveC

I don't know if you have filtering in other countries, but it's that little bit of the law that actually allows us to ride between lines of stationary/slow traffic - ie rush hour. The only times i was doing crawling speed or less, was at junctions or where car drivers were being complete @rses - don't they understand the bloody highway code?!
The drizzle was just that - drizzle, so unless I had a puddle build up through the day and just decide to vapourise itself at that point, i now suspect it was the filler cap relieving itself.
changed the coolant with a little help from the service manual posted on here (thanks) and coming in this morning the needle was just getting to 1/4 by the time i got to work.
absolutely p1ssing down now, so don't think it'll be overheating. might get a nice steam-cleaned visor again on way home though.
Thanks to everyone for any and all comments.

sjtscott

Another UK owner here.. I commute on mine pretty much every work day into central london. Even in winter you get 100deg and the fans coming on sat at lights.
This past week has been in the 30s deg C weather wise here and I've not seen past 104deg on the dash.. rad fan switches on and off as needed.

Based on what you say its perfectly normal and doesn't require any mods. Granted if you had an X11, the upright unfaired Bbird it will prob run a damm sight cooler.