01 929 overheat issues

texasdirtymax · 06-20-2009, 12:57 PM

1) bike hit 227 degrees at stoplight the other day. got on freeway and it went down to 180-190.

Added engine ice to resevoir per manual. Resevoir levels unchanged in overflow, depsite high temperature. Radiator seems full when engine cold. Does this sound like water pump or thermostat? Im pretty broke right now, since im unemployed, so dealership is not an option. Downloaded free copy of shop manual, just wondering what you guys' experience might be telling you.

bladeracer · 06-20-2009, 1:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdirtymax

1) bike hit 227 degrees at stoplight the other day. got on freeway and it went down to 180-190.

Added engine ice to resevoir per manual. Resevoir levels unchanged in overflow, depsite high temperature. Radiator seems full when engine cold. Does this sound like water pump or thermostat? Im pretty broke right now, since im unemployed, so dealership is not an option. Downloaded free copy of shop manual, just wondering what you guys' experience might be telling you.

Was the thermo fan running?
When you say the radiator "seems" full, do you mean you checked and it is full?

texasdirtymax · 06-20-2009, 1:06 PM

yes. i checked when the bike was cold, the the level is just about to the top of radiator. Fan did come on around 212 or so. I only noticed because i tured motor off, and ignition back on to cehck

ghbzorro · 06-20-2009, 3:24 PM

If I had a concern about cooling, and was sure about coolant levels, I would clean my rad from the outside, between fins, etc., to make it as efficient as possible.

texasdirtymax · 06-20-2009, 7:33 PM

i checked the radiator. it is clean and fins are 95% in tact or straight. where can i buy a new thermostat from? Im going to get it open in the morning. it is 100 outside here in dallas today

jhaggerty73 · 06-20-2009, 9:10 PM

Try the dealership or bikebandit.com or ronayers.com for a replacement thermostat. Not sure how much the online store will save you over the dealer. Most likely the dealer will have to order it anyway.

You may want to test your old thermostat once it's out (replace it even if it seems to work properly). At least you'll know if you should keep looking for problems. When was the last time the radiator was flushed?

If you had problems with the water pump, I doubt you would have gone back to normal operating temps once you started moving again.

BurtonF166 · 06-20-2009, 10:08 PM

227 is maybe 3 or 4 degrees too high for a hot day at a light. Not too much to worry about it...If the fan kicked on, everything seems to working just fine. For the summer in Texas, try using a heat wrap on the headers....

texasdirtymax · 06-21-2009, 12:34 AM

it hit the 227 at night time when it was about 85 or 90 out. i just got this bike from a guy who had no clue how to maintain a bike, and i dont even want to think about how he might have ridden it. it has 23000 miles. im sure it could use a tune up or valve adj., i just dont have the money right now. i will try to wrap the headers, since i have about 20 feet of wrap left over from wrapping the stack on my diesel pickup. maybe i should jsut flush the radiator, since im already going to be draining..

texasdirtymax · 06-21-2009, 6:01 PM

anyone want to sell me a working used thermostat?

jhaggerty73 · 06-21-2009, 7:59 PM

I'm assuming that you tested your old thermostat and it's not opening at the correct temp or not at all. Asking for a used thrmostat is kind of like asking for used spark plugs. It's a wear item which means it needs to be replaced periodically so a used one is likely to fail sooner than later.

I did a quick search for you though. Bikebandit has your thermostat for $38.00. I also looked on ebay and found some folks selling the entire housing for $14.00 and up. They were used and looked like they still had the thermostat in them. However, for all you know you'd just end up with another bad thermostat. Plus, with shipping, you're pretty close to what the new one costs anyway.

Hope this helps!

rforsland · 06-21-2009, 8:41 PM

Maybe try running it with no thermostat. I did that on an old foreign car for the summer many years back when foreign parts were harder to come by.

Ran fine....

bladeracer · 06-21-2009, 9:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdirtymax

anyone want to sell me a working used thermostat?

I'd suggest just replacing the coolant and see if it's still a problem. Coolant needs to be replaced regularly and it's probably old anyway so you aren't paying for something you may not need. 227F _once_ is not hot enough to indicate a problem or to start replacing things.

bladeracer · 06-21-2009, 9:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdirtymax

anyone want to sell me a working used thermostat?

Since I assume Texas isn't particularly cold just remove it but take the time to warm the engine up before riding.

hfb · 06-22-2009, 12:33 PM

i would go with what blade rider said. my 929 runs at about 92 celsius which is just under 200 fahrenheit. fan cuts in at about 102 celsius which is about 215 fahrenheit.so yours is'nt to fair of the mark and i do live in england which has'nt got the warmest climate

texasdirtymax · 06-22-2009, 9:18 PM

thanks for all of the responses. i did try adding some antifreeze, maybe i should just bite the bullet and flush. never did get to take it apart the other day..will removing the t-stat all together present any other issues than longer warm up times?..it has been 95 to 100 consistantly for the past 2 weeks..hmmm

jhaggerty73 · 06-22-2009, 11:13 PM

Well, it's only been in the 90's here in Chicago, but even in traffic my bike hasn't come close to getting overheated. As a matter of fact, the fan only comes on if I'm stuck at a long light. Although I had the "benefit" of buying my bike in pieces this spring, so everything is fresh. Hell, even my old 89 ZX750 stays cool. So, If you're cooling system if functioning properly, it probably shouldn't overheat under normal circumstances.

It's been a few days, has this problem popped up again?

Like hfb said, you can trust Bladeracer's advice.

temperedtim929 · 06-23-2009, 12:16 AM

I had a hot running bike for awhile....ask BladeRacer he knows all about it. Except I got mine up 260-270 OUCH! Its a miracle I didn't crack the head. I replaced my thermostat, flushed the radiator all for less that $50 only to find out it was my fan not turning on consistently. I might get flamed for this but you could install a toggle switch to your fan. that way you can turn it on whenever you want too (like when it hits 200 degrees). I did it when I was having problems and have kinda got used to it. If its hot out and Im rolling up to a light that I know is going to take days to change I just flip the switch and its stay relatively nice and cool. Just remember to turn it off when your moving again because it uses a lot of power.

909Honda · 06-23-2009, 2:44 AM

U can put a direct switch to the fan but i would reconmind y-ing the switch to the thermostat so if u forget to turn on the fan it will still kick on! there is a way to test the thermastat by putting it in hot water about 275 and testing it with a wire meter and see if close and at what temp! Then u will no !

909Honda · 06-23-2009, 2:47 AM

clarification heat the water to about 240 and put a wire tester to both end switch while the swith is floating or barley touching the water, and then test! Becareful a 40 dollar switch is not worth two burnt arms! I'D SAY BUY THE SWITCH!

909Honda · 06-23-2009, 2:48 AM

And listen to Bladracer!

temperedtim929 · 06-23-2009, 2:38 PM

YES....Listen to blade racer. He has NEVER steered me wrong.

texasdirtymax · 06-23-2009, 9:17 PM

so it seems that the thermostat is like a spleen. We all have one, sometimes they act up. all it takes is a small incision across the belly, and waala(sp?). no more spleen(thermostat) thanks for the help All!

ghbzorro · 06-24-2009, 2:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdirtymax

and waala(sp?).

voilà

texasdirtymax · 06-27-2009, 1:49 PM

well, ok..i have flushed all of the coolant, gutted the t-stat(which was a major pain in the @$$ for an amatuer machanic) let bike idle for 8 or 9 minutes all the way to 220, no fans. am i having a water pump issue or an issue? what do you guys think?

bladeracer · 06-27-2009, 2:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdirtymax

well, ok..i have flushed all of the coolant, gutted the t-stat(which was a major pain in the @$$ for an amatuer machanic) let bike idle for 8 or 9 minutes all the way to 220, no fans. am i having a water pump issue or an issue? what do you guys think?

I would've expected the fan to come on a little before 220F but otherwise I can't see a problem. Is the fan still connected?

fistofmeat · 06-27-2009, 5:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghbzorro

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdirtymax

waala(sp?)

voilà

lol, win...

texasdirtymax · 06-27-2009, 6:24 PM

fan is connected...any other ideas?

MACI4LIFE · 06-27-2009, 7:20 PM

i noticed that temp has been climbing faster ever since replacing my coolant. I put in the honda coolant too.

i think for me, i have 96 000km's of crap in the rad fins. but what i'm also going to do is make a bracket that will hold 4 computer fans in a 2x2 pattern and have them to the right of the stock fan. wire them up to a switch and have them running full time during city riding. I'm pretty sure my stock fan is getting close to the end of it's life but replacing it won't solve the very fast temp rises.

btw, the fans are 12v dc and only pull .14 amps. should be pretty easy on the charging system.

909Honda · 06-27-2009, 7:20 PM

So you changed the thermostat? If so take the wire that connects to the thermostat and ground it...the fan should come on if not your fan is bad.

bladeracer · 06-28-2009, 1:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by texasdirtymax

fan is connected...any other ideas?

Did you bleed the air out of the system as detailed in the manual?