How Hot is YOUR ?Vision

[Leather]

Hey guys,

Long time, no talk.  

Great ride today in spring wx (finally, in mid-atlantic we were in an ice age !)

Natural process of forum but always reading about problems..... and, this bike rocks when it all comes together.  I'm always amazed that this 20+ year old can still turn heads and get the heart going. I love the sound of 9+ grand. Unbelievable.

Of course, I've just cursed myself (will blow up on next start ....)



Still... in 70 degree wx I realize my bike tends to run hot (always has).

AND... it DOES NOT like the needle past about striaght up ("12 oclock").

Any more than that and .....no idle, missing badly, vapor lock etc....


So, question is: on normal ride (especially you florida type guys)  what is normal running temp?


I have new thermostat in mine  AND installed manual switch to turn my fan on.  But what is norm?  

If I sit at light (or traffic) for any length of time (with fan running), I will put needle at 2/3 mark. AND then engine runs like sh*t.

I'm wondering if my radiator is suspect.

THANKS !!!!

[Bruce]

Has anyone ever tried running without the thermostat? I would think it would help in the hotter climates. I have found that it does not have to be that hot out to have that trouble. I noticed that my ride was missing the heat shield between the front carbs and the rad, I have fabbed a new own and was thinking that may have been part of the problem.

Bruce.

[Lucky]

Leather, nice to see you again.

A few thoughts, mostly things I've seen wrenching on Fords:

A coolant hose can look (and feel) great on the outside and have enough scale inside to make a coranary surgen think he's working on a 4 pack a day man addicted to fried dough.. ditto for radiators

I have also seen metal water pump impellers so corroded that there was only a bit more than shaft turning inside it, and only showed an tendancy for high temps.  ours are made of some plastic/bakelite material, probably suseptable to some level of corrosion.  

Have you allways owned the bike? allways done the maint?  is it possable that at some point someone may have used a silica based coolant?

food for thought.

--Lucky

[B.Lajoie]

  Think it's hot Fla.?Try AZ. for a summer,and I'm from Fla.
  Problem#1)T/stat,they are prone to losing their sodium(it makes the t/stat open/close)
  Problem #2) Rust from the wet liners builds up around the T/stat & keeps from opening causing the sodium to burst out.The area where the T/stat&water pump is the lowest point in the cooling system so this should be the area you should ck.1st!
  Now ck. impeller,is it broken?does it turn freely?no?thats good,start the bike,does it turn?yes!(but keep fingers away).
  Now reassemble pump/t-stat housing without the T/stat,remove radiator,hook lower hose back on, attach your garden hose to lower hose and turn the water on and watch how well the water flows.If it flows well this is good,if not ck.the rubber hoses,then ck. the water pipes(the two chrome ones)and ck.the outlet nipples on top of the heads(their made of steel and they rust,seen this enough times that this matters!)
  Now time to ck.the radiator,remove cap look inside,white stuff inside surrounding the veins(water goes thru these)?yes! you found Problem#3 find a radiator shop that can clean an alum.radiator or try this, mix in 1qt. container 50/50 h2o&pool acid,cap off radiator at all points less cap(you got to put it in somewere) do not fill completely,now shake or rotate radiator,do this 5-10 min.drain into pan(you want to see what comes out) and rinse W/water(uncap the bottom of rad.)remove cap,ck.for that white stuff is gone.If not do it till it's gone!
  Now you can reassemble the bike W/new T/stat (am told it's same as V-max/Venture).Ck.fan function and fan switch function,do they work?then all is good so far.
  Now mix Prestone"Dex-Cool" 60/40(40%coolant)W/distilled water add to cooling system&recovery tank ck.for leaks
  Now a word about aux.fan switches,you don't need them and shouldn't use one.If the fan fuctions(turns on/ off ei:cycles) then your in good shape!
  Now about that temp.guage it does NOT read correctly,it does read hot because it's a P.O.S. use an infared temp.gun on your bike(top side temp.210-220,180-190 low side,W/fan running)
  This guage reads like the 1st-2nd year zx900ninja's Kawi fixed it with a resistor in line from temp.sender.Yamaha stopped making the vision after 83' what did they care?
  I will admit it is a hot running motor around town but,when it's rolling down the road temp.should not be an issue.
   Also change your coolant once a year,like your brake fluid.
     good luck!Frenchthewrench cheers!

[Walt_M.]

Florida rider here, my '83 temp gauge in normal riding stays about 1/3, goes just above 1/2 idling or in traffic and the fan kicks in, cools it back below 1/2 and kicks off. This does not affect the way it runs which is pretty good. Do you still have the heat shields under your tank? I do, they may not do much but they help a little.

[GA_Wolf]

My 83 will run at around 12 0'clock till I stop for traffic or lights..then rises almost to redline...then fan kicks in and it drops to somewhere between straight up and 3/4 of the way to redline....drops to a bit above straight up when rolling for a spell....does not seem to idle rough or miss at these temps, and haven't noticed a vapor lock issue.

[Dave T.]

Mine runs at 12' o'clock cruisin', 2/3 r'ds in town and rarely the fan will come on. I live in a cooler climate though. Usually ride in temps around 50-80 degrees. No problems with running though.

Maybe jetting is too lean? Sounds like a carburetion problem. Seems like 90% of the V's problems are from the carbs, then the charging system. I noticed when I rejetted mine leaner the needle went up faster in town that it used to. Flushing out the radiator and motor may help. Use a motor flush to remove scale? Use only distilled water when filling, no minerals in that.

[Brian Moffet]

Based on this last weekend, my Vision will run about 60 percent between bottom and red line.  The fan will come on if I come off the freeway and go into city traffic and the temp will rise to about 80 percent between bottom and redline.

Of course, most often I'm riding in my local area which is rather cooler, and the temp stays about 1/3 between bottom and red line.

Brian

[GA_Wolf]

I've also noticed mine runs cooler but poorer on regular unleaded, and significantly higher on premium wit a little better performance...most of the time I split the difference with mid-grade...the temp really climbs fast when I'm running carb cleaner in my tank...assume it's the octane boost doing it.

[Lucky]

a lean engine will run hotter, I tend to adjust the pilots on the richer side, keeps the exhaust valves a touch cooler too.

[Stuart Teitelbaum]

Hello
      My name is Stuart Teitelbaum & this is the first time I have written . I was prompted by the "hot" issue. My '82 also gets hot quickly and doesn't like it when it is. As soon as I stop for a light or let it idle for a few moments it runs right up to the red line. It also idles poorly when it gets this way. Either racing at 3500 rpm or stumbling and wanting to stall. I am bringing it in for a check up tomorow an will show the mech what you guys have said.
      Thanks and Ill let you know if I find out anything new.

[QBS]

It's really good to know you're back safe.  Thank you for all that you and your fellow troops have done on our behalf.  Don't even think about believing the garbage the mainstream press reports.  The highest and best use for their stuff is lining the bottom of bird cages.  Cheers.

[Bruce]

Also a comment to the cooling system - I had my machine tore down this winter and the rad/hoses/pump looked fine. No build-up at all.

And mine did run hot last season.

So we will see once I am back on the road.

Bruce.

[jamesrransom]

      there is a antifreeze addative made, called purple stuff, available that will lower temps approx 20 degrees it is available under several brand names.  A lot of race cars use it in plain water with no anti freeze, i have used it on my 82's with good results, i have not had to use it on my 83 but i just got my new jugs on the thing and have not had it running

[Dave T.]

Hello
 ? ? ?My name is Stuart Teitelbaum & this is the first time I have written . I was prompted by the "hot" issue. My '82 also gets hot quickly and doesn't like it when it is. As soon as I stop for a light or let it idle for a few moments it runs right up to the red line. It also idles poorly when it gets this way. Either racing at 3500 rpm or stumbling and wanting to stall. I am bringing it in for a check up tomorow an will show the mech what you guys have said.
 ? ? ?Thanks and Ill let you know if I find out anything new.

Sounds like you have a leaky "YIKES!" Letting in air and leaning out the mixture...  :o

[Don Minor]

 ;)  Mine ran fine all weekend, about 12 o'c lock. Did get hot enough to get the fan to turn on while white lineing in LA for 17 miles,cooled right down to 12 o'clock after traffic got moving (@85mph). Even though it was 102 degrees mine was at 12 o'clock.
   I flush the rad once a year, and fill it 100% with anti freeze,no mix for me. BURP the rad! It will run cooler. If not you have problems that are not in the rad.
Don

[ArrrGeee]

Don,
 running 100% anti-freeze ?
 to what end ?

sounds like the dowguard propaganda story...
here is a version of it:
http://www.buickstreet.com/buickstories.html


 according to the manufacturer you've reduced the cooling efficiency of your bike.

<quote>
Q: What is the best antifreeze/coolant concentration for a vehicle? Can I use 100% antifreeze?
A: We recommend that you use between a 50% and 70% concentration of antifreeze. At least 50% is necessary to give the adequate amount of corrosion protection, as well as freeze/boilover protection. However, we do not recommend more than 70% antifreeze. This would cause restriction of the heat transfer capabilities, corrosion protection, and freeze protection. The concentration of freeze/boilover protection of the antifreeze mixture can be checked using a Prestone? Antifreeze Coolant Tester.
</quote>

now granted this is the prestone corporate line but I'm trying to understand what you think the benefit would be.


-Ron

[rick_nowak]

never seen any antifreeze company recommend 100% antifreeze.  100% water has a significantly higher specific heat rating, the problem is boiling point of pure water is 212F at sea level and drops noticibly with increasing altitude, to like 190F at something like 7K'.  
anyway, always there is a mix called for to effect a suitable compromise
also, don't use distilled water in you cooling system.  distilled water, contrary to what you may have heard is very chemically active, like corrosive. eats your waterjackets and other parts.  to give water a personality, distilled water wants to not be pure.  it wants to have dissolved stuff in it and will go after your engine parts to get this stuff.  regular tap water, unsoftened and not too naturally hard is the best stuff to use in your engine.  it is more chemically inert, like satisfied. not hungering for more.  there is a school of thought that changing your coolant is bullshit-it just adds more hungry water and more free radicals to your cooling system

[jasonm.]

Missing is a sign of too rich a mixture when an engine reaches a high temperature. You May have the pilot screws set too rich. This is easy on an '82 to happen. Especially with the poor coils these bikes have.  Both my V's can get hot(not often) but, Only the '82 has ever missed. The cause was just what I said above.

[Rick G]

When I lived in MN it did not get hot often ,but occasionally it would get to 96 or 98 for a few days . my fan came on in traffic and cooled it down to the 12 o'clock position . here in Or. it never gets to 90. I'll be going through my cooling system , as freinch suggests , befor we move to AZ.