engine cooling fans

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys,this morning I am not a happy biker ,riding home from Popham yesterday afternoon,the Classic's engine temp reached a frightening 160 ,needless to say I stoped to let the old girl down a bit,she then was a bit of a pig to start,very reluctant,and not sounding very happy at all,I then proceeded to poodle along at "truck speed"(55mph)but after about three or four miles the temp was back up to 160,so I stoped again,now what to do?do I call out the recovery truck?or try to get home,(still about an hours travel at less than my usual steady 80mph)I'll risk it,so off I go once more,(it is now about 16-30hrs)the bike still not sounding very happy,bit of a clatter on the overrun,I raised the speed to a modest 6o/65 to try and get some air flow going,soon back up to 160 but got no worse,so I arrived home feeling very low and wondering what sort of terminal damage I had inflicted on the old girl,I am now going out to start the bike up,(with fingers crosed)I will report anon,a very aprehensive,J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys,further to my last entry I have now run the bike and the old girl seems none the worse for her foray into stratospheric temperatures,only time will tell if I have done any lasting dammage.I am off to a H****y D******n rally in the wilds of Cornwall this weekend(the thick end of 700miles) so that will be test enough,although I expect I will be riding a tad slower than is the norm. Now I will once again broach the subject of air cooled bikes running temps; in the past information has been very minimal,come on guys,quite a few of you ride air cooled bikes,I only want a few comparison figures,not your bank account numbers!! also, to help me try and keep the temps; down has anybody tried to fit a fan to an IP2? and if so did it help?I seem to remember reading somewhere that Nortons? tried a cooling fan on an early race bike with desasterous results ,but I definatly need to do something about my bike's engine temp's,as the miles(and years) clock up,the old girl runs hotter and hotter(about 130 is the norm at presant)so ideas please,yours in antisipation,J.B.

[Interpol2471]

Hi John mine runs at about 130 to 150 all of the time and gets hotter in traffic up to about 170 some times never bothered me yet!!!Hope you had a good day anyway

[Dell Boy]

It was an extremely hot day John. My Commanders run at 81 degreees in normal weather but have gone up to 130 degrees in very hot weather.I dont like it either but I guess it is the nature of the beast.Derek F.

[gripper]

My IP2 runs about 125 max. you could remove the two black covers behind the engine that mask off the carb to engine pipes, that may allow a better flow of air through the fins. Is it running weak? ie white inside the end of your silencers. Could be worth getting a pressure washer on the engine cooling fins and wash out any crud that's built up. That's about all I can suggest. Fit a new air filter?

[johnbirchjar]

Hi Gripper,covers fitted to the back of the engine removed a couple of years ago,silencer ends a nice light brown colour,air filter washed and re-oiled some 8,000 miles ago,(great minds think alike )havn,t tried the power wash,won't all those little rubber/plastic/nylon washer thingys(very technicle)wash out?(are they there to stop engine resonance?) my engine crept past 125 about 10,000 miles ago.How many miles has your engine covered? J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys, continuing on from the last entry.Left for Cornwal at 05-15hrs,on Thursday,weather a bit chilly,soon the engine temp was up to 150!? then 160,something not quite right here,early morning,quite cold,feeling the air through my leathers,could the "sender" be on the blink?I began to think more along these lines as I crossed the "Hogs Back" (a highish altitude road in Surrey)not exactly "b****y freezing but quite nippy none the less,and still the temp: reading was 160,progressing on through the day, the air got warmer(naturaly)but the bike didn;t,stayed at 160 no matter what speed I traveled at,most odd,so in the end I decided to ignore the temp gauge and ride in my normal fashon,(anyone know how to check the sender?)ride safe.J.B.

[Interpol2471]

Hi John, I do remember the learned Mr Negus once telling me the VDO temp gauges were a bit random and the wires on the sender being rather open to heat stress across the top of the engine but other than that maybe you are just the person to try http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250656977601? ... 1423.l2649 and let us know

[johnbirchjar]

Looks interesting ,may ask a few questions and report back.J.B.

[vontripper]

hi j.b , her`s my two pence worth, on my water cooled commander i had a high reading of 190 on the move.i changed temp gauge and sender, now i run at 79 ish. this is not cheap, £90 i think, or you could just fit new sender and see what happens are gauge and sender originals from new bike ? have you changed sender/ temp gauge and still got old one`s ,put that in and see what reading you get and temp. gauge, one at a time to see what one is faulty if it is that ?yes i know you have air cooled rotary rg von

[Interpol2471]

Air cooled new temp gauges and thermocouple senders are long gone now Von that's why as air cooled boys are always looking at new ideas.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi von,the temp gauge & sender are still the original items,I am in the process of purchasing one of those senders that Paul mentioned,I will report anon,ride safe,J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys,further to my last entry,I sent off for one of the temp gauges via "snail mail" on the 10th of this month(couldn't get e-bay to exept my new acc:number, tried to contact the company in question via e-mail & phone,with no success, on holiday?)anyway,nothing in todays post so I contacted my bank,cheque not debited my acc:went on line to try and contact the company,both e-mail & phone numbers no longer avaliable!!needless to say a quick phone to my bank to stop the cheque,but the item is still for sale on e-bay!!,so it looks like the "sender in boiling water" route seems the next course of action,(unless someone advises otherwise)I will report back anon,ride safe,J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Ignore the above re:contact numbers, ,am awaiting replies,J.B.

[johnbirchjar]

Hi guys, the saga continues,I have given up on the guy advertising the TTO temp gauges on e-bay,(no replies to either phone or e-mails,) so I had a bit of a surf and found another suplier.Now it would appear that the "sender" is positioned alongside the spark plug,and is held in place by a brass? ring (that replaces the copper washer,)and registers the cylinder head temp:would this info be of any use to us? 'cos the sender on our bikes is located in an entirely differant place,(advise please before I shell out 40+ quid!!) J.B.

[Richard Negus]

Hi John,The temp. gauge sender on your bike is very close to one of the spark plugs. Both rotor housings have an M6 tapped hole about an inch above the plug hole; the sender/thermocouple will be fitted to one of these, makes no difference which one. The cable from it usually has a thin brown sleeve containing two wire, one with brown and one with blue insulation, going to a two-pin connector into the harness under the tank.Fitting a thermocouple at the spark plug seat should give about the same reading as the original within about 10 degrees. If it's very different, then one of the displays is faulty.R.

[johnbirchjar]

Thanks for that Richard,(I will now purchase the TTO gauge.)Silly me ,I thought the temp: sender on our bikes was the sender located on the o/side close to where the choke rod is,this is for?rgd,s J.B.

[Richard Negus]

John,Temperature switch that tells the ignition unit whether the engine is hot or cold and changes the amount of ignition retard to give a slow idle when hot.

[Interpol2471]

John I am watching with interest when you get the TTO sender, sorry about the bum steer on eBay he looked ok