[MattWhite]

On my commute home this evening, glancing down
at the bike outside temp gauge (ie thermometer)
I happen to notice it said a brisk 110 degrees.
As comfortable I was was in ATGATT,
I thought about my poor bike.

Is she too hot?

How hot is too hot to ride for the sake
of the bike? Is it possible to to do long term
damage to the bike riding at higher temps?

 

[deanwoolsey]

I tend to watch my temp gauge closely. If I recall correctly, the difference between 1/2 gauge and Hot is only 15 degrees. Sometimes I have to remind myself that when it creeps up over 1/2 it's not really a big deal. The fans don't come on until almost redline.

So............ too hot is when the dash light comes on or you fall off from heat stroke.
Gotta love that mesh.

 

[LTFan]

I rode at 115F in dry heat for over 5 hours last weekend. no issues with the bike. I believe if I would have used some inexpensive oil it would have probably decomposed. I used fully synthetic 15W50 for the motor and OEM BMW oil for the transmission and final drive. All seems fine for the 1000 miles I have put since last weekend.

 

[kevincaron]

The bike runs at 200 plus normally. You would give up first I think. I ride in 110 plus all the time. No problems other than the wet foot prints I leave walking in to the house when I get home. :histerica

 

[05Train]

Idling for a couple of hours in 115+ heat would probably be too much. Other than that, the bike'll be fine.

 

[Gaby]

Everything is ok as long as the bar graph doesn't start running out of the scale.

 

[palajoe]

Last week I got caught behind in a long crawling traffic jam here in San Antonio. My ambient air temp said it was about 108 degrees, what with the hot asphault and hot cars and trucks surrounding me. Over about 10 minutes, my temp guage went from about 3 bars to maxed out to the top! When the yellow warning triangle started flickering at me, I figured I had two options.
1. pull over into the breakdown lane, shut her off and wait for the jam to clear, or

2. pull out into the breakdown lane and pass as much of the traffic I could, but at least get some air moving over the radiator. I knew this would piss off my fellow commuters, and possibly risk of getting a ticket.

I chose number 2. within 30 seconds, the warning light stopped flickering at me, and after about a mile, I could see the accident that was causing all the backup. I was allowed to safely merge back into traffic and continue on my merry way. after about 5 minutes of highway speed, my temp guage was back down to normal.

I think I made the right choice, but I realize that I may not be able to bypass traffic every time. It still ticks me off that BMW wouldn't put a damn fan in front of the radiator and that it isn't at all difficult for the bike to destroy itself just by sitting still with the engine running.

Perhaps a fan from an RT-P is in my future, but I really think this should have come with it from the factory.

Joe

 

[heavynikonf3]

We get lots of "warm" days here in Las Vegas and the surrounding area, Death Valley up the road just a bit and all. On a recent ride the ambient temp (indicated) was 115f. The engine acted perfectly, bar graph moved up barely a fraction and stayed there for the 145 miles back to my garage. I was worried more about the tires rolling in that heat, the road surface had to be "egg frying hot." I always use 38/40 and the tires are PR3's.
Got home and checked pressures while hot; rear "grew" almost 8 psi, front about 4psi.
Good rubber, in good condition--imperative in the heat.
Be safe out there

 

[SPXDR]

Last week I got caught behind in a long crawling traffic jam here in San Antonio. My ambient air temp said it was about 108 degrees, what with the hot asphault and hot cars and trucks surrounding me. Over about 10 minutes, my temp guage went from about 3 bars to maxed out to the top! When the yellow warning triangle started flickering at me, I figured I had two options.
1. pull over into the breakdown lane, shut her off and wait for the jam to clear, or

2. pull out into the breakdown lane and pass as much of the traffic I could, but at least get some air moving over the radiator. I knew this would piss off my fellow commuters, and possibly risk of getting a ticket.

I chose number 2. within 30 seconds, the warning light stopped flickering at me, and after about a mile, I could see the accident that was causing all the backup. I was allowed to safely merge back into traffic and continue on my merry way. after about 5 minutes of highway speed, my temp guage was back down to normal.

I think I made the right choice, but I realize that I may not be able to bypass traffic every time. It still ticks me off that BMW wouldn't put a damn fan in front of the radiator and that it isn't at all difficult for the bike to destroy itself just by sitting still with the engine running.

Perhaps a fan from an RT-P is in my future, but I really think this should have come with it from the factory.

Joe

I assume that you're riding an RT? If so, you don't have a radiator.

 

[palajoe]

Yes! You are correct. I was thinking oil cooler. My bad

 

[palajoe]

Just to make it clear, I do love my bike! I wouldn't trade it for any other one out on the market right now, despite a few flaws.

 

[Niksons]

I am living 6 km from my office
This evening, since I am home alone <tm>, it took almost 60 km to came home
At the end I took this snap



But I svear - I was thinking about all of you.
Stay cool !!

 

[Gaby]

Isn't the difference between a radiator and an air cooler rather academic?
Aren't they both heat exchangers?

 

[patsmith]

I think that stopping every few hours to let things cool down is a good idea. When it is over 100 outside the road and hence the tires are much hotter. I like to take a look at my tires when I have riding in the heat for along time, otherwise I think the motor is fine.

 

[ka5ysy]

Re: How Hot is Too Hot? SOLUTION !

Since I live in south Louisiana and it gets really bad hot down here in the summer, when I decided to trade the R1200R on the 2011 RT one thing that I ordered immediately on taking actual title to the bike was the RT-P fan kit. It is a very easy install, and I wired it to a small toggle switch on the left handlbar. The only thing that is a minor inconvenience is that the cruise control module blocks access to the bolt without moving it during the installation. This means you cannot install the fan without removing the front fairing to access the cruise control bolts.

Having been caught on the RR in traffic stalls for extended periods, I too had the maxed out temp bars and had to shut down a bit several times. Not wanting a repeat on the RT, the fan kit was a known must-have item. There is a reason the police bikes have the fan :thumb:

I can report that the bike and I have been stuck at 0-5 mph creeps for extended periods, at least one of which was over 30 minutes, and with the fan running the bike never had an increase in bars over normal. The fan is well worth the money if you ride in very hot weather.

 

[Monty2007]

Re: How Hot is Too Hot? SOLUTION !

Since I live in south Louisiana and it gets really bad hot down here in the summer, when I decided to trade the R1200R on the 2011 RT one thing that I ordered immediately on taking actual title to the bike was the RT-P fan kit. It is a very easy install, and I wired it to a small toggle switch on the left handlbar. The only thing that is a minor inconvenience is that the cruise control module blocks access to the bolt without moving it during the installation. This means you cannot install the fan without removing the front fairing to access the cruise control bolts.

Having been caught on the RR in traffic stalls for extended periods, I too had the maxed out temp bars and had to shut down a bit several times. Not wanting a repeat on the RT, the fan kit was a known must-have item. There is a reason the police bikes have the fan :thumb:

I can report that the bike and I have been stuck at 0-5 mph creeps for extended periods, at least one of which was over 30 minutes, and with the fan running the bike never had an increase in bars over normal. The fan is well worth the money if you ride in very hot weather.

Thanks, this is good to know, since I have been considering installing the the RT-P fan. When riding to work I end up in a lot of stop and go traffic in high heat situations. I haven't had an issue when moving, even at slower speeds.

 

[MattWhite]

I am living 6 km from my office
This evening, since I am home alone <tm>, it took almost 60 km to came home
At the end I took this snap



But I svear - I was thinking about all of you.
Stay cool !!

You dont have to mean... :snork

 

[Risky]

Four of us did a Iron Butt Ride on 07/07/12 and the temp in Toronto hit 40c! on my temp gauge. I should have taken a picture. Yes it was a very HOT day.

and I was wearing my Olympia suit.

 

[Danrt1100]

Perhaps a fan from an RT-P is in my future, but I really think this should have come with it from the factory.

Joe[/QUOTE]


I put a fan on my R1100RT and it works like a charm. My bike never goes over 6 bars even in very hot and very slow Sacramento traffic. For the local Sacramento people, think of Sunrise Avenue heading north from south of Highway 50 during rush hour.

And a fan does not have to cost $$$ either. I bought two computer fans from Fry's for a grand total of $9.98 plus tax and put them in. They work great. And my wallet smiles at me.

 

[RexR]

Perhaps a fan from an RT-P is in my future, but I really think this should have come with it from the factory.

Joe

FWIW, as I understand it the 1150RTP fan does not kick in until the bike temp is in the red zone. Not sure why they would install a fan but design it to sit idly by until the bike is already overheated, but I'm sure the all-knowing, all-seeing BMW seer wouldn't do so unless it were good for the company. I mean for the customers, of course

I've also heard of modified installations in which the fan is controlled by a simple switch (toggle, rocker, push-button) instead of thermostatically.