coolant temperate

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alanh496
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:01 pm
My Bike: zxr 400

coolant temperate

Post by alanh496 »

Hi folks, I got an L1 from a guy who had previously raced it, got off it round Gerrards and dumped it in his shed for a year or so until he sold it to me. I got it to do track days with, but now I've got round to doing that, I've had problems with the temperature. It did'nt have fan fitted, I don't know it this is common practice with race bikes, I guess you would get away with that OK until you had to slow down. Anyway, initially I had to tape 3/4 of the rad up to get it to stay at running temp. I've checked that the thermostat at the back of the block works, alto. I've not been able to check the exact opening temperature as per manual. Do thermostats fail by opening at to low a temperature ? Be grateful for any thoughts/ experiences ? Just remember, keep it between the edges, & don't get off until it stops, Alan.
cargo
zxr400 oc member
zxr400 oc member
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Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2005 10:33 am
My Bike: tomos moped
Location: Carrickfergus Northern Ireland

Re: coolant temperate

Post by cargo »

I've raced ZXR 400s for 13 years......................never had a fan or a thermostat


I find that my race bikes run a little on the cool side and I always have a bit of tape on the rad especially on cold days..............I also don't use the oil cooler

What exactly do you mean by "running temp" ?

Mine run at about the second red line on the stock temp gauge................they get a little hotter if I'm held on the start line..................this sometimes causes me problems in that it loses power when too hot and getting it started if I switch it off................but I've learned how to deal with it
alanh496
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 6:01 pm
My Bike: zxr 400

Re: coolant temperate

Post by alanh496 »

The problem I have is that it won't run without cutting out unless the gauge is, as you say, past the 2nd mark on the gauge, maybe 2/3 the way up. To keep this while circulating, I need to have about 3/4 of the rad taped over, even when it ain't freezing. And that works well until you slow down, when it overheats.(I don't have a fan on it.) So check I the stat, with the sensor in an electric kettle, still connected to the gauge on the bike. And it opens just before the gauge gets to the point where it would run without cutting out. So a stat that did'nt open until it was hotter than that should fix it ? The manual says it should open between 80 & 85 degrees, the stat has 82 stamped on it, & Ive checked that with a digital gadget and it opens at 80. So far I can't find hotter one but bikes seem to run at different temperatures, (Haynes manual gives 75 for my Srad, & there's folk on the net that reckon all engines should run at 90) so I'll keep looking. If I get lucky I''ll let you know. And any other thoughts, like why others work with all of the rad exposed and mine does'nt, would be appreciated. Cheers.
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