Fan switch and fan blade mods

[pyrofitr1368]

After reading a few forums and posting I decided to do the mods for keeping my 5th gen cooler.Auto Zone has a fan switch SW524(185F.), but I felt that may be a bit low, so I searched NAPA's trusty catalog.I found the FS146.It costs more($54) ,but doesn't come on till 195F. which is exactly what I wanted.It has two leads, so one lead I extended to the ground screw the fan motor attaches to on the back of the radiator and the other to the actual fan lead....works perfect.In my garage at 60F. with no fans assisting "my girl" , the temp. never went above 195f.

I also purchased the 2000VTR1000f fan blade.The air is now pushed out of the radiator so the fan can work with(instead of against) the air pressure within the front cowl area while going between 25 and 45 mph.Last fall I was stuck in 30mph traffic, the ambient air was 50f. and "my girl" reached 238F. and started spitting coolant.I feel pretty confident that will be a thing of the past.Oh, and I added a manual switch as well. I know it's overkill, but I'd rather spend around $90 in mods than $1500+ for a new motor.

Auto Zone SW524(185F.) on

NAPA FS146(195F.) on

2000 VTR1000f Fan blade part# 19020-MBB-003. (no need to reverse fan motor polarity)

Draining of coolant and removal of radiator is needed, but easy.Remove fan from rad., remove fan blade, switch blades(use thread lock)...(flush system while its open, if you want)reassemble.Works great.

Hopefully Upstate New York State actually gets hot this year.Ha-ha. I will report real world results by May, maybe June.Others have had great luck with these low tech mods, I will help test and confirm them.Any questions? drop me a line.

Stay safe out there.

Pyrofitr1368

[Guest]

Hopefully Upstate New York State actually gets hot this year...

Oh man, I hope you are right!!!

Keep us posted on this mod.

[Veefer800Canuck]

Just to quell any fears, your bike is designed to shut down on high temperature before engine damage occurs.

The ECU monitors the engine temp and kills the motor at a predetermined temp. I forget what exactly that value is, but it should be in your owner's manual.

Having said that, I DID put on a larger oil cooler, just to be safe.

[RustyA]

I did the VTR fan blade mod last year, along with engine ice. So far, so good.

[FotoMoto]

In my garage at 60F. with no fans assisting "my girl" , the temp. never went above 195f.

OK, you lost me.

[snake]

so does the above switch replace the one that goes in the left rad

[pyrofitr1368]

so does the above switch replace the one that goes in the left rad

I added the manual switch as a system of redundancy, plus if it's summer and I am coming up on traffic, I can start the fan earlier.Like I said , I'd rather replace a fan motor than an engine.Even though "she" has a heat kill switch, I would feel better having a little more control of temp.

[pyrofitr1368]

As an extremely late follow up( my sincerest apologies)...all has gone well. The switch is in the left side radiator. The FS146 seems to come on earlier(185) than it's supposed to 195.I am going to get the fs116. After a solid year of experimenting (and living in so-so climate upstate NY), I think 199f would be a better temp. Otherwise, the fan switch and manual switch have avoided any temps. above 220f.

[Guest]

Just bought a 2004 VFR and the fan stays on CONSTANTLY! I assume from this forum that it isn't normal. Should I get this fixed or figure out what the issue is. As soon as I turn the power on the fan starts. Is this a good or bad thing? What should I check for or have my mechanic check for? Let me know as all the talk of a burnt up engine worries me. Temps in traffic tend to be in the lower 200 registry. Any help would be appreciated!!!

[pres589]

It's a bad thing and most likely the fan switch (in the rad next to your left knee) has somehow constant-ground instead of reacting to heat like it should. I'm surprised the temps get as high as you're describing if the fans never stop running...

[Rush2112]

I did the VTR fan blade mod like the OP. Definitely helps in slower traffic when the old configuration was fighting against airflow. FYI - this mod did not make my engine cooling bullet proof. Ambient air temps play a huge role... in air temps above 94 F the coolant temp will rise above 185 F. When air temps reach 100 F the coolant temps were at 205 - 210 F. I found the sweet spot for air flow vs. engine generated heat at 85 mph (true speed) highway riding as this was the speed I could create the lowest coolant temps. With clean air at this speed and 100 F air temp coolant temp was at 195 F.

At 102 F air temp after gasing up (while BR was lounging in his A/C environment of his car), and leaving my bike running at idle while I suited up (battery issues relating to heat and older battery) my temp passed 240 F, while sitting at the traffic light next to the gas station my bike coolant passed 250 F and I wasn't far behind... at 250F the temp digits starting flashing and the light changed at 254 F. Once moving we both cooled off...