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5th Gen Cooling Upgrades


fonque

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Don't want to hijack This Thread but can anyone give me some pointers on what type of coolant is best. I have always used the Honda product but I know there are other aftermarket versions out there that are supposedly better at controlling Heat.

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Any quality brand coolant at 50:50 with distilled water will do.

Anyone who thinks some coolants are better at cooling then others are kidding themselfs.

If they are, you and I will never be able to measure the difference.

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In fact the best coolant is the cheapest: distilled water. Problem is: it boils at 100° and 1 atm and does not protect against rust. Any combination of this and ethylenglycol will improve boiling point (and freezing point) and prevent rusting with some additives.

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Typically 104-106°C

 

You don't want it to get so high it's flashing. That is a critical warning. I believe the bike shuts down over 125°C but cannot confirm that is true.

 

I think you just confirmed my RR issue theory. After my battery dying on me (I fixed my overheating issue at the same time as adding a usb/12v charger). Each time my bike died I had been in stop and go.

 

After getting a boost I had ridden straight to my mechanic, the we're running some charging tests and at best I was getting 12.3v, after the bike was running a while the charging dropped to 12v flat or less even at 4000rpm. I noticed we were hitting the 106C mark.

 

I had initially blamed the problem on the charger, not thinking that I had in fact added two electrical components at the same time, as I was also introducing working fans to the mix.

 

I have a new RR coming and I'm hoping the stator isn't trashed, but I will be preparing myself for that job.

 

I'm hoping the part is in for Monday or me and my wife's motorcycle tour will have to become a really long car ride.

 

EDIT: I can confirm that the bike does not shut down at 125C

 

When I first got the bike it had hit 139 before I realized it was flashing and red (was my very first ride since September er of last year and I was riding it out of downtown Toronto focusing on not dying).

 

Traffic was stop and go and I started just shutting the bike down myself.

 

I only ever had it start flashing twice since and shut it down whenever I could when stuck in stop and go traffic.

 

Since making sure my coolant was filled and air free the bike barely ever crests over 100 and usually in the 80-90 range. Thankfully I don't think I've done any damage. When I first realized that I had hit 139 in Toronto it was when I was very close to leaving downtown and was running at higher speeds which brought the Temps down pretty quickly.

 

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Don't want to hijack This Thread but can anyone give me some pointers on what type of coolant is best. I have always used the Honda product but I know there are other aftermarket versions out there that are supposedly better at controlling Heat.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk




I read a lot about avoiding coolants with silicant in them.

I used Prestone 50/50 mix.

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Don't want to hijack This Thread but can anyone give me some pointers on what type of coolant is best. I have always used the Honda product but I know there are other aftermarket versions out there that are supposedly better at controlling Heat.


This coolant is the best I've found by a long shot.
 
a6b55321eddae7bf2b0201e976f27038.jpg
 
 

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I think you just confirmed my RR issue theory. After my battery dying on me (I fixed my overheating issue at the same time as adding a usb/12v charger). Each time my bike died I had been in stop and go.
 
After getting a boost I had ridden straight to my mechanic, the we're running some charging tests and at best I was getting 12.3v, after the bike was running a while the charging dropped to 12v flat or less even at 4000rpm. I noticed we were hitting the 106C mark.
 
I had initially blamed the problem on the charger, not thinking that I had in fact added two electrical components at the same time, as I was also introducing working fans to the mix.
 
I have a new RR coming and I'm hoping the stator isn't trashed, but I will be preparing myself for that job.
 
I'm hoping the part is in for Monday or me and my wife's motorcycle tour will have to become a really long car ride.
 
EDIT: I can confirm that the bike does not shut down at 125C
 
When I first got the bike it had hit 139 before I realized it was flashing and red (was my very first ride since September er of last year and I was riding it out of downtown Toronto focusing on not dying).
 
Traffic was stop and go and I started just shutting the bike down myself.
 
I only ever had it start flashing twice since and shut it down whenever I could when stuck in stop and go traffic.
 
Since making sure my coolant was filled and air free the bike barely ever crests over 100 and usually in the 80-90 range. Thankfully I don't think I've done any damage. When I first realized that I had hit 139 in Toronto it was when I was very close to leaving downtown and was running at higher speeds which brought the Temps down pretty quickly.



Incessant fan functioning and a poor battery, r/r, or stator will see the bike die relatively quickly. The straw breaking the camel's back.

Sounds more like the stator to me as you are undercharging. The r/r when malfunctioning usually means overcharging. Not necessarily though. You might be lucky. Could also be the connector between the two is burnt out creating resistance.
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Incessant fan functioning and a poor battery, r/r, or stator will see the bike die relatively quickly. The straw breaking the camel's back.

Sounds more like the stator to me as you are undercharging. The r/r when malfunctioning usually means overcharging. Not necessarily though. You might be lucky. Could also be the connector between the two is burnt out creating resistance.


I'm praying it's the RR right now. At this exact time I can get one or the other done. The stator I will likely have to bite the bullet and find time to do it myself the RR I may have to as well.

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12 hours ago, Auspanglish said:

 

 


Incessant fan functioning and a poor battery, r/r, or stator will see the bike die relatively quickly. The straw breaking the camel's back.

Sounds more like the stator to me as you are undercharging. The r/r when malfunctioning usually means overcharging. Not necessarily though. You might be lucky. Could also be the connector between the two is burnt out creating resistance.

 

 

 

Confirmed the stator is toast.  Having that replaced.  Looks like the bike trip became a car trip, but we will still be camping wherever.

 

On the bright side, there really isn't much else wrong with the bike, so it should be all maintenance and wear parts from here on.

 

Here's hoping though.

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  • 3 months later...

I finally got around to working on fixing my radiators. 

As you can see below my left side radiator is very very bent. 

20170906_220038.jpg

 

20170906_220051.jpg

 

I picked up some new aluminum radiators from ebay. The are made out of the thinnest most easily bent aluminum I have ever seen on a radiator. They needed quite alot of bending trimming and grinding to get the tabs to line up in any reasonable manner. The welds also looked pretty sloppy.

20170906_220202.jpg

 

20170906_220240.jpg

 

20170906_220329.jpg

 

This is a mock up of the ebay radiator and the new SPAL pusher fan. I am hoping this setup will keep the bike a few degrees colder.

20170908_224428.jpg

 

 

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Those rads look pretty rough. 

 

The ebay ones for the RC51 actually look quite nice!

 

i replaced my bend LH one with another used stocker and upgraded my oil cooler  to a 3 row unit. 

 

I read that the VTEC 800 rads are 8% larger, according to Honda PR. 

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Since you're at it, a fan override switch might be a consideration.  Since I've installed mine, my cooling issues have disappeared, even staying with the stock fan.  It just takes some presence of mind to be on top if it - about like minding the turn signals.  

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I cut out some scrap metal pieces with a dremel to mount the fan. I used washers, lock washers, and a couple of nuts to hold everything together. I was not able to get the fan shroud to line up. I didnt want to get rid of it because it helps direct some of the air flow. I am going to get everything mounted up on the bike when I get some time this week.

20170910_213506.jpg

 

20170910_213520.jpg
 

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For anyone wondering, these are the radiators that I purchased from ebay. They are slightly larger than the stock radiators. They use a thicker core. 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aluminum-Radiator-for-HONDA-VFR800FI-VFR800-Fi-RC46-Interceptor-1998-2001-L-R/151911396009?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

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  • 2 weeks later...

I cannot recommend those ebay radiators. I fired the bike up to check for leaks and bleed the system. The left radiator started leaking at the fan switch bung. I thought it was from the fan switch threads, but upon closer inspection, the radiator was leaking from a failed weld on the bung. 

 

I have attempted to patch the pin hole with jb weld water weld. If that doesnt hold, ill have my neighbor weld re tig weld the bung.

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Thanks for the heads up. Have you contacted the seller to see if they are willing to exchange them? To me customer service is important, especially when there is a mistake in the product.

 

Please let us know if they make a difference when you do get to using them.

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On 9/8/2017 at 10:44 PM, fonque said:

I finally got around to working on fixing my radiators. 

As you can see below my left side radiator is very very bent. 

20170906_220038.jpg

 

20170906_220051.jpg

 

I picked up some new aluminum radiators from ebay. The are made out of the thinnest most easily bent aluminum I have ever seen on a radiator. They needed quite alot of bending trimming and grinding to get the tabs to line up in any reasonable manner. The welds also looked pretty sloppy.

20170906_220202.jpg

 

20170906_220240.jpg

 

20170906_220329.jpg

 

This is a mock up of the ebay radiator and the new SPAL pusher fan. I am hoping this setup will keep the bike a few degrees colder.

20170908_224428.jpg

 

 

Damn, I don't weld, but those look pretty scary. As if someone new to welding made them. I suppose it works, but glad no one can see them.

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I understand that. I'd contact them about the leak. They definitely aren't the prettiest welds I've seen, but if they work... Even though I know you said you have a leak. Post up what they say about the leak.

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