Extended Idling

[gasbag]

Hello,

Since I am fairly new to Harleys and since summer is coming up I was wondering about sitting and idling in hot weather. You know, like stuck at a long light or a traffic backup etc.

Do they heat up excessively or are there signs to watch for or is it not a problem? My last bike, a water cooled metric bike 20 years ago, really wasn't affected so I have no clue. All I know is I feel a lot more heat on my legs from this big ol' V-twin than I ever did off the metric and that is what brought up this question.

Thanks........

p.s. I've put 1000 miles on it since December. With this crummy weather it certainly isn't a record but I cannot stop grinning from ear to ear every time I throw a leg over the saddle. I should have done this 20 years ago.:yahoo

 

[Chad]

Yes leaving your bike Idle for long periods can lead to an overheat.
I often shut mine down when I have to Idle too long.
Remember air cooled HD motors need air flow to cool them.
And the parade fan that HD offers is like a bandaid on a broken leg.
Harleys run hot no matter what. I recomend to all harley riders a minimum of one oil cooler, it should be a ten row cooler with a turbonator feature to mix hot and cool oil in the cooler.
Also any stock Harley runs lean on the air fuel mixture because HD has to follow EPA requirments so they lean them out to meet standards. If you run richer (around 13.8 AFR to 14.1 AFR, as apposed to HD setting of 14.7 AFR) it will help you r bike run cooler and give you more horses along with a much more responsive throttle. You can do this by installing a fuel modual or EFI box. Hope this helps

 

[glider]

Good input Chad.

The signs of overheating besides cooking your legs are loss of power and pinging when starting off. If you experience either of these symptoms besides the ETIMS kicking in , either get the bike moving to cool it off or shut it off and let it cool down some.

 

[Sharky1948]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the oil cooler doesn't really do anything significant when at idle since there is no airflow over the fins to cool the oil. In a parade, it may have some minor value when moving; but, the only thing that's really doing to help is the ETIMS or shutting it down as Glider suggested.

I do have an oil cooler, especially since I have some chrome covers on the engine that add to the heat problem; but, when stopped it doesn't do much!

 

[glider]

The oil cooler does help a bit when in stop and go just as the radiators in house heat by dissipating the heated water or steam that is fed to them. They are most efficient when moving in any case.

 

[gasbag]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. I am going to check into having an oil cooler installed, investigate the fuel module and also learn to pay a bit more attention to the bike in hot weather and traffic.

I have a Stage 1 and SE II's installed and remapped. Since it would be running richer with a fuel module would that have any affect on the remapping? Sorry about dumb questions.....I am just learning about this stuff after hearing most of it for the first time.........:eam

 

[DDogg]

I took my FatBob to a Stage 1 with PCIII and had it Dyno'd. It's been cold, in the 40 and 50's since I had it done but I can tell big time that I'm running alot cooler than stock.