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2003 k1200gt temperature gauge

jrmull

New member
Thanks for the assistance to all. Question on if my temperature gauge.

Picture show just a bit above the center line on the gauge. Temp outside today 85, dry. Riding about an hour low neighborhood speeds 25-30 mph. Just practicing my riding. New rider, new bike.

This GT was sending off a lot of heat. Not unbearable, just noticed it. Engine cooling fan running fine. Recent self oil change.

Probably due for 2 year brake fluid change. Probably two years on the cooling fluids too. I think it was in the shop Dec 2017 but might have been prior year.

Just wondering your experiences.


Regards

John
 

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My gauge and my wife's gauge would run a little past the half mark at highway speeds.
I'm surprised your gauge did not go higher when riding 25 for an hour.
 
didn't touch red area

Thank you for the comment. Temp didn't get much further than the picture shown. I will keep an eye on it.
 
Right about there on mine the fans kick on. The bike makes a lot of heat, worst of it seems to come from the cat. My left foot bakes in stop-and-go traffic. Riding solo in heavy traffic, I’ll put the left pillon peg down and use it when moving to keep my foot out of the oven..
 
My gauge and my wife's gauge would run a little past the half mark at highway speeds.
.

Guess my memory is failing :)
This picture shows the needle at the half mark.
Air temp in the mid 80s and cruise set at 80 mph.

Picture 204.jpg
 
Gotta love the Arizona / California desert in winter! I can see 80 mph would generate enough breeze to cool the GT down to normal.

I was guessing someone would say my thermostat needs changing (2003 model 26k miles). Changing it to let in more flow. My next question was on how hard to do it myself vs dealer's next visit with the brake fluid change. I don't look forward to brake bleeding and ABS.

I sure did notice how hot the engine blows to the left side. Useful to me about the oven experience on the K1200GT. I am just learning. Good to have you guys around to advise.
 
My 03 K12RS runs with its coolant gage just below the half-way mark as its normal position. On an open road it holds that position regardless of outside temperature. Any amount of traffic in front of me and the gage will climb up to where yours is. A bit higher than that and the fans come on.

Keep in mind that modern cars , if they have a temp gage at all, use multiple methods to maintain a steadier reading. First, many use electric thermostats that are more responsive, and modern engines are designed for steadier temperatures as a means to control emissions.
Secondly, they play games with the gage itself. We assume that a 20% rise in gage reading means the coolant temp went up something close to 20%. Not so. Engineers determined at some point that so long as the engine temps were within the normal operating range there was no need to alarm the driver by moving the gage. So while a lot of modern car/bike temp gauges appear to hold steady at mid-temps, that doesn't mean the fluid temps aren't fluctuating. They just aren't increasing enough that you are supposed to worry about it, or be told about it.
I believe our Ks predate these trends as our gages are quite active.
 
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