oilhead overheating.....

[107857]

While sitting in traffic in beautiful downtown Baltimore Saturday night, my R11RT was getting a bit to hot. The oil temp. guage registered almost to the "red zone" . With traffic moving no-where ..I pulled over and let it sit for about 20 minutes to cool down. It was not an exceptionally hot evening.

If I can't get out of traffic and get moving, is this the best thing to do or am I better off reving the engine a little higher to keep the oil moving more?

Any thoughts on what else I can do about the heating issue?

The bike has 13K on it, usually runs at 6 bars if I sit still for a few minutes or so, the oil level was just below center. I'm having a Techlusion 259 installed Wednesday.

Thanks

 

[jdiaz]

When my wife and I used our R1100s for commuting, we used nothing but Mobil 1 for specific situations like you mentioned. That would probably be the first thing I would recommend.

I would not rev the engine unless you have air moving over the engine. Just let it idle while stationary, and use as little rpm as possible to creep along. If you are completely stopped and not moving (ie. I-95 between Baltimore and DC with all 14 lanes not moving), then get off the road and wait for traffic to clear out.

Just think of it as a minor penalty for not having to change coolant or worry about a water pump!

 

[MCMXCIVRS]

A couple of weeks ago I was stuck in traffic that was moving at less than a walking pace. My R1100RS was hitting the top of the safe temperature range, so I shut it down. Rather than sit and wait for it to cool, I just kept my spot in line and pushed the bike as traffic inched along for over an hour. I ended up pushing it for about 8 blocks before things got moving fast enough to start the engine again. These bikes just don't handle stop and go traffic well, they are made to run on the open road. I use synthetic oil, but without air flow there is no way to get rid of the heat. This was the only time I have ever had the engine get that hot, and hopefully the last.

 

[kbasa]

Don't the authority RTs have a fan?

 

[jdiaz]

Don't the authority RTs have a fan?

They do. Its an expensive conversion.

 

[107857]

I've thought about synthetic oil but the dealer told me to wait until 18,000 miles or so....

So I take it the bike, stock, has no fan..?

 

[jdiaz]

Nope, it doesn't need one. As long as the bike is moving.....

 

[Manhattan Rider]

While I was living in Washington, D.C., I experienced the same problem. So I added a German-made all steel bearing EBM fan to the back of my oil cooler. The oil cooler has a black plastic cover on the backside that costs about $15 from your dealer (R1100RT). So I purchased an extra plastic cover and modified it to fit a fan. I then wired the fan to a small micro switch that I can turn on demand. This EBM fan cost me about $60, so I completed the project for under $100. By purchasing an additional cover, you can fit the fan on a work bench before mounting. Its a tight fit, and would not recommend a fan over 5.5 inches. The EBM pulls about 140 CI of air, which is about the same as the police fans.

This fan works ok, but does not match my LT water cooled motor that will lower the heat when engaged. Oilheads need moving air on the heads to cool properly. This fan will keep the RID at 6 bars for about 10 minutes at idle, where before I was inching into the red. At 6 bars, oilhead oil is around 270 degrees. This is very hot oil, so it helps but will not lower the heat like a water cooled bike. Owners of RT-Ps tell me their oil coolers will not reduce the oil temperature as well. In my opinion, oilheads are not good computers in heavy stop and go traffic cities.

I wouldn't be too concerned about engine damage around the red. These motors are engineered for high heat. However, I would be concerned with melting the plastic side panels. Damage usually starts to occur around the heads with a minor bowing of the plastic. Too hot and the plastic will melt. In most cases, this will only occur when operating the bike at idle for extended periods with the high idle engaged.

 

[dgs1958]

Not to mention cooking the Dino oil. You may consider changing the oil.