Overheating

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dzmbkilla

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New to the forum. Just bought a 1989 vmax. When i first started riding it i noticed it would not idle off of choke and would over heat after about 20 minutes. Ive since cleaned out the carbs and now it runs great off choke but still gets very close to the red, hasnt ever been in the red but i always shut it down.

The fan comes on. Coolant is full. Temp just sits right under hot. both hoses are hot. The tanks of the radiator are hot but the core doesnt seem to feel very hot at all (feeling over the rock guard.) What is a decent spot to temp gun the motor to see how hot the coolant really is?

Any help would be appreciated
 
Is it running hot like this sitting in the garage or on the road? These things run pretty hot sitting in traffic. If the fan comes on, you should be ok. Is it not cooling when the fan is on?

Oh, and welcome.
 
Welcome.
My gauge shows 1/2 way mark all the time. Fan comes on at that point, then brings things down about 3 needles below 1/2.
 
You might have a low-temp thermostat installed.

Thats exactly what I thought. Read it somewhere here, didn't want to throw that out till I knew for sure. Thanks!
So is it true that stock Maxes run the needle in the 75% range?
 
In traffic? Yes. Mine heats up fast at stop lights when it's hot outside. On the road it reads below half most of the time, though.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
 
so i pulled the radiator just now and its full of corrosion. i flushed it best possible, along with the engine, alittle lower on the gauge (about 3/4) the fan doesnt seem to kick on until almost at red.
 
Is it running hot like this sitting in the garage or on the road? These things run pretty hot sitting in traffic. If the fan comes on, you should be ok. Is it not cooling when the fan is on?

Oh, and welcome.

either way idling or freeway. fan will kick on but temp will never come down or go up. just sits barely below red
 
so i flushed it 1 more time with chemcal cleaner, filled it with pure water and a bottle of purple ice and the bike runs about a needle above half. is that right or should i look for another radiator. also should i switch my fan switch because it doesnt turn on until almost max temp
 
My fan kicks in about 3/4 of the full range and stops when needle reaches around 1/2 range. This only happens if I'm sitting in traffic for about 5+ minutes or so and outside temp is around 60 degrees or more. Takes a bit longer when its cold outside.
While riding, its normally around 1/4 the full temp range, even on a hot day.

Since you said your radiator was corroded, and radiator splines have small passages for coolant, you might want to look into finding the best way to remove the corrosion throughout the entire system.

Maybe something like this??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbDmxSJZ9r4
 
I'd start with a good clean radiator used or new. Blkmax just had a thread here on a brand that was working good for him. Vmax's are known for this high temp issue. The fan sensor kicks in at over 200 deg. I like an automotive type sensor that runs most of the time, but doesn't impede the engine warming up properly, along with t-stat that opens a little earlier too. Once in the red Gen 1's struggle to cool down. A manual fan switch is popular in Vmax Nation. Vinigar is a good safe flushing agent, just a tbl. spoon works good.
 
New to the forum. Just bought a 1989 vmax. When i first started riding it i noticed it would not idle off of choke and would over heat after about 20 minutes. Ive since cleaned out the carbs and now it runs great off choke but still gets very close to the red, hasnt ever been in the red but i always shut it down.

The fan comes on. Coolant is full. Temp just sits right under hot. both hoses are hot. The tanks of the radiator are hot but the core doesnt seem to feel very hot at all (feeling over the rock guard.) What is a decent spot to temp gun the motor to see how hot the coolant really is?

Any help would be appreciated
I have one for sale off an '85 that has less than 10,000 on it. I am in palm springs where is stays above 90 degrees 8 months out of he year and with this one it ran 1/2 way most of the time.
 

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