1997 Yamaha YZF600R overheating.. *Not GS*

[shuluke]

Hello everyone,

I have a friend who has a 1997 YamahaYZF600R that kept overheating while he was idling.. As soon as he started moving again, the bike would cool down. He checked the fluids, might need a flush soon, but the level is good, and he checked the radiator fans, they turn on and run fine. I was wondering what else he should check before taking it to a motorcycle shop.. We are planning on a 4 hour+ ride with a bunch of other motorcycles this Sunday and he would like to participate. He searched the web but couldnt find anything that could help him. I offered to post on this forum since everyone here is pretty helpful no matter what the bike is. If you have any suggestions please post them. He went through everything that we could both think of..

Shuluke

[dgyver]

bad/weak water pump?
bad/stuck thermostat?

[The Buddha]

Dunno about the YZF's ... but my kawi eliminators ... The thermostat that controls the fan when running is different form the one that controls the fan when its off. That Off one is a lower temp ... I have had good results swapping the 2.
Cool.
Buddha.

[yamahonkawazuki]

if teh thermostat is cheap, play safe and replace

[bobthebiker]

my suggestion, verify you've actually GOT coolant flowing, then change your coolant out. its MUCH cheaper than the shop.   I recommend running water wetter or engine ice in the YZF for best cooling results.

[natedawg120]

If the fan is coming on then it has to be a weak/bad water pump or stuck thermostat.  Replace the thermostat and fluid, if that doesn't fix it, it is the waterpump.  At least thats how I would go about troubleshooting mine, except when mine did that this summer (GSXR) it was the fan fuse.

[shuluke]

Thank you everyone. I sent him a link to this post and he is going to check up on all those things mentioned. I will keep this post updated.

Shuluke

[Kasumi]

Yep agreed above, i have a feeling it will be the thermostat, we used to have a YZF R and the cooling always seemed top notch.

[Destro]

Or it could be a "design feature"

http://www.yzf600r.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=22677

It's a true adrenaline junkie's bike, gauge's pegged out to the right!