Can these bikes overheat?

[mimikeni]

I realize air cooled engines don't spew coolant, but while riding around in 95 degree temps, could the engine get too hot?  If that was possible, what warning signs would I encounter?

[HardcoreKeith]

You could weld the piston to the cylinder.  It'd be real hard to do though.  I think you'd probably have to redline the engine at a standstill for a while.

[ryott52]

As long as you've got airflow and oil you should be fine, you'd really have to flog it to make heat an issue. Keep an eye on your oil level though, as it gets hotter these bikes will consume a bit more oil than in cool weather.

[lilwoody]

Run it low on oil or fail to change it in a timely manner and drag time will not be far behind. Warning sign would be valve noise, loss of power then a knock and seizing. Folks run air cooled motors in very hot climits with very good results, just stay on top of the oil.

[Twism86]

Anything can over heat if you neglect or abuse it enough  Just take care of your bike and it will be fine. I worry worry more about the rider over heating in 95+ degree weather. At those temps the faster you go, the hotter it gets.

[ben2go]

Low oil level and lean fuel air mix is the only thing that would lead to over heating,except the cooling fins being caked with road grime or mud.I have never seen a GS with an engine so dirty that the cooling fins are clogged up with debris.

[jmelchio]

I realize air cooled engines don't spew coolant, but while riding around in 95 degree temps, could the engine get too hot?  If that was possible, what warning signs would I encounter?

I drove home in 37 C (98 F) yesterday and it's city driving stop and go. Bike functioned fine but when standing in front of traffic lights my backside and legs got pretty hot.

As a result my take on this is that you'll probably get scorched before you're bike has problems with the high temperatures. Of course remarks about maintenance (oil etc.) made by others apply!

[mister]

I realize air cooled engines don't spew coolant, but while riding around in 95 degree temps, could the engine get too hot?  If that was possible, what warning signs would I encounter?

Normal riding - not flogging the guts out of it for 90 minutes - will NOT overheat the bike.

Michael

[cd]

i had one i put about 25k on almost all in the 90-110 degree heat, and the temp on the highways in traffic was easily 120+ and the bike never stopped running, and i rode it redline hard constantly, tons of stop and go. i think these engines are fairly durable when it comes to heat. i rode it for 6 years like that. never worried about anything on it, never failed me once.

[z driver 88t]

Good to know.  I've worried about the same thing in FL stop and go summer traffic.  You can overheat air cooled engines, at least in cars.  Drive some stop and go traffic in FL in July or August in an old 911 or 912 and you can see oil temps creep into red.  My guess is its probably good our bikes don't have oil temp gauges -it could be unnerving.

Having said that, its good to read no one has experienced a heat related engine failure on a properly maintained bike.

[numus]

Usually my ankles start baking... but havn't had it die yet in North Florida Stop-and-go.

[ben2go]

Good to know.  I've worried about the same thing in FL stop and go summer traffic.  You can overheat air cooled engines, at least in cars.  Drive some stop and go traffic in FL in July or August in an old 911 or 912 and you can see oil temps creep into red.  My guess is its probably good our bikes don't have oil temp gauges -it could be unnerving.

Having said that, its good to read no one has experienced a heat related engine failure on a properly maintained bike.

If a air cooled Porsche engine over heat's, it's because the cooling vanes in the fan shroud are missing or not properly opening.A slipping belt or missing/damaged seals around the engine compartment that seal to the engine tin will cause over heating.GS engines aren't in a confined closed off space that allows for heat soak if something happens to be a little off.