Best Ways to Reduce Overheating?

[james311]

I take a trip to the cape(Massachusetts) every few weeks which is ~120 miles.  I normally split it down the middle and take about an hour break to give the bike a rest.  Yesterday riding in pretty cool weather (~65 and the cape so near water) and it sputtered and died out on the highway, only 45 miles in.  That's way below normal, the only reason I normally stop is because I think it needs a break not because it stalls or something.  I was averaging about 70MPH.

Bike Information

• 93 500E with ~10,000 miles
• Uses Mobile One 10-40
• Oil Changed regularly
• Stock replacement oil filter
• stock air filter

Is there a way to improve this? Thicker oil? I don't really know.

[adidasguy]

Were you our of gas?
I've gone all day and never think of giving the bike a rest. They're air cooled. Made to run a long time. Once it reaches its temperature, it won't get any hotter. Driving the air keeps it cool like it should be.

[james311]

Had filled up just prior to the ~45 miles.

[slipperymongoose]

Were you our of gas?
I've gone all day and never think of giving the bike a rest. They're air cooled. Made to run a long time. Once it reaches its temperature, it won't get any hotter. Driving the air keeps it cool like it should be.

^ what he said unless you run it dry these things will run at just about any temp

[ohgood]

I take a trip to the cape(Massachusetts) every few weeks which is ~120 miles.  I normally split it down the middle and take about an hour break to give the bike a rest.  Yesterday riding in pretty cool weather (~65 and the cape so near water) and it sputtered and died out on the highway, only 45 miles in.  That's way below normal, the only reason I normally stop is because I think it needs a break not because it stalls or something.  I was averaging about 70MPH.

Bike Information

• 93 500E with ~10,000 miles
• Uses Mobile One 10-40
• Oil Changed regularly
• Stock replacement oil filter
• stock air filter

Is there a way to improve this? Thicker oil? I don't really know.

you have petcock / starvation issues, or a bad tank vent. check the overflow line for obstructions. the bike didn't overheat

[Dizzledan]

That's not overheating, that's fuel starvation from the petcocks. My '89 had it on the highway, all you do is flick it to the 'prime' position for a few minutes. Someone posted here that the carb drain hose being at a certain angle for certain speeds creates a positive pressure in the carb circuit, so the gas doesn't flow as fast as the engine vacuum is pulling it. I could be way off base here, but I know whenever I had the sputtering under throttle at highway speeds, I just flicked it to prime and all was well. You can get a vacuum-less petcock if it really becomes a problem.

[BockinBboy]

How you say that it sputtered and died out could tell you many different things if you were able elaborate a little more on that.  Did you notice any other sounds, vibrations, ... anything would help.  Just goin by how you said it already, it does sound like it 'ran out of gas', and obviously we know this isn't the case, but it suggests that the bike is fuel starved for some reason.  Could be problem/blockage in the petcock, could be your floats are set too low, among other causes...

A quick check on your spark plugs might lead you the right direction, and it certainly wouldn't hurt.

I would also check over your fuel lines as well to make sure you aren't losing gas before it gets to the carbs.  I can recall a tiny, tiny slit in my fuel line on one of my mopeds that was enough to make the moped act fuel starved and sputter out when the fuel was flowing more heavily at 'higher' speeds... it took me forever to figure it out because I had been all over that tiny carb, and it never crossed my mind that it lost fuel before the carbs... there wasn't any trace of gas because it would evaporate so quickly when goin down the road!

- Bboy

[jestercinti]

Pinched or defective vacuum line to carb.
Pinched or collapsing fuel line.
Improper fuel filter. If you have one, remove!  There is one on tank petcock screen
Look at tank petcock shutoff valve. Is it straight up and down?  That's the 'on' position
Plugged fuel vent. Try opening/closing tank and listen for a 'woosh' sound
Try running on prime. Does it go away?

Rare, but obstruction in tank or jets.

All else fails, out of gas.

[james311]

Sorry I never replied, work and school have been killer.


I recently replaced a few fuel lines because they were falling apart.  Yes it does have an auxiliary fuel filter (that was full of fuel when it died).  I haven't experienced the problem since but I really have gone more than ~20 miles without stopping.

[5thAve]

I agree with earlier posters. Fuel starvation at speeds above 70 mph is common on this bike. Either run in prime position, or replace the frame mounted petcock with one that is not vacuum operated. Also an option is to modify the petcockso it is no longer vacuum operated. I will try to find an old thread that talks about it.

Yes, here it is. Search for 'Jenya' and 'petcock' and you should find topics like this one:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=19363


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