Hey guys
I can't find answers to this question that I have...GS500F having an only air-cooled engine, should there be any concerns or special treatment in hot weather?
I notice especially bikes heat up like crazy in stop-go traffic, is this safe for the engine? Would I experience an engine seizure?   

If engine seizes, what are the consequences?

Thanks

Hey,

   I noticed from the other thread you're getting/got a 2007 , I got the same year.  I'm pretty noob and don't claim to know anything about the engine, but from my summer riding (incl stop and go traffic)  the engine was fine, no problems.  From reading the forums, as far as I can tell these engines are like 20 years old in design but super reliable.  When riding my friend's 09 250 ninja had a "overheating warning" light come on but I'm pretty sure we dont even have that feature..heh

I rode mine all summer, mostly in stop and go traffic with no problems.  I think that as long as the oil level is maintained you should be ok.  If traffic is really heavay and it doesn't look like you'll be moving more than a few feet anytime soon, you can always turn the bike off for a few minutes.  Saves gas and allows it to cool down a little.

I rode my bike all summer in southern California and had no problems. These bikes do burn oil, and will burn more when it is really hot out, so keep an eye on your oil level and you should be fine. Seizing your engine is not good, but I did once meet a guy who drove an air cooled Mini Cooper. One hot day he overheated to the point of seizing the engine a few times. Each time he just let it cool down then kept going and he was still riding around with the same engine a couple of years later without ever having to rebuild...

tampa is hot, not death valley hot, but it's hot. and traffic is, well, standstill. i used mine there for a while, and the heat did thin the oil, but i never suffered a seizure from a it.

check your oil, check it often, and ride on.

No special precautions other than try to stay moving whenever possible.

In short, you won't have any problems due to the heat.  But sitting in traffic for long stretches should be avoided.  I usually lane split, which is one of the pleasures of 2-wheeled transportation.   

Awesome, just got the bike...so excited, huge upgrade from my CBR125, loving the power and acceleration!

CBR125?

Lucky bastard!   

Quote from: GeeP on November 10, 2008, 07:28:04 PM
No special precautions other than try to stay moving whenever possible.

In short, you won't have any problems due to the heat.  But sitting in traffic for long stretches should be avoided.  I usually lane split, which is one of the pleasures of 2-wheeled transportation.   

Yeah, that's why lane splitting is still legal in some places. Old air cooled bikes used to overheat all the time so had to lane split in order to keep the bikes from seizing up...

I'd recommend using a good quality SYNTHETIC engine oil as they can tolerate higher heats better

Quote from: galahs on November 11, 2008, 01:45:28 AM
I'd recommend using a good quality SYNTHETIC engine oil as they can tolerate higher heats better

+1, i always used synthetic and never had a problem.  However i do live in the mountains so there isn't much stop and go traffic on the routes i choose 

Ok the bike is at 11800 KM currently, by what amount KM can I use fully synthetic? The owner I bought it off said it's not even necassary to use full synthetic. But it is a 500cc powerful bike so I do think it deserves it....currently on semi-synthetic

i'm not sure what the conversion is from km to miles, but the guy in the service department at my local dealer advised me not to go full synthetic until after 2500 miles.  i'm at 2800 and just switched over to amsoil.

as soon as i bought my 05 i put amsoil 20w-50 synthetic motorcycle oil in it with new oil filter that was at 6200 miles on my bike

07 is oil cooled BTW ...
You can always rig up a oil cooler the size of a barn door ... so it will actually work like an ... oil cooler ...
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: joshr08 on November 11, 2008, 10:32:11 AM
as soon as i bought my 05 i put amsoil 20w-50 synthetic motorcycle oil in it with new oil filter that was at 6200 miles on my bike

isn't 20-50 a little heavy for that motor?

I rode my GS500 all summer in Phoenix. Think 1000 hair dryers on high pointed at your face The bike had no problems. It will live long after you pass out...

according to the manual its ok as long as i dont ride in under 14 degree weather and i let it warm up a bit longer before riding if its even a bit nippy out.

I use the 15W-40 Delvac or Rotella T heavy duty oils now.

I put 15W-50 Mobil 1 synthetic in my 97 GS for about 45k miles after breaking it in on 10W-40 dino for 5k miles and when oil consumption increased I switched to the 15W-40 Delvac for another 30k miles.  I have used the same 15W-40 Delvac or the Rotella T in my 02 GS since I got it and now have 66k miles on it.  Engine wear due to miles seems to have progressed about the same on both bikes regardless of oil type.

My 97 GS progressed from regular to mid grade to premium gasoline to prevent gas knock in hot weather as the miles and carbon built up same as the 4 Hondas I used 20W-50 in summers did previous to the GSs.

When I switched from the 15W-50 to the 15W-40 in the 97 I went back to regular gas year round without gas knock and have used regular gas all the 66k miles on the 02 also w/o knock.

The GSs run cooler on a xxW-40 oil than on a xxW-50 oil and your doing it no favor using the heavier oil in hot weather unless oil consumption is real bad.  Besides lubricating the engine the oil also provides cooling by carrying heat away from the head to the sump.  This cooling flow is reduced with the heavier oils.

Toronto? Does it even get hot up there? I rode mine in stop and go, mostly stop, Las Vegas midsummer heat, 125 degrees in the shade, probably more like 135 in the streets. I was using synthetic Rotella T 5w-40 and though shifting got a little stiffer the bike handled it no problem.