WHAT IS THE NORMAL........

[2KVALKRIDER]

Just wondering what the normal operating temp is on the Valkyrie. I recently changed my coolant (2000 I/S , 17,000 miles )  and on a few of the day trips we took, I ve noticed my fan is coming on more often now. Also a few weeks back someone posted  the exact same problem, ( overheating AFTER change coolant) I'm having so I replaced the rad cap instead of bending the tabs. The reason I replaced, was two buddies said that I would get metal shavings in the tank if I just bend the tabs. I went Harbor Freight today and bought a laser thermometer and rode the beast for about ten miles and came home checked the engine and it read 141.8 degrees. Is this a normal temp??????? I do notice more heat coming up from the engine then before the change. My brother's 99 standard does just fine, his fan never comes on unless its 95 degree day. We changed the coolants at the same time in his garage. The temp light has never come on.  Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bone]

Found this doing a search in the archives.

The fan control should operate at about 200' and 212'. The temp light is driven from the thermo switch it is supposed to operate at about 227' and 238'. If your fan control is operating OK the light should not be on unless the thermo switch is operating at a temp that is under the fan control. I would replace the thermo switch. Hope this helps.

[98valk]

did u burp the cooling system after the refill as stated in the technical manual? the procedure has been posted before.

[Ricky-D]

Operating at around 142 degrees sounds cold to me.

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[Rocketman]

Where did you check it?  Different external surfaces will be at different temperatures.  Some are in the wind more, giving more cooling; and some are close to the combustion and combustion products, giving more heating.  Also, ten minutes might not be enough to get up to full temp.
My oil thermometer runs between 190 and 210, dependant upon conditions.  It's the thermometer that replaces the dipstick, so it's reading oil temps, in the oil reservoir.

[2KVALKRIDER]

Yes I did "burp" it twice and also checked the reserve tank and found it to be a little low and did add ( added maybe 1oz of coolant) from the reserve tank. Also checked the hoses from the reserve tank thinking maybe I had one or both pinched, but found all o.k.  To answer "Rocketmans" questions on the laser thermometer I checked several areas of the engine and the temp read was 131.2 to 141 where I pointed at the top of the engine. Also checked the rad cap itself and it read 137.7. This morning was planning a trip into the rocky mountains but was a very cold morning and deverted to a differrent location. When I returned home checked several areas and the hottest point was only 121.6 after a 40 mile ride. Outside temp was holding at about 50 degrees this morning. The temp light has not come today, as well as the fan.........

[Robert]

Im assuming by laser thermometer you mean a ir thermometer and I dont really know what you mean by the reading at the radiator cap. Do you have a radiator cap with a thermometer in it or you just pointed the gun at the cap. Ir temp is not going to be that accurate especially if you point it at the shiny metal on the engine or on the silver painted surface. If you can point it at the top of the thermostat housing  that would be a bit better. The only accurate way is with a thermometer and that will only work with the engine at idle for awhile. To get a little more accurate temp reading I would let the thing idle for a minute maybe two after you come back from a ride not longer than 2 minutes take the readings at the upper radiator hose connection on the radiator its black and see what it reads. Idling for a minute or two will allow the thermostat to open enough to let hot coolant into the radiator and in turn heat up the upper radiator hose connection, without the cool air passing over the metal parts to cool them down. If after you do this and the temp is still low then look to changing the thermostat. As a example your skin temp jogging in cool weather will not be a accurate gauge of body temp.

[2KVALKRIDER]

Thanks Robert I'll take your advice and try all above. Just to be on the safe side I will change the thermostat this weekend..... update to come.......

[Garland]

My water temp is 175 degrees at highway speed according to my Motosens gauge, fan kicks on at about 200 if stopped. My oil temp dipstick normally reads a little under 200 all the time. The only time my water temperature stayed in your range was when riding in the 30's and 40's at slower speeds.

[Rocketman]

Im assuming by laser thermometer you mean a ir thermometer and I dont really know what you mean by the reading at the radiator cap. Do you have a radiator cap with a thermometer in it or you just pointed the gun at the cap. Ir temp is not going to be that accurate especially if you point it at the shiny metal on the engine or on the silver painted surface. If you can point it at the top of the thermostat housing  that would be a bit better. The only accurate way is with a thermometer and that will only work with the engine at idle for awhile.

I've never truly trusted those non-contact IR thermometers.  They're assuming some emissivity (this value changes from material to material).  If that assumption is wrong, then your temperature can be wildly off.  I have not seen a good explanation for how they "assume" in the first place (I can come up with some ways, but they'd be too expensive to implement in the consumer-level units we're talking about), so I don't trust them.

[Robert]

What I have found is they are not really accurate and to get them close you have to be aware of what you are pointing them at. Best is black or darker colors plastic is not usually that good and its best to shoot a few spots. Flat black metal is about the best but if air has been on that part then depending what the whole piece is you may or may not get a accurate reading. They will normally show cooler not 40 degrees cooler usually but without wind and coolant circulation that is good you can usually get a good reading. I use them to verify temp if I think somethings running hot just to get a idea but if I had to do any diagnosing then a regular thermometer comes out.

[rdunbar123]

robert is right. we use the IR gun in theplant I work at and when you point at a heat source where you know the temperature( steam pipe of known temp) you get different readings that could be 40 to 50 degrees off. Flanges are cooler for instance at the edge. The instrument is calibrated to i  thingk an emmissivity of .95. the darker and flatter(not shiny) the material the closer it reads. Asphalt has and emmisivity of .93 where aluminium foil has one of .04. so measuring off of Chrome will give a very inaccurate reading. I would look for a dark interior place and take the highest reading you see because it in all likelyhood will still be lower than real because you will still be measuring an external surface which will always be cooler than the interior. Just a law of nature like "lions bite". hope this helps.