fat lady's hot

[midnite rider]

Just bought a 98 with 16 thou on the odometer. went for a ride yesterday and my legs from the knees down were getting alot of engine heat. I s this normal ?? Love the bike but the heat is brutal.

[Tim H]

I don't really notice it as overly hot, but I wear jeans when the weather is hot and leather chaps when it's not.  Are you wearing shorts?

[midnite rider]

never, always jeans and boot

[valkyriemc]

Your gonna feel heat, particularly in the summer like at a traffic light. If you sit there long enough the temp will rise, and you could hear the cooling fan come on, and then may feel some additional heat from the engine. Just riding along feeling heat on my Interstate ? Not really.

To check your radiator temp you could borrow or buy an infrared laser thermometer from H/F for $29.00 bucks- on sale. Top of my radiator reads about 190 + or - degrees.   

[Bone]

Have you got the wind wings open ?  They really help while moving.

[donaldcc]

Have you got the wind wings open ?  They really help while moving.

 
I'm in the desert and hot as hell here in summer, but the Baker Air Wings do help quite a bit.  And in winter you can change the airflow and the heat is nice.

[R J]

Just bought a 98 with 16 thou on the odometer. went for a ride yesterday and my legs from the knees down were getting alot of engine heat. I s this normal ?? Love the bike but the heat is brutal.

midnite rider, does the engine in your car get hot, or throw off heat if ya open the hood?

If your Valk is hotter than that, then you got a problem.

Go to Baker Air Wings site and order a set of wings, if ya have a Std or Tourer, get the top wings also.

 

[BF]

You've got a car engine strapped between your legs.  It gets hot. 

If you don't have a set of Baker Air Wings, buy them.  They help ALOT in the summer by directing that hot air on past you.....and in the winter, they help ALOT by directing cold air past you instead of on you.  During the winter, that car engine heat from the Valk is an asset. 

The Bakers work great while moving, but at traffic lights, the engine heat combined with that hot asphalt radiating heat up on ya, yeah, the Valk gets toasty. 

btw......I don't seem to be able to tolerate the summer heat (especially when it gets in the upper 90's and stays there for three or four months like it seems to do every year) anymore, so my Valk stays parked for most of the summer months here in Florida.  However, when the humidity drops and the temps cool off (like now), the Valk gets ridden almost non-stop. 

[hubcapsc]

+1 on the air wings...

There's an engine heat indicator light on one of the dials... If it never comes on and
if your radiator fan comes on some when you're sitting in traffic on a hot day,
everything's probably normal...

-Mike

[RicCA]

Was looking online and see there is a new generation of their air wings, anyone know the difference and if they're still as good??
Ric

[BF]

The "new generation" air wings are the same design.......they look and work the same.  The difference is in the material.  The material that the older wings were made from could be sorta brittle......the new stuff is more hardy and won't break as easy. 

[Mildew]

 

[MrKris]

I have a set of Air Wings and I must have them set wrong. I don't notice much relief from the engine heat. Turning the top ones out puts more air on my body though.

[Hoser]

Do the same for the bottom ones, will hopefully take the engine heat past you.  Nothing helps stopped or real slow riding.  Hoser

[tonyfan70]

I guessing you don't have much hair left on you inside calves.

[Mildew]

That's funny you said that. This pic was an accidental pic taken while I was trying to take one of my friends. I thought I'd save it. I ride with shorts and flip flops all the time. (Probably 70k miles) This pic was taken on hwy 1 somewhere between key largo and key West. We went helmtless from Jacksonville to key West and back across hwy 41 up 75. Drank a few beers and a couple waters. I got severely dehydrated and burnt. Got hooked up to an EKG machine and they shaved the hairs from my inside calves but no. There's little motor heat felt riding that way and no loss of hair.

[john]

 ???                                     

[Fuzzy (Louisiana)]

Like most said, you will have heat from these bikes.  In the summertime, you stop, it is hot.  When the fan kicks on, it sends more heat to your legs.  Get some Baker Air Wings, adjust them as to bring in some moving hot air to your legs.  Nothing cools you when just sitting at a light or stop sign.

Fuzzy