It Burns!!!

[Moofner]

Okay, let me start this with a simple admission. I'm spoiled. There I said it. Spoiled motorcycle rotten. The new 1800 Valkyrie spoiled the moment with the 1500 with its sophistication and clever engineering. I rode the 1500 into work yesterday and holy crap the HEAT from that motor!

I know this is Florida, and I know that its already swamp crotch soupy hot, but damn does that motor not help! I love the look of the 2003, I kinda like that Cobra 6 into 6 rumble, but I do not like my legs cooking to a sizzling medium well charred thigh calf husk! I could feel the heat billowing off her even at 70 MPH! Sitting at a stop light was the equivalent of being hugged by weak dwarfs who were on fire.

The 1800 moves all that heat away. I don't know what form of necromancy is involved but the leg areas stay cool and un-medium well (rare and juicy!) like they are supposed to.
You folks are made of tougher leg asbestos filled stuff! I knew the first time I rode an old style Valk that I would have to work a bit harder for it. The experience was wonderful and I was reminded of what its like to ride a proper motorcycle that is part cranky and part sophisticated again. The 1800 Valkyrie is full on sophisticated and removes the effort needed, and I guess I got used to it.

I came off of sport touring bikes and a V-Rod before making to this point. They all had heat issues in their own way, but my beautiful 2003 is the hottest of them all. I know I need to suck it up and develop fire resistant legs, but I needed to take this moment and vent. Once again I'm reminded of this simple fact....

We are all crazy for the phat (HOT) lady.

[John Schmidt]

If you don't have Baker Air Wings on it, get some. Turn them out in Summer to catch the wind and close in Winter to block it. Almost sounds like excess heat coming off your engine, makes me wonder if someone had pulled the carbs and felt they had to remove the plastic air dam behind the radiator/fan to get them out, then never put it back in. That will blow much more air out across the motor and guess where the extra flow of hot air will exit!

[Moofner]

If you don't have Baker Air Wings on it, get some. Turn them out in Summer to catch the wind and close in Winter to block it. Almost sounds like excess heat coming off your engine, makes me wonder if someone had pulled the carbs and felt they had to remove the plastic air dam behind the radiator/fan to get them out, then never put it back in. That will blow much more air out across the motor and guess where the extra flow of hot air will exit!

I haven't pulled the tank off one of these yet. Do I need look through the sides and see a lot of open space to tell if the air dam you speak of is installed? Is the air dam needed for proper operation of the motor?

[John Schmidt]

No, you don't need to pull the tank to inspect. It sits vertically over the front of the motor behind the fan, made of black plastic. Once removed it can be a real PITA to replace and many don't want the job so leave it out. It's #5 in the link below.

http://www.servicehonda.com/parts/lookup#/Honda/GL1500CTA_(98)_MOTORCYCLE%2c_USA%2c_VIN%23_1HFSC343-WA100001/RADIATOR/GL1500CT-98-A/2Y14MZ0VE1AMZ04F3200A

[Flrider]

It is great to hear about the comparison of 2 great bikes, specially coming from someone that owns both bikes.
Some say that the Interstates are hotter than the Standard/Tourer, don't know if I have gotten used to the heat but I do not feel it to be that bad except when at a stand still for long time.

Good thing about you having both bikes is that you can always jump on the one and save the other for cooler temps.

BTW great way of adding your imagination to the story telling 

[larue]

Make sure your fan is working properly , they re hot at times but no where near your description at least from my own experience

[_Sheffjs_]

Some say that the Interstates are hotter than the Standard/Tourer,

WOW! I always felt the opposite, I would switch with John Paul and freak at the heat coming off. I wonder now if it was just the bike and some run hotter.   

[Flrider]

Some say that the Interstates are hotter than the Standard/Tourer,

WOW! I always felt the opposite, I would switch with John Paul and freak at the heat coming off. I wonder now if it was just the bike and some run hotter.   

That is just according to some opinions from the general board.

I will be able to tell now that I have the red bike and make my own assumptions

[Moofner]

Well I'm taking the 1800 in today but I'll give the 1500 another run on the weekend to feel it again. I'll also check and see if that plastic air dam is there. I'm also going to take the windshield off so more air flows over the top of the bike (and me). That might help with a bit more air flow and felt the perceived heat.

Imagine if they get this warm what temperatures would come off a blower engine? My legs would look like burnt turkey legs on an overcooked Thanksgiving dinner!

[sixlow]

Suck it up Drumstick !!    LOL     (He knows me it's cool) 

Actually Moof, my Touer was way hot when i first got it, my water pump eventually failed due to the wrong kind of coolant, i replaced the stock temp thermostat as well and with Honda Blue coolant (5yr) she cooled way down. I take my Bakers off this time of year.
My I/S is way cooler to run than my Tourer !! 
                                     

[Thunderbolt]

I say this with tongue in cheek so don't get your knickers all wadded up but if you would wear long pants instead of those shorts and flip flops it would help.    Disclaimer.....we have never met so I don't claim to "know you" like Mike. 

[Bronxboy]

What a bunch of pussies 

[Moofner]

I say this with tongue in cheek so don't get your knickers all wadded up but if you would wear long pants instead of those shorts and flip flops it would help.    Disclaimer.....we have never met so I don't claim to "know you" like Mike. 

I'm a full gear only kind of guy and wear Kevlar riding jeans as well. If I had shorts I'd lose 50 lbs as my legs would have burnt off!

That being said, my panties to get a bit ruffled when I get hot. I think the particular man-sized frillies (black with hearts of course) I was wearing at the time are in one huge bunch right now!

[Solorider]

LOL...LOL ..LOL  You all crack me up.....my Harley's ...this time of year make me run red lights or you or your engines cook !.....

The Valkyrie is cooler then them!!!!

Its just Hot all over !!!!! Anywhere you go ..THIS TIME OF YEAR IN THE DEEP SOUTH  98-100 d. g. 100% humidity 

just my two cents

Solorider

[Tropic traveler]

What a bunch of pussies  

I was thinking similar thoughts.... My Valks were hotter than the F6B but not that bad, but I've been called a bit strange about my riding habits! 

Careful Moof, pointing out the improvements of the new 1800's might get you in trouble here, after all this is a Valkyrie board!  

[John Schmidt]

LOL...LOL ..LOL  You all crack me up.....my Harley's ...this time of year make me run red lights or you or your engines cook !.....

The Valkyrie is cooler then them!!!!

Its just Hot all over !!!!! Anywhere you go ..THIS TIME OF YEAR IN THE DEEP SOUTH  98-100 d. g. 100% humidity 

just my two cents

Solorider

Yup, exactly what it was here in Winter Park/Orlando today. I was out in the car running some errands and the temp on the dash monitor ranged from 97-99. Even in the a/c my shirt soaked through. I saw at least 3 bank bldgs. with time/temp outside and they all read the same as my car. With thunderstorms every afternoon the humidity stays high to go along with the temps, today the heat index was 110 in most places around here. I'm moving to Calgary for the rest of the summer.  

[Moofner]

What a bunch of pussies  

I was thinking similar thoughts.... My Valks were hotter than the F6B but not that bad, but I've been called a bit strange about my riding habits! 

Careful Moof, pointing out the improvements of the new 1800's might get you in trouble here, after all this is a Valkyrie board!  

I'm no stranger to old fuddy duddies! It is a Valkyrie forum, and I love the machismo that comes with it! I've got time, I'll tinker with the 2003, change all of its fluids, and see what I can do to make this phat lady love me, hotness and all! She may be "Ricky's Bike", but someone still has to love her!

[Pappy!]

Glad someone else mentioned it first. Compared to a V-Twin the lay-out of the Valk engine is a masterpiece for keeping the boys and your knees from a fricassee treatment. On a Hogley Furgeson  the cylinder heads and exhausts are both at knee or above level....and air cooled.
Am with John in that the air dam may be gone or an issue with the cooling system is happening. Or....you need cooler knickers with less frills and hearts.

[Moofner]

Glad someone else mentioned it first. Compared to a V-Twin the lay-out of the Valk engine is a masterpiece for keeping the boys and your knees from a fricassee treatment. On a Hogley Furgeson  the cylinder heads and exhausts are both at knee or above level....and air cooled.
Am with John in that the air dam may be gone or an issue with the cooling system is happening. Or....you need cooler knickers with less frills and hearts.

But without my sexy boy panties the girlies won't love me anymore! Actually the girlies better not love me, my wife would kill us all!

I'm going to check out the air dam tomorrow and also check the condition of the coolant. I've trolled the 1500 tech thread enough to know that this motor will take a neglect kicking and keep on ticking until uber failure. I don't want uber failure!

[TallRider]

The new Valk does have it's advantages on the heat deflection. Appears  to be in the aerodynamics of the bike. I  occasionally  ride with shorts on. To the store on quick trips. Do were jeans and long sleeves long trips. There is a lot of heat coming out of the pods but with your legs tucked in air goes past. Cannot feel hot air with jeans but if you put your hand down by your leg just outside the cover of the pod can feel very hot air streaming past. Don't  know if passenger would get any of the heat? Bike is a pleasure to ride.

[Galex]

I rode out to the Flying J (I-75 exit 285) to meet up with Mike (OnaWingandaPrayer) yesterday at high noon and very sunny.  I took my wife.  I wore cargo short and a t-shirt and we cruised at 70mph.  It was bearable but quite hot, like holding a hairdryer 6 inches away set on high.  Wife said she was comfortable and didn't feel the heat like I did.  I noticed when behind a truck it got hotter so i'd move.  I also notice that a cross breeze cooled us off.  i don't have Baker's (yet).  when we got to the exit and stopped at the light, the heat became more like a slow bake.  At about 40mph if was much cooler.  We had lunch and then on the ride back, about 1:30p, it got cloudy and blocked the sun.  Still hairdryer-like heat but set to low.  Close to home we got caught in a light sprinkle and it was like AHHHH.  Last 3 miles was 35mph back road, tree covered twisties and the most of the heat greatly disappeared.  All in all, of all the several bikes I've had, all naked, this one is the hottest but I rode a couple HD that to me were even hotter.  Hey, I can't wait till Winter, then we will complain about it not being hot enuf! LOL

[John Schmidt]

(snip).......Hey, I can't wait till Winter, then we will complain about it not being hot enuf! LOL

Alex, we only have one member in Fla. that complains it's not hot enough, and he complains about it when the temps go below 85. We'll have a lunch ride and his wife will ride in with jeans and a T-shirt, while he's pulling off a coat and long sleeve shirt.....but leaves on his long johns underneath. That's with a 78 deg. temp. That boy just ain't right no how! 

[Jess from VA]

The truth is, wearing shorts is hotter than than long pants (pants that will not just allow heat right through them).

I have found loose fitting jeans are best because the engine heat does not just blow through them, and up on the Hwy pegs, they fill with air like sausages with fresh air out front, which also serves to keep engine heat out.  A jeans hem (bottom) is heavy enough to stay open in the wind.  I've worn some lighter cotton pants and the hem just blows and stays shut, plus the engine heat just goes right through them (same thing with mesh pants, which will also not stay open at the bottom when on the Hwy pegs).   

[Valkahuna]

Wow. After 54 years of riding about anything with 2 wheels, I've found the Phat Gurl to be one of the cooler rides. I agree with what has been said about H-D and the heat they generate. Especially when the motor has been tweaked, they get so cursed hot that I've had blisters on my inner thighs during one Rolling Thunder trip to DC.
 
Moofner, I've not met you, so I'll not call you a pussy, (do my thoughts count?  ) but I tend to agree with John that there is most likely a problem with your 2003. The way the Valkyrie (the "original" one) is made, the sheet that John talks about stops the hot air from coming straight back through the radiator, passing over the already hot motor and then directly onto the rider. With the sheet in place, the air is forced sideways, exiting through the pods, and away from the rider. As a matter of fact, I consider my Valk my hot weather bike, and the reason I originally brought it down here, and left the HD up North. I have an Oil temp Thermometer, and even on real scorchers, the oil temp usually stay around 225-240. Not bad. The H-D would get so hot, that it started pinging at Idle, and it would eventually shut itself off. I'd check out a couple of thingsto see if you can improve it to your liking.

[Solorider]

moofner..

I can remember takin one of my Fatboys and the wife to a cool artisan spring river resort north of Pensacola Fla in August..... GREAT PLACE....cabins in the pines /zip lines etc.  water was 65 degrees at best (((COOL)))  nice resort ...on the way back to New Orleans it got hot... I mean down right Hot !!!!  110 no wind 100% humility !!!! then we past a new screaming eagle fatboy on the side of the road.... I stopped thinking they had a problem !!!  I saw a heavy guy and his wife against the treeline trying to get in the shade !!!! of 8" willow type trees !!! I asked if they had a problem but then saw the women smack the guy with her shoe !!!!!  She was yelling at him to call a cab !!!!!....   

Wonder how long before she made him sell that bike !!!!

I quietly moved along ...if a Harley can be quite !!!!!

I always here people just love my bikes but wonder how long they would put up with mother nature ?


My theory about burning is " As long as it doesn't burn when I pee ...I'm Good... " 


Solorider out

[Grumpy]

That is funny, Murphy and I ran into the same thing coming back from Daytona. We stopped at the rest area this side of Disney and a woman was yelling at the guy, they were on a harley.  Found out they were headed to Ft Meyers, and she was saying if he did not call here a cab to get home she was going to divorce him. We left before the out come, but sure was funny.

[Moofner]

Well I washed and polished both bikes today. I paid extra attention to the 2003 and the air dam is installed. I'm going for a ride early tomorrow before the heat ramps up to give it another shot.

I'll put boy underoos on toughen up for the ride.

[Tropic traveler]

Moof, the Cobra 6x6 pipes which are single wall tend to throw off heat while the stockers that are double walled keep the heat in the pipe away from the rider. I noticed that difference when we had 3 Valks. Kim's Cobra equipped bike was hotter than either of mine which still had OEM headpipes. All the heat is not coming from the pipes but it is a factor at a stop or low speeds.

What makes the 1800 GL series ride cooler is the dual side exit radiators. More efficient but not as aesthetically pleasing as the radiator out front. 

[Moofner]

Alrighty, here is my final verdict. I'm part wuss and part right. I went for a good 50 mile ride in the early parts of the morning and the heat was low. As the day's heat started ramping up, the heat from the bike seemed to ramp up exponentially. That could also mean that I was just getting hotter as the sweat and ick humidity rose.

Taking the face shield off of my 3/4 helmet made a huge difference as well. I'm pretty sure that I was blocking myself off from what breeze I get behind the switchblade windshield installed on the bike.

The bike does get hot, but not as bad as it was when I was riding in 98 F lots of humidity temps. Time to put my knickers away and get my boy pants on full time. I can get the sexy frillies back on in the winter.

[Jess from VA]

Re: It Burns!!!

Penicillin.      I'm just sayin'.   

[Robert]

I am right there with you Moofner, but in all fairness when the 1500 was my only choice although it was hot the ride was what was important. I was surprised by the temp drop on the 1800.

 Going down to the Keys and Miami when it was humid, 95 and sunny was a killer when you got back. After 6 or more hours in the saddle it usually took a bit to fully recover after doing that run on the 1500, but the 1800 is way different. This weekend was one of the hottest on record and all the way to the lake then to the Everglades I was thankful to have my 1800. I rode Saturday and Sunday and may not have been able to on the 1500 because of the heat. I think if it stays like this I may get the small shields that go in the top of the pod crease since this was the only spot I felt heat coming from. They have a vent next to the gas tank at the top of the radiator pod that actually blows cool air on your legs.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2014-HONDA-VALKYRIE-SIDE-WIND-DEFLECTORS-08F72-MJR-670-/331900488279?hash=item4d46cf8a57

My 1500 has a cooler thermostat, rad fan is ok, water wetter and Baker Air wings and its still not as cool as the 1800. How could it be when the engine has to stay cool and it blows right on you which is totally different than the 1800 that the air goes around you. The Bakers make it better along with the fork shields but it is only diluting the hot air not eliminating it. Even the exhaust is shielded from rising heat at a light inside the cowling.



That blue stream in the pic is the cooler air that cools your legs that comes from the front of the bike. When I came home 2 weekends ago after ridiing to Miami then the Keys with traffic I was not dead. Most of the problem is lack of water, since if you are sweating profusely you cannot take in enough to compensate.

NO wusses here, just a few guys that have gotten used to the new Valk and some advantages it has. I still have my 1500 but I dont use it much will take it out on a run clean it up and probably sell it. Still a great bike and so much better than 90 percent of what is out there. Plus its still a blast to ride and the look is awesome. I know some are going to not like this comment, but its like the collectable Ferrari that sits and you look at and admire but does not see to much road time as you take out your new Ferrari and drive up the coast. The new will never have that look feel of the older but the newer one is just so much easier to drive and has quite a few upgrades. Its so nice when the ac actually works and the pedals are smooth and the suspension does what its supposed to and when you sit in the seat and turn the key you dont even think about it as you drive along. It just does what you tell it to do and moves without thought.

[Grumpy]

No heat problem with mine, lower temp thermostat 180 degree, interstate fork deflectors, wider than what comes on the standard and tourer. Only time I feel heat is sitting for an extended time in traffic. Running, legs stay cool. Oh I do wear Kevlar reinforced jeans and full gear.

[_Sheffjs_]

No doubt the 1800 is sweet, but what is interesting for me was getting out of the 1500 and only having the 1800 for a while and then being able to get back to the 1500. I enjoy the 1500 immensely every time I take her out and still shake my head at how amazing this 1998 motorcycle is. I had a space in life and the during the years of the Valkyrie 1500 production where I was into either my GTO or Dirt bikes and did not have a street bike. To those who had a brand new Valkyrie in the late 90s you must have been blown away when you rode it! A timeless classic. I will keep mine!  Heck, I hope to have one more 1500!    

[Robert]

No doubt the 1800 is sweet, but what is interesting for me was getting out of the 1500 and only having the 1800 for a while and then being able to get back to the 1500. I enjoy the 1500 immensely every time I take her out and still shake my head at how amazing this 1998 motorcycle is. I had a space in life and the during the years of the Valkyrie 1500 production where I was into either my GTO or Dirt bikes and did not have a street bike. To those who had a brand new Valkyrie in the late 90s you must have been blown away when you rode it! A timeless classic. I will keep mine!  Heck, I hope to have one more 1500!    

Some I guess that its different strokes for different folks. Some may like the 1500 more than the 1800 but its nice to have 2 flavors to choose from.

[Danny McMillin]

Sell that 03 antique to me! It's way too hot fur Florida, and you will find yourself riding it less and less!!

[Moofner]

Sell that 03 antique to me! It's way too hot fur Florida, and you will find yourself riding it less and less!!

It don't burn that bad! I've got side car plans for this ride, and I'm honor bound to keep it for a deceased friend and his family. I can deal with the burn.

[BF]

Sell that 03 antique to me! It's way too hot fur Florida, and you will find yourself riding it less and less!!

It don't burn that bad! I've got side car plans for this ride, and I'm honor bound to keep it for a deceased friend and his family. I can deal with the burn.

Have you thought about triking it instead of putting a sidecar on it?  Or is that a family bound thing too?

[Pappy!]

Sell that 03 antique to me! It's way too hot fur Florida, and you will find yourself riding it less and less!!

UH huh.....Yeah.....We never ride our Valkyries down here in Florida. 

[Danny McMillin]

  Just tryin' to beat him outa that Valk, Pappy!!! 

[Pappy!]

Gotta' admit..... a worthwhile attempt.