engine heat

[izzyh1957]

I purchased a 1985 aspencade last november, since then I noticed the extreme heat that comes out of the engine, I owned many bikes but never one that had a high heat out put like this one. I was told that normally the temp gauge will read around 75% hot , still the heat radiated by the engine it's beyond normal. I check to see if the thermostat needed to be replaced only to find out there was no thermostat at all. I went to my honda dealer, who charged me $40.55 for a thermostat, ,19300-MG9-000, when I tried to install it , it did not fit the housing. My question then, is this a different theremostat from the one I need, what is the correct part number?, is the high heat radiated by the engine normal?. I want to go back to my honda dealer with the correct information and solve this problem. Any help or info will be appreciated.

[izzyh1957]

thanks for you support, I am going back to my dealer to solve the problem. I've seen other post about the engine heat and I think I will try the wind deflectors. however, the size of the housing and the thermostat still makes me wonder what's wrong.

[ebanjo]

I noticed the engine heat on my bike as well. I have the vetter faring with the lowers. I ended up installing two of the vetter windshield vents into the lowers and that helped alot in the warm weather, and I can close them in the winter.

[colemadad]

Hi Izzy - I can't say that the heat has been much of an issue to me. I'm in a cooler climate maybe and haven't ridden in any really hot weather yet. As far as a replacement thermostat, I couldn't find an after market for the 1200 but if you can find if it's the same for the 1100 and the 1200 these are directly replacements: Stant 13868 or Napa 101. I've used the Stant in my 1100; I paid $8.00 CDN. Hope that helps.

[WingAdmin]

The heat produced by these big engines is pretty impressive. Added to that, the output from the radiator is right on either side of the driver - in summer it can get pretty warm.

That said, the bike should most definitely not be showing 75% deflection on the temperature gauge all the time. Mine sits right at the notch on the left side, unless it's hot out and I'm sitting in traffic. I don't think I've ever seen 75% on it, though.

[thrasherg]

If you feel that the engine is running too hot, adding a theromostat is NOT going to reduce the temperature.. With no thermostat your engine should be running cold most of the time!! If the temperature gauge is getting to 75% of the range, then you either have a bad sensor (not impossible) or a blocked radiator (quite likely on a vehicle of this age). It might be worth removing the radiators and taking them somewhere to be professionally cleaned out, the small passages inside the radiator get blocked up with corropsion, etc and a good boiling in acid can make a huge difference to their efficency.

Gary

[WingAdmin]

85 Goldwing has one radiator. But all good points.

[izzyh1957]

I deiced to give the radiator a good flush,( followed the steps on the how to section ), I'm going to drive it around for a couple of days see if that helps any, guess if that test shows improvement, I'll have the radiator clean by a pro , as suggested. thanks for your comments and ideas.

[24.4ZOOM]

Man oh man can I relate to this one. Riding in steamy South Carolina,in conditions quite similar to yours, I notice the same thing.An exception, however is the Aspencade, with the digital dash uses bars to show temp indication. I bought the bike last October, and all winter, never got above 3 bars. Not so now! Fortunately, my fan kicks in at the high side of 4 bars so all is well. One day recently, after completing some maintenance, I took a short jaunt around the neighborhood to see that all was well with my work. I was in my "garage shorts" not my normal full gear, and had to check and see if I had any hair left on my lower legs when I got back home. I call it my model 74 space heater. To get back to the thread,do flush the cooling system,radiator removal isn't that difficult to do a really good job. Oh by the way, how are the hoses? Now is the time to know.
Warmly, Patrick

[WingAdmin]

What I'd like to do is to figure out some way to duct the heat from the fish gills on the fairing lowers and send it directly to the rear passenger. That way it doesn't heat me up when I'm already hot, and it keeps my wife warm (who always complains she's freezing in the wind).

[rrmiller73]

I'd sure be interested in that rear passenger heater! My 1200 here in Nashville, TN has been running at the notch heat wise till this month (June, Mid 90s OAT) and it runs one bar over the notch while moving at speed. (Stant thermostat) In stop and go traffic it will go up 2or 3 over notch, fan comes on and goes back to 2 over the notch. I have the gills off mine and it gets pretty warm on your legs. The engines have to make heat to make power and the heat has to go somewhere. Most bikes will be pretty hot in slow traffic this time of year.

[raycw]

This is how it was explained at Honda Tech some years back...
the thermodynamics of engine coolant rely on the coolant attracting heat from the metal engine and transfering it to the coolant. The speed the coolant moves past the metal is important since if it moves too fast the coolant doesn't actually cool the engine. The presence of a thermostat reduces the speed the coolant flows and allows the coolant to do it's job... cool the engine. By removing the thermostat the coolant moves too fast over the metal engine and doesn't cool as effectively.

You probably already tried but there is an 'up' to the thermostat and it will not fit if installed incorrectly... that being up side down.
That IS the correct part number for the 85 1200.

[Jeeper]

Like Raycw mentioned, not running a thermostat keeps the coolant cool, not necessarily the engine. Engines are designed to run at a certain temperature range. The thermostat will let the engine warm up to that range, then work to keep it there. Not only does it give the coolant time to absorb heat from the engine, it also allows it to loose that heat at the radiator. Then it will open up and cycle the coolant to start the process over again. I wouldn't run without a thermostat for very long.

[WA9FWT]

What I'd like to do is to figure out some way to duct the heat from the fish gills on the fairing lowers and send it directly to the rear passenger. That way it doesn't heat me up when I'm already hot, and it keeps my wife warm (who always complains she's freezing in the wind).

When you get that figured out let me know. I have been looking at that for some time now.When it's cold out, I'm as warm as can be,but the wife says she gets the cold air all the time. I even have rode with my legs way out stretched so she gets that warm air, but that hasn't worked either. So far the only other thing we can do is stop every mile and we exchange lower pants ha ha
WA9FWT Phil

[raycw]

One word....
G E R B I N G

[WA9FWT]

One word....
G E R B I N G

No No, the heat is already there! Just have to get it into the right place, preferably the passenger seat behind me.Wings installed have already worked great for the driver, and some what for the passanger.But still need more heat for the little woman. We drive along at times along our big lake Michigan, and fog and a lot colder then inland a few miles cool us down.
WA9FWT Phil

[raycw]

How about buying her some heated pants with an adjustable thermostat?? Works good for my wife... she complains that her hands get cold so I bought her some heated gloves. I've got the wing-wings and can adjust the cool air off her legs but her hands get cold so... got the gloves.

[WingAdmin]

Heated clothing is unfortunately out of the question for us 1100 and 1200 owners...we simply don't have the electrical capacity to spare to run the stuff!

I just need a couple big ducts to move the heat from the lowers to the rear passenger, without it looking like a couple huge ducts hung on the side of the bike!

[izzyh1957]

After driving around Baton Rouge for a few days, the temp issu seems to be improving, I flushed the radiator and it feels a lot more comfortable to ride. I am going to have the radiator clean by a local shop and replace the thermostat also.

[colemadad]

I understand what you man about the heat now - we've had couple of 30C days here lately and I definitely felt engine heat. Easy solution here though - just wait a day or two and the temperature will drop back in the teens and low 20s. We only get a few days of 30 degree heat in this neck of the woods

[Mooseman]

Both my 85 and 86-A had engine heat that was rather warm especialy on a warm day. O n a hot day you can really feel the heat coming off the radiator and engine.
Yes no thermostat can cause the engine and cooling system to over heat or run hot. Old fords were natorious for that. Plus my old Ford tractor. No thermostat and they would over heat. The coolant flows thru to fast and never gets a chance to loose the heat at the radiator. Install the thermostat with the little hole facing up and make sure it's facing the right direction. My 86 has the air deflectors on the side of the faring and that can realy help with the heat.
Mooseman