I decided to bump up the cooling capacity of the bike for stationary (read bad traffic) or very slow riding situations. I found this 4" fan from SPAL which is also used on the KTM 500 EXC bike. It just fits on the right side. I removed the evap canister to make room for it. I wired it in parallel with the stock fan and bumped the fan fuse (#5) from 10A to 15A to cover the extra load. I used a generic 2 pin connector sourced from an autoparts store. The photo doesn't show the connection very well, but that's where I tapped in. I used standard radiator fan mounts which seems like the best way to go. I tested it out at extended idling and the fans will bring the temps back down 2 bars to where they just kick on. I need more testing under slow trail riding conditions. I also punched an array of holes in the rear fender area to allow more air to pass into the radiator.
Very nice. I will be doing the same before it gets hot out again. I have a bad feeling the bike is not going to like the 110* temps next summer. Hopefully the extra fan will keep everything in check. Have you been having over-heating issues within the past few weeks?
Now that is neat. I ride around in 100+ F all the time and will be doing a similar Mod to my bike as soon as I get home. Probably have to source the fan from elsewhere, but I will find one to fit.
I just got the fan installed so I haven't had a chance to test it out fully, but it's far better than not having it. I'd suggest the holes in the rear fender, they seem to help quite a bit for slower riding.
Not saying that this is a bad idea, but I really don't have over heat issues on my bike. I have the 110+ heat and some very challenging terain at times. On the hot side mine goes to the 3/4 mark and stops. Been that way since new. Seems what you would want to do is change the turn on point of the fan to hit before 3/4 up on the meter. Not quite sure how to accomplish this, but Google may enlighten tho use who search. Another way, the way I would do it is toggle the fan on for the challenging conditions (be sure to place a diode on the power side as to not back feed the ECM).
What you would do is to switch the second fan separate. When you hit slow going, turn it on. I believe that the fan should kick on sooner as well. How is the engine keeping a constant temp when the temp rises before the fan kicks on? The radiator has plenty of cooling capacity.
I found if I stopped to take a picture or ??? with the bike idling, or got stuck in traffic, the stock fan alone would not hold the temperature from climbing to overheat. Now it does, in fact the temperature will come back down when the bike is just sitting and idling. I think the fans come on at the right temp but there just isn't enough air flow through the radiator in near stationary conditions. Yes, the radiator has plenty of cooling capacity when the air is flowing through it. I found the holes in the rear fender helped quite a bit at slow speeds. The fender blocks nearly 1/3 of the radiator surface area.
Did you use a hole saw or a step drill for doing this? Also, I assume you pulled it off the bike when you drilled it?
A step drill, they work excellent in plastic. This shot was from when I installed the Powerlet socket. Yes, I pulled it off the bike and laid out the pattern using blue masking tape. Sorry, I didn't take any pix while I was doing it. The holes are about 3/4" in diameter. My thought is if I think I'll be riding in muddy conditions I could cover up the holes with Gorilla tape. I just don't get too much mud where I ride.
Charlie, if you don't do a lot of slow riding or getting stuck at long stop lights you might not need it. But.... it's nice to have when you do need it. On my regular commute to work I usually get stuck in a double long stop light situation getting off the freeway and I often have to idle for nearly 10 minutes between the 2 lights and they are super close together to so no cooling in between. The engine is thoroughly heated getting off the freeway, then often 10 minutes of idling. The coolant temp starts to rise pretty quickly when it's warm out. I finally got a notice the XF2 coolant shipped out to me. I'm looking forward to seeing what difference it makes.
Just wanted to say thanks to all of your inspiration I decided to spend a little time over the holiday break on the overheating issue. Installed a second fan, thermostat delete, and drilled the fender. I've never ridden a hotter bike in my life, I hope this helps cool things down.
Nice work, I run a Dyna-Boost and the Big Injector, my bike runs a lot cooler because the mixture is now not so lean. With the thermostat gone, I have a really cool running bike, my temp gauge sits at about 40% all day and I am in the Philippines !!
