TXC449 overheating?

[husq449]

So last week I bought a 2011 txc449, road registered with a full FMF powerbomb exhaust, I bought it from a local husky dealer so I'm guessing its had the remap to match.
very powerful bike, loads of low end grunt!
anyway a few days ago I took the bike out for a good hour or so with a few off road tracks and trails, which it had no problem shooting down but on the way home the bike felt like it was hitting a few flat spots when accelerating and this just got worse and worse until I could no longer ride and had to pull over.
It almost felt as though it was running out of fuel.
I noticed the bike was really hot (alarmingly) and the fan wasn't on,
the exhaust header has a small dent on it and the exhaust is extremely close to the temperature sensor on the bottom of the radiator.
luckily its under warranty but I'm really unsure what could be causing this. could the heat from the exhaust have damaged the sensor causing the bike to overheat? and would the dent in the exhaust contribute to the over heating?
coolant levels and oil levels are fine.

Anyway can anyone help?

 

[Dangermouse449]

I think, if I remeber correctly, the TXC can't be re-mapped like the TEs can.
If that is the case, with the big pipe on it's probably quite lean. You may need a piggyback tuner like a PCV to correct it.

Check for obvious things like loose clamps on the rubber joiner under the throttle body.
Obviously you would have checked the coolant....
Fan should kick in not long after coming to a stop if the weather is hot. I'd be getting it back to the dealer to test that.
A few people have replaced coolant sensors in the short time I've watching the forums here....

 

[husq449]

Thanks for the speedy reply!
Yes coolant is fine,
I will check the clamps under the throttle body and let you know how I get on at the dealer. I will be taking the bike back in the next couple of days.
Fingers crossed it's an easy fix!

 

[husq449]

Ok so after the bike being in the shop for a very long time,
I collect it tonight.
They ended up fitting a full acrapovic exhaust free of charge, turns out the previous owner fitted an Fmf system that wasn't even for my bike! Bodged!
This contributed to it running lean and also they found a split in the fuel pipe between the tank and the injector! Sucking air through & altering the mixture!
Fingers crossed it's all sorted!

 

[Dangermouse449]

Good to hear about the free exhaust for sure.
The split in the fuel line, nah, the efi system run around 40 psi, any split will spray fuel out, not draw air in.
Hopefully, whatever they found is sorted & all sweet
Enjoy a great bike.

 

[husq449]

So I picked the bike up a few hours ago, engine runs sweet!
As for the rest of it, the speedo isn't working! It has a trail tech vapour fitted, also the front wheel is buckled!
Are all these bikes like this or have I just got a bad one? Wondering if it's worth the effort now,
If the dealer fixes these problems, will it be a decent bike or will I just keep needing to adjust and replace things left right and centre?!
Going to the dealer tomorrow to speak to the manager.
Il keep you updated.

 

[Dangermouse449]

Any bike can buckle a wheel & they all need adjustment & servicing.
The original speedo usually stops when the little magnet comes out of the disc rotor. As it is a magnet though, it's usually stuck to the brake disc & you glue it back in to hole.
Yeah, once sorted, they are a great bike in my opinion.
I love my TE449 & it's a much more capable bike that my Yami WR 450 was.
Stay with it man, service & fiddle with it, you'll love it.
Peace.

 

[husq449]

Thanks for the advice! I will get them to sort it out, i haven't ridden another enduro bike so I don't know what to compare the 449's to but it is crazy fast!

 

[Dangermouse449]

Ha ha, it can be made faster than that!

 

[husq449]

Was out on the bike today doing various green lanes and trails around where I live, was following a friend on a xr400.
After about 2 hours of riding with a few stops my bike started messing around again. Bogging down on power and loosing it completely sometimes, after waiting a few minutes and trying l, it was the same so I decided to ride home on the roads and see how it reacted. At first it was the same but after 5 minutes or so and a 2 minute stop it recovered and was fine, the bike is overheating ( not as bad as before ) but it is still doing it!!!
Going to change out the coolant or whatever is in the and put proper coolant in and give that a go. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Dangermouse449]

Overheating????
Like spewing coolant out & steaming??

 

[husq449]

Like getting so hot I can smell it whilst riding and it starts to get so hot through my boot it's uncomfortable, I think it's silly that the fan turns off when you turn the engine off the fan turns off, unless that is the problem with mine?

 

[Dangermouse449]

Ok, not, good. So the fan does run though....
It does kill the fan at rest, battery isn't really big, so it's probably about saving power.

I'd say, drop the coolant out, remove the radiator bottom hoses & put your garden hose up the bottom of both radiators, try & flush out any build-up inside, flush through the engine also and confirm water flows through at each point.
Put it back together with just water & run it up till it's warm & let that out too, then fill with a good coolant.

 

[husq449]

Ah I will have to give that a go! Thanks for your help, I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[Mr Ford40]

Some other advice aswell use cooled boiled water in the engine/ radiator reason being boiled water does not have any air in it as water out of the tape does have air .Tape water in the engine causes cavitation (this is air with in the engine or the air bubbles cause problems) Also coolant do not use to much coolant as coolant retains heat. So dont mix 50/50 more 30/70.
I have spent many hrs on many of my cars with some issues of overheating and these were just a couple. Good luck. We even cut heads up in like a bread slicer to see places were air would hide in the heads.CHECK YOUR WATER PUMP PROP. Here is some info on Cavitation.

Cavitation is the formation of vapour cavities in a liquid – i.e. small liquid-free zones ("bubbles" or "voids") – that are the consequence of forces acting upon the liquid. It usually occurs when a liquid is subjected to rapid changes of pressure that cause the formation of cavities where the pressure is relatively low. When subjected to higher pressure, the voids implode and can generate an intense shockwave.
Cavitation is a significant cause of wear in some engineering contexts. Collapsing voids that implode near to a metal surface cause cyclic stress through repeated implosion. This results in surface fatigue of the metal causing a type of wear also called "cavitation". The most common examples of this kind of wear are to pump impellers, and bends where a sudden change in the direction of liquid occurs. Cavitation is usually divided into two classes of behavior: inertial (or transient) cavitation and non-inertial cavitation.
Inertial cavitation is the process where a void or bubble in a liquid rapidly collapses, producing a shock wave. Inertial cavitation occurs in nature in the strikes of mantis shrimps and pistol shrimps, as well as in the vascular tissues of plants. In man-made objects, it can occur in control valves, pumps, propellers and impellers.
Non-inertial cavitation is the process in which a bubble in a fluid is forced to oscillate in size or shape due to some form of energy input, such as an acoustic field. Such cavitation is often employed in ultrasonic cleaning baths and can also be observed in pumps, propellers, etc.
Since the shock waves formed by collapse of the voids are strong enough to cause significant damage to moving parts, cavitation is usually an undesirable phenomenon. It is very often specifically avoided in the design of machines such as turbines or propellers, and eliminating cavitation is a major field in the study of fluid dynamics. However, it is sometimes useful and does not cause damage when the bubbles collapse away from machinery, such as in supercavitation

 

[Motosportz]

I would replace your temp sensor. Inexpensive and might just fix the issue. The temp sensor tells the fan when to come one but also tells the ECU what temp the motor is and applies this to the fueling map. If it is not working right it will make your fuel mixture incorrect and your bike run bad. Had this same issue on the fist EFI huskies (2010 TXC250) and was a pretty common issue. These bikes are not notorious for running hot. IMHO these are very good bikes and you have a semi minor issue that needs attention. Modern dirtbikes are semi complicated and we thrash them hard. Get used to dealing with issues with any bike from any manufacturer. Learn to sort issues yourself, understand your bike and fix issues, this makes the dirt bike experience a lot less frustrating. Good forums like this help a lot. Read, apply what works for you and learn as you go.

 

[husq449]

Il look into the sensor! As it still in warranty il have to talk the dealer into doing something about it,
Il keep you posted.

 

[Tinken]

I decided to ride home on the roads and see how it reacted. At first it was the same but after 5 minutes or so and a 2 minute stop it recovered and was fine, the bike is overheating ( not as bad as before ) but it is still doing it!!!
Going to change out the coolant or whatever is in the and put proper coolant in and give that a go. Anyone have any ideas?

The 449/511's run hot no matter what, but there are two coolants in your engine, radiator coolant and oil. Our solution is to not use water in the radiators. XF never boils nor does it have cavitation.
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/ziptys-xf-radiator-coolant.31244/#post-288126

Oil also makes a huge difference in the 449, what weight and brand are you using? How much oil do you have in your crankcase? If your answer is "whatever the dealer put in", it is typically incorrect.

 

[Motosportz]

My 511 never feels like a hot running engine. All the KTMs are boiling over hard before mine ever seems like the fan even wants to come on. Thats said I still switched to XF coolant based Tinkens info. A few things about it. I spilled some on the floor when pouring it in. Its like really light corn oil feel to it. There was also some antifreeze on the floor from evacuating it. Hot day, outside. The antifreeze evaporated in about 15 minutes, the XF just sat there. Wierd. Like I said it is kinda like corn oil, feels slick and seems like it would be good for seals and lubrication in the cooling system. Next thing is I forgot to tighten one hose clamp. I mean it was just slipped on and never tightened. I rode the bike that way, for 60 miles. I kept smelling XF once in a while. Kept looking and found no drips. Got home, was washing bike, found completely loose hose clamp. Notices a few drips of dried XF just below it. Popped the cap and rads were still full. XF worked fine with a complete loose hose clamp and lost almost no fluid. XF does not build up pressure. I'm sold.

 

[Dangermouse449]

The 449/511's run hot no matter what, but there are two coolants in your engine, radiator coolant and oil. Our solution is to not use water in the radiators. XF never boils nor does it have cavitation.
http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/ziptys-xf-radiator-coolant.31244/#post-288126

Oil also makes a huge difference in the 449, what weight and brand are you using? How much oil do you have in your crankcase? If your answer is "whatever the dealer put in", it is typically incorrect.

We might be a bit luckier here in Aus with our ECU mapping I reckon as my TE 449 never ever gets hot, even on rides where we get stuck on clay hills on steamy summer rides...
Maybe as you say, it's because I'm particular about Mt oil too, always 5w40 synthetic & 1150ml exactly.
Been looking into the XF, very different...