Temp sensor issue/Thermostat

Hi Guys

Please can you try and help me with a rescent issue I have picked up with my z1300 ?

My bike temp guage will get to full opertating temp when I FIRST start and use the bike to the point where the fan will automatically kick in when the bike comes to a stop at full operating temp but unfortunantly when I stop for a longer period of time eg 2 or 3 hours and have the bike on its side stand the temp guage will not show full opertating temp when the bike is restarted and used thereafter this is obviously a concern for me because im not sure if there could be a problem with the thermostat on cool down and its not opening fully on reuse or if im starting to pick up a problem with the temp sensor

If you could send advice that would be appreciated

Thanks

Chad

I would be inclined to put a new thermostat in straight up and see how it goes.
The symptoms have all the hallmarks of a bad thermostat and considering the price of them it's a good starting point.

Thanks Rick appreciate your time to answere

I did pick up on another problem and im hopeing or should I say im praying rather that its not what I think it is!!!On start up this morning I noticed the temp guage went up slightly but no were near were I thought it should be for how hot the engine allready was I then noticed a slight drop of coolant on the floor on inspection after turning the bike off I noticed the coolant leak was comeing from th bottom of the cylender bore between where he cylender and the top of the engine gearbox meet basicaly just under the bottom radiator hose housing it does not look like there is a gasket between these two parts and the coolant has found an escape route between these 2 parts or like myself do you think its something more sinister

Cheers Chad

Sounds like a coolant leak from between the crankcase and barrels and if that is the case then there is only one remedy and that is a top end tear down which at least means rings and a top end gasket set.
It would pay to get an opinion from someone who can actually see it but for a bike of the age these are it's highly likely that is the problem.
There is a gasket there but a fairly thin one. You might and I mean a fairly big might be able to extend the life a bit by retensioning the head studs as that also retensions that gasket. That problem is probably causing your other problem as well as a shortage of coolant will make the warming up of any engine erratic.
Leaving the filler cap on the first click can be a temporary solution because you don't get a very big pressure build up which pushes the coolant out the leak much faster.
These are only very temporary solutions if they work at all, don't delay fixing it because a cooked engine is always expensive to fix.

The water leak you describe will be the water pump mechanical seal, it has a drain hole near where the base gasket is to announce that it needs replacing. While you're in there it's also a good opportunity to replace the oil seal behind the mechanical seal, mine was all but shot when I did mine. Pattern mechanical seals are available, but if you only want to do the job once, use genuine parts.

Nice one Phil, you beat me to the same answer by 2 minutes. im a slow typer.
ive just done the same fix on my z1300.
the water seal comes out quite easily but the oil seal behind can be a buggah,
i ripped the middle rubber parts out then made a small hooked puller from an old screwdriver
and gently pried it out.
its a bit like painting your hallway through the letterbox
enjoy

Ian