TOPIC:

Hey,

My 1300 overheats far too easily. Basically, once it's warmed up, it will boil over whenever I'm doing less than 10mph. I'm skeptical of the water pump, but wondering if you guys have a better suggestion on where to start. Maybe the cap?

For reference, my bike is basically naked and I removed the fan (although I think this is a lot more than a fan would help). It's running mostly water at this point (I keep adding water, so it's probably 90/10 at this point). No water in the oil, but I haven't done a compression check yet. No rust in the cooling system.

Would love some guidance or pointers!

Thanks!

Check your thermostat first up. If it is blocked / defective and not allowing coolant to flow then the engine will overheat quickly.

Good call. I was thinking I removed the t-stat but now I'm remembering it's still in there.

For reference, my bike is basically naked and I removed the fan (although I think this is a lot more than a fan would help).

Why did you think it was a good idea to remove the fan. I assume by that statement , that the cooling fan has been disconnected/not on the bike.

And anyway , how did the dirtbag challenge go?

nick5446 wrote: Hey,

My 1300 overheats far too easily. Basically, once it's warmed up, it will boil over whenever I'm doing less than 10mph. I'm skeptical of the water pump, but wondering if you guys have a better suggestion on where to start. Maybe the cap?

For reference, my bike is basically naked and I removed the fan (although I think this is a lot more than a fan would help). It's running mostly water at this point (I keep adding water, so it's probably 90/10 at this point). No water in the oil, but I haven't done a compression check yet. No rust in the cooling system.

Would love some guidance or pointers!

Thanks!

Why is your fan removed? Of course it is going to overheat if you are stopped or going slow and won't take long to do it. Also... why are you running mostly water? Coolant raises the boiling point and lowers the freezing point.

Both of these things together are probably the cause of your entire problem. It's a wonder you haven't blown it up.

I realize what you were trying to do by removing the cooling fan to get the "naked look", but it will never work that way. If the KZ1300 was to be air cooled, the fins on the cylinders would be about 3-4" wide and spaced about 1/4" to 3/8" apart to give the motor enough surface area to dump the heat. Try to imagine that surface area. Now look at the radiator and see what surface area the coolant tubes and aluminum fins have and you'll hopefully come to the conclusion that there's a lot less surfaces area for the heat to be dissipated through. The rad manages to get the job done at highway speeds due to the velocity of the air at speed but around town there's no airflow through the rad, hence the fan.

Sorry to say, you need to put the fan back on.