Heat and dealer comment..

[cnc]

Originally Posted by ponch

Or rent them. At least with HD, you can rent a bike for as long as you want to test ride as it were and many dealers will put the rental cost against a new purchase. That said, When I test rode a Voyager and Ultra, they would only allow a short test ride, like 5 miles or so. With the BMW, I did about 20 miles. A test ride is a must before purchasing any bike or car.

All depends on the dealer and on the customer. My dealer is always telling me take that bike for a ride or take that one, but then again he knows me and knows I'm capable of bringing the bike back in one piece.

[fish]

thats why I go to demo rides. Now my local Honda dealer told me I could take a goldwing for a ride or at least a used one. OH crap did I say that on a Vulcan forum

[Cajunrider]

Geez...After reading this, I'm not concerned about my air cooled 103 generating more heat than my water cooled 1600 did.

[redjay]

I think the heat issue is has been blown out of proportion. Yes they are hot but hotter than most water cooled V twins ? Maybe, but not by much.
I think most of the concern has come from people who never owned a big V twin before ?

[landman]

Originally Posted by redjay

I think the heat issue is has been blown out of proportion. Yes they are hot but hotter than most water cooled V twins ? Maybe, but not by much.
I think most of the concern has come from people who never owned a big V twin before ?

my thoughts exactly all though i will say that both my vtx 1800 and my m109 were cooler running motors.

[Loafer]

Originally Posted by cnc

All depends on the dealer and on the customer. My dealer is always telling me take that bike for a ride or take that one, but then again he knows me and knows I'm capable of bringing the bike back in one piece.

He knows you have duct tape.

I've riden 2 Vaq's and they were warm but I didn't think it was horrible.

[Netnorske]

My new Voyager runs hot too...and you have to expect that a stock bike is gonna run like it is starving for oxygen, because it is. With an air kit and synthetic oil....it should run a bit cooler...and all the other mods (fuel, pipes, etc.) should quickly turn your bike into the one you were expecting.....

[redjay]

Hi Kris,

I ran Amsoil in my Voyager for a couple of months. It made no difference to the shifting or heat from the engine. I changed back to Kawasaki dino oil. Cheaper.

Running Amsoil in my 1600 Nomad made it shift better. In the Voyager it does not.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Netnorske

My new Voyager runs hot too...and you have to expect that a stock bike is gonna run like it is starving for oxygen, because it is. With an air kit and synthetic oil....it should run a bit cooler...and all the other mods (fuel, pipes, etc.) should quickly turn your bike into the one you were expecting.....

It's probably more indicative of the technology and design. Large displacement engine with less than leading edge electronics that has to meet ever stricter emission regs. I am sure fattening the fuel/air ratio (it's not starving for 02, but fuel) will help lower the temps. As far as the oil goes, it has a tough job being used with for the clutch and transmission in addition to the engine.

[Top Cat]

I think it is down right ridiculous a person has to add $1500 worth of aftermarket stuff to make a new bike run right.

[ponch]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

I think it is down right ridiculous a person has to add $1500 worth of aftermarket stuff to make a new bike run right.

Pretty much.

What might help is a resistor for the air temperature sense that cons the ECM into thinking it is 20 or 30˚F cooler than it is, enrichening the F/A ratio. On cars, some people relocate this sensor to someplace in the air stream as opposed to under the hood. I bet in this case the sensor is in the air cleaner assembly where it is bathed in hot air from the lovely crossover tube between the jugs.

[IndyRay]

Thanks for all the input. I will wrap the exhaust this weekend and get the air kit asap. Also, funny the dealer offered me 9k for the Vaq with 260 miles on it. Basically told me he didnt want anymore of them and didn't order any new ones. He had a leftover 2010 stratoliner deluxe on the floor asking 10,999. I offered him my bike and 500 to do the deal he said no it would take 1,500. I checked 3 other dealerships within 3 hr drive and all came back with 9 to 9,200 trade value. I will take the bike to the service dept and see why the temp is runnning this high and wait for him to tell me "we've never seen that problem or they don't know about a problem". Then I will pull the sales mgr to refresh his memory. Top Cat, that's what twists me is I shouldnt have to spend that much to make the bike run cool enough to enjoy. Ponch, I also think there is an issue with the bike running to lean or rich causing this much heat. There is no excuse for a water cooled engine to run this hot producing this kind of heat. Either way this is a great site with tons of info. If I can get my seat back in time I will run this one on the last half of the American Legion Legacy Run.

[fish]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

I think it is down right ridiculous a person has to add $1500 worth of aftermarket stuff to make a new bike run right.

+1 I have the same idea as Sarge 1057 said "I want a bike right out of the box that doesn't need anything", I mean anything!

[cactusjack]

A Stratoliner Deluxe is air-cooled. What makes you think it would be cooler than your Vaquero?

[mobandy78]

I'll trade you my '05 Nomad for your Vaquero. I just put Cobra exhaust and an air intake on it. It doesn't run hot at all... that'll solve your heat problem.