How hot is too hot

in UK 82 Centigrade = 179.6 Fahrenheit in the USA. and 88 Centigrade = 190.4 in Fahrenheit. The R3 88c thermo is only of use when the engine temperature drops below its set temperature in this case that is 88c, and the R3 operates way beyond that temperature pretty well all the time, once 2 minutes elapses and temperature is reached surely it stays open, excepting from a cold start but that don't last long as cold it soon heats up, so logic tells me that thermo is open %99 of the time allowing coolant to the engine freely with no restrictions. It may try to "maintain a minimum temperature" as you say, but a Rocket 3 is a huge heater and it is not going to drop below 88c once it gets going. So I cant see the point of the thermo at all? Only for the first 3 minutes at start up from cold, then after that it opens and stays open as far as I can see. Am I wrong? The rocket 3 fan comes on at around 105c which is 221F, way beyond the 88c marker of the thermo, so logic tells me that the thermo must be constantly open... so i'd like to lower that fan threshold so the fan comes on sooner and for longer.

I think that u need to buy a thermal gun. so u can play with temperatures.
i think that mine stays pretty close to the 179 while driving when driving 10 mph in az heat the fan will come on.
i have lower the temp the fan comes on. with tuneecu
i think that the thermo is restricting the water/antifreeze most of the time to maintain the 179 temp (while riding)
i think there are two concerns
1st the temperature coming from radiator/motor
2nd the temperature coming from the pipes
question which one is your concern? thermo gun will tell u.
you should always bleed the water at the air bleed above the thermostat.
for what it is worth i do not believe my fan ever comes on until i get to the last .7 mile where i have to drive 10 mph or under in the dirt/sand slipping clutch.
 
I think that u need to buy a thermal gun. so u can play with temperatures.
i think that mine stays pretty close to the 179 while driving when driving 10 mph in az heat the fan will come on.
i have lower the temp the fan comes on. with tuneecu
i think that the thermo is restricting the water/antifreeze most of the time to maintain the 179 temp (while riding)
i think there are two concerns
1st the temperature coming from radiator/motor
2nd the temperature coming from the pipes
question which one is your concern? thermo gun will tell u.
you should always bleed the water at the air bleed above the thermostat.
for what it is worth i do not believe my fan ever comes on until i get to the last .7 mile where i have to drive 10 mph or under in the dirt/sand slipping clutch.
Wouldn't run without a thermostat, coolant could be passing through so quick not have time for radiator to cool it. Possibly cause hot spots in the engine, uneven temps.. If I was determined to run without a thermostat, I'd cut the center out and reinstall the outer part. this would allow coolant to flow easier but would still restrict flow.
 
The coolant may spend a little less time in the radiator but there would be a greater amount of water passing through it. So it all evens out.
If the coolant spends more time in the radiator then the converse is also true. The coolant is spending more time in the hot engine and not letting the cooler coolant from the radiator into the engine.
 
The coolant may spend a little less time in the radiator but there would be a greater amount of water passing through it. So it all evens out.
If the coolant spends more time in the radiator then the converse is also true. The coolant is spending more time in the hot engine and not letting the cooler coolant from the radiator into the engine.
Sorry, don't agree with you, I won't change my reasoning and don't believe you will either, so will let end there.
 
now i think that the glass is 1/2 full
and if u want to think it is 1/2 empty that is ok with me :roll:
i am not taking sides just having some fun
It was 101 when I had to fill up yesterday. With only 18 miles of range left showing all I could get in was 3.5 gallons of hot expanded gasoline. Such a tiny fuel tank.
 
T
I have posted here before about my 'R3 2007 Classic' getting a little hot of late and my right leg therefore being toasted, especially on hot days. The question is what can be done about it? Is it just me or does anyone else out there suffer from this problem with this mighty engine that is 2.3? I have asked around and been told that Rocket 3s run hot anyway, especially as they get older. That it's just me expecting perfection from a bike that is near on 16 years old, this may be true, or is it? My R3 starts up every-time without fail, she never blinks a warning light at me, and I assure you they are all operative and work fine. So, she is not telling me that she is over heating, the Radiator kicks in as it should and stops as it should when cooler, and the cycle continues mile after mile. So, what's my problem then, she runs just fine eh? ITS JUST HARD ON THE LEG that's my problem!

So, recently I changed the coolant and bought a very expensive one that was an alternative to that suggested by Triumph, don't worry it's fine I rang the makers to check, they assured me it would work and do the job. I Used distilled water after washing out the cooling system, I filled her up and wobbled her about a bit to get rid of the air. On a road test she ran a degree or so cooler, but NOT cool enough.. what next then? The thermostat perhaps? Hmmm? Is the thermostat sticking? Does it even open as it should? How can I know? "Let's take a look" I said to myself. So, after manufacturing a special tool to get at that awkwardly placed 2nd nut on the thermo housing, I was able to remove the thermostat. (its a bit of a fiddle but eventually easily done with the right know how) So Okay, we have the Thermostat out, and just then with it in my hands I thought... what is the point of a thermostat anyways? Supposedly its to shut off the cold coolant to the engine until the temperature is raised sufficiently to allow the thermostat to kick in at its prefigured ordained set temperature, in this case allegedly 88c. Don't argue with me, it says so on the thermo itself in stamped print! Off to the kettle to boil some water to test the thermo in, to see if it opens at the set temperature. I put the water in a pan along with the thermo and a thermometer, blow me down the thermo didn't open until the water reached 105c! I retested it with the same procedure a few times, getting the same result. Hurrah its the thermostat! Or is it?

You may agree or disagree with the following, whatever, I'd appreciate your input... The Rocket 3 engine is massive therefore its not slow getting up to temperature, mine gets there within 3 minutes from start... and so does yours, you know it too. Given this fact why would we want to restrict coolant flow to the engine for just a matter of 2 or 3 minutes? Why not let the coolant flow freely with no restrictions whatsoever? OK we are running cold for a matter of minutes and then the thermo opens and probably stays open since we aren't going below the thermo's set temperature of 88C? You may consider a small increase in fuel consumption to be a factor while the bike is running, lets say from cold, without the use of a thermostat, there is that, but not much of a point to make is it? So why not run the bike without a thermostat completely? I am not the brightest when it comes to R3 mechanics, but help me out am I missing something here? I live in Scotland it gets cold here in the winter, but even in winter my bike still reaches temperature within 2 or 3 minutes. If you live in North Canada or Greenland, or Iceland I bet your R3 would still quickly reach its operational temperature within the same time AS MINE! Am I wrong? Let me know?

Of late then I am running the bike without the thermostat in it, am I doing damage? I have put in new spark plugs just to be sure, a hell of a job too! All those cables and wiring harness's to get through to the spark plug apertures, but it had to be done. I enjoyed it though. So, I have just about considered every factor as to why my R3 is running hot, new coolant, new spark plugs (of the right type too) new oil change, new air filter. She now runs a little cooler, but NOT cool enough. Not as cool as when I first bought her some 14 years ago. WHY? You ask me am I going to replace the thermostat? Or continue to run without it? Well probably yes Ill replace it, but not with the exact same one. I have already bought one that opens at 82C, how? You ask. Well Triumph of course would advise you to replace the thermostat with theirs, YES theirs, the rightful one, but why? Coming to the point of all this, Triumph parts are a rip off, you know it, I know it, we all know it! The Triumph Motor Cycle Company, although they make wonderful bikes, do NOT always offer us the best deals for parts. They don't even manufacture their own parts, they get others to do that for them, including Thermostats. The Thermostat that is in the R3 is manufactured by a French company called "CalorStat" which makes thermo's for hundreds of cars, trucks, motorbikes etc etc.. the list goes on and on. Many of these thermostats are used in multiple vehicles and are exactly the same in many cases. The Thermostat used in the Rocket 3 is also used in many Japanese cars and many other applications. Now coming to the point... if you want to buy a replacement thermostat for your R3 you'll probably think "I'd better get the original part, (IF THERE IS SUCH A THING). Okay then, you'll be paying 4 times the price if you do that! As an example... if you put in a bit of research and a bit of home work you'll find exactly the same part under another differing vehicle, yes the same part you want for your Rocket 3 and it will have the same part number too! Check this out.... The photograph below shows 2 thermostats, both manufactured by the same company, in this case "CalorStat" the french company. The one on the left is out of my Rocket 3.. Part number V-1028/1. The physically exact same one on the right, (except its a 82c thermo, the one I now want) by the same company is not the same part number, but basically the same thermostat, which is V 2306. Here is where the research comes in... Differing part numbers do NOT necessarily mean a different part, they are different because the part numbers are allocated according a particular vehicle that may apply to it, and for search purposes for that particular car or truck. All you have to do is look to see if there is YOUR R3 part number listed as an 'alternative equivalent' to the part you may be looking at, on some site or other Ebay for example.
Equivalent Thermostat for Rocket 3 001.JPG


Now the Thermostat on the Left is from my Rocket 3 and from Triumph you will pay £45.00 not including £9.00 shipping. Total £54.00. Do you really want to pay that? The thermostat on the right is made by the exact same company and as you can see from the box the supplier is QH a very well known supplier. The cost for this was £8.50 including shipping! The Point is stop paying exorbitant Triumph prices for parts that they don't even manufacture anyway! In many ways there is NO... Original Manufactured Part, when it comes to Triumph parts, they just say they manufacture them, THEY DON'T! When I put in the new thermostat (which I payed only £8.50 for) I am not expecting my R3 to run much cooler, but since its gonna kick in and open at 82c, instead of the 88c which Triumph suggests, well the new one will probably help a little. But somehow I don't have my hopes up. Next on the list is the radiator... how do I get it to turn on at a lower temperature? Or do I wire in a switch to manually turn it on when I need to? Any advice on that and how to do it I would be grateful indeed. Until then My Rocket 111 Classic is still running and she is not giving me trouble at all except for the heat and toasting my right leg! HELP!
That's great never thought about taking out the thermostat. I bought some very expensive exhaust wrap I installed it under my heat shield so it's not noticeable and wow what a difference it made now its just the oil tank that burns me lol
 
I've had my R3T since new and at my second service (about 6 months) I spoke with the mechanic about the engine heat. He lowered the temp of when the fan goes on with TuneECU then flushed the coolant system and put in 'Engine Ice'. That's all I use now and I've never had a concern since. This includes riding through Nevada, Death Valley and Arizona among others. Just my experience... YMMV...
-MIG
 
Back
Top