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My S1000Rr Is Hotter Than Yours (Like Literally, It Runs Hot)


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Last week I had a brake failure on my Ducati. I ordered a master cylinder repair kit and then got into my car for the first time in a long time. I tried driving a car back home from my office to Manhattan. While I sat in traffic waiting to get on the George Washington Bridge I was thinking "I dont think I want to wait in this traffic in this car anymore...and hey that Duc is awesome, but shes getting old, maybe I should just buy a new bike instead of waiting for KurveyGirl to get me parts to me."

 

The next morning I found a 2015 s1000rr with 900 miles on it. Mint condition. And the price is right. I am in love. So I ride it home. And while riding it I realize that this thing is hot. It is 85F (air temp) degrees out and the sun is shining, but the bike is running 210F at 60MPH in traffic. When I slow to stop-and-go traffic I run up to 220F. At 80MPH constant I am only getting down to 190F. This seems hot. My left leg is burning as it grips the frame/tank and my right foot feels like it is getting burn blisters (it was not actually, but it felt really hot).

 

I have done my share of CSS days on your S1000rr's in blistering heat..like a few weeks ago in Willow where Ian and I were sharing an ice bucket to cool down the ice packs for our headbands. But I have never felt like I my leg was going to get burned while sitting on pit lane. At first I thought that at CSS we are only doing 20 minute sessions and we are going fast the whole time. But then I realized that on my 40 mile commute to work I arrive in 36 minutes, so my average speed is high and its not much longer than a normal track session and my average RPM is half of what it is on the track.

 

So why is my s1000rr so hot?

- Is it that the track body plastics on your bikes do a better job of redirecting the air?

- or Has Keith worked with some NASA scientists to invent a coolant that is better than whatever is in the bike I just bought? (I should prob flush and replace whatever the PO put in there).

- or Is it something to do with the stock setup running really lean and not allowing the unconsumed fuel to snag some of the heat?

 

Let me know if you can shed some light on why the Superbike School's s1000rr's seem to run so cool and mine so hot.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael

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Last week I had a brake failure on my Ducati. I ordered a master cylinder repair kit and then got into my car for the first time in a long time. I tried driving a car back home from my office to Manhattan. While I sat in traffic waiting to get on the George Washington Bridge I was thinking "I dont think I want to wait in this traffic in this car anymore...and hey that Duc is awesome, but shes getting old, maybe I should just buy a new bike instead of waiting for KurveyGirl to get me parts to me."

 

The next morning I found a 2015 s1000rr with 900 miles on it. Mint condition. And the price is right. I am in love. So I ride it home. And while riding it I realize that this thing is hot. It is 85F (air temp) degrees out and the sun is shining, but the bike is running 210F at 60MPH in traffic. When I slow to stop-and-go traffic I run up to 220F. At 80MPH constant I am only getting down to 190F. This seems hot. My left leg is burning as it grips the frame/tank and my right foot feels like it is getting burn blisters (it was not actually, but it felt really hot).

 

I have done my share of CSS days on your S1000rr's in blistering heat..like a few weeks ago in Willow where Ian and I were sharing an ice bucket to cool down the ice packs for our headbands. But I have never felt like I my leg was going to get burned while sitting on pit lane. At first I thought that at CSS we are only doing 20 minute sessions and we are going fast the whole time. But then I realized that on my 40 mile commute to work I arrive in 36 minutes, so my average speed is high and its not much longer than a normal track session and my average RPM is half of what it is on the track.

 

So why is my s1000rr so hot?

- Is it that the track body plastics on your bikes do a better job of redirecting the air?

- or Has Keith worked with some NASA scientists to invent a coolant that is better than whatever is in the bike I just bought? (I should prob flush and replace whatever the PO put in there).

- or Is it something to do with the stock setup running really lean and not allowing the unconsumed fuel to snag some of the heat?

 

Let me know if you can shed some light on why the Superbike School's s1000rr's seem to run so cool and mine so hot.

 

Thanks,

 

Michael

 

What are you wearing when you "feel the heat" on your RR? I'm guessing it's probably jeans. :)

 

The frame on these bikes gets pretty hot and your leathers are pretty good at insulating you from that heat. As well the bikes tend to get "hotter" idling in traffic than they do on the expressway as you have found. On track with the school you likely did not do much sitting in slow moving traffic even for the morning sessions that are a bit slower than normal.

 

The other problem that I have is that when riding on the street I don't ride on the ball of my feet like I do on the track. This gets my leg closer to the hot frame. I have found that I can easily get my legs away from the frame by using a more track style foot position.

 

There's a few things you can do to make this a bit better of a situation. They sell carbon fibre frame covers that not only look great but they put a layer of material that does not conduct heat as well between your leg and the frame. If carbon is not your style you could easily buy a pair and modify them with some black spray paint. Higher engine modes tend to make it hotter. Rain and Sport mode tend to make my bike run a teeny bit cooler (less aggressive fuel map). Sport and Slick are the hottest modes both performance wise and heat wise. When you find yourself in bumper to bumper traffic drop it into rain mode. It does not help much but it does help a little. Once the frame gets hot it stays pretty warm so if you know you will be dealing with traffic start out with Rain or Sport. Both of these modes are quite tolerable and provide more than enough power for street riding.

 

Most powerful 1L bikes get hot in some way. Some are worse than others and the BMW has a bit of a heat problem being the most powerful production bike you can get out of a showroom. I'm sure you remember the first generation Panigale's that were so hot that Ducati had to change the design a bit to keep from roasting it's owners unmentionable parts. It could be much much worse though. I own an MV Agusta F4 that gets REALLY hot. On a hot day in traffic you are often watching the temp indicator like a hawk to make sure you don't overheat the bike. You have to shut off the engine at lights from time to time. These bikes did this from brand new. Owners regularly report of the bike getting so hot that the plastic cooling fans melt. When dealing with traffic I will often loose my rear brakes because the master cylinder is located so close to the exhaust that the fluid boils. My bike even has additional heat shielding and higher rated brake fluid to try to cope with the heat but it does not help much. I'm perfectly ok with this rather glaring design issue. It's rare for me to get caught in traffic and I understand the limits and take it easy.

 

The harsh reality is many of the 1L Superbikes on the market were designed to go fast first and to ride on the street second. The BMW is one of the more street friendly bikes out there even with the hot frame.

 

I hope this helps you and stay cool out there! Despite the burning knee's you have an RR and that makes you cooler already. :)

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Thanks for the reply. I was wearing leather pants and armored textile pants when riding (AGAT!). Still pretty hot! I think you are prob right. It is just the traffic thing. When you sit in pit lane it for for one or two minutes. Getting into the Lincoln Tunnel is 30 minutes! I am going to look into the carbon frame covers. Thanks!

 

Michael

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Captain Obvious here: Have you checked the coolant level and that there's coolant in the overflow reservoir? - there's a reason for that 'minimum' level in the overflow so the engine can suck in coolant instead of air.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Aside from coolant level and engine modes as prescribed above , I'd flush the coolant and replace it with fresh premixed 30/70 coolant (ie collant is only 30% , 70% is water) if your area doesnt drop to freezing during winter.
Shop had a 6r that has foamy coolant due to anti-foam additives being used up; it runs much cooler in traffic with fresh cololant.
also, redline water wetter as an additive to the coolant for 3-7 deg f drop. (i beleive its 10ML per L of coolant)

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