Overheating

Post by **dwayne** » Wed May 24, 2006 6:32 am

When I bought this bike I was warned that when I start it up just drive away, don't sit and let it warm up. I have also heard that same advise on this board, which leads me to a question: if this bike is so apt to over heat, how much trouble am I going to have sitting in triaffic on a hot (33 deg C.) summer day?

Post by **Boxer** » Wed May 24, 2006 6:54 am

I have the same worry. Always have. This bike is definitely not a good commuter bike where you have lots of slow traffic to contend with, for this very reason. When stuck this way, I have taken the risks involved to go down the shoulder or lane split to escape the parking lot.

Find a different route, or somehow keep moving. I have even shut her down and coasted every few feet on downhill situations.

Post by **wncbmw** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:17 am

Probably not as suseptible to overheating as my old Airheads were. I have been known to shut off the engine in traffic jams and just paddle along with traffic! Of course, in the summer this protects me from the heat off the engine as well!

leno · Post by **leno** » Wed May 24, 2006 8:22 am

Last summer I got stuck in a trafic jam in a tunnel. It was a hot day, well for the uk about 80f. The tunnel was full of hot cars and not much in the way of air. The beast did over heat and I had to shut down. The Oil light was flickering and engine was trting to stall. The bummer was that I had just past the last place I could have mounted the pavement to drive out. The tunnel was to tight to go for the middle particully with an engine which might have cut out at any moment. So I would say do avoid sitting in traffic if it's hot.

Letting any engine warm up before driving away is a wast of time and petrol now days. It might have been the thing to do with a Model-T but I can't think why you would want to do it for now.

Post by **CycleRob** » Wed May 24, 2006 1:05 pm

If you're using petroleum oil, you should worry. The flickering oil pressure light was saying loud and clear that your oil has thinned out so much that it's protection is failing. Shut it down and wait. Even if you have to push the bike off the road. When the oil light flickers and the idle speed falters, treat it just like the straight-line, steady beep (heart attack) of a patient's heart monitor.

If you're using a full synthetic, you have a 5 or 10 minute time cushion added to impending overheating damage. Because of the cooling oil circuit in the cylinderhead around the exhaust ports, engine speed has a dramatic effect on heat gain, so, in slow moving, creeping traffic, keep the RPM's under 2,200. That's not lugging unless you are in the upper 4 gears going UP-hill.

Warm-up time should be not much more than "helmet & gloves" while cold on the low fast idle -or- regular idle if already warm.

chris · Post by **chris** » Wed May 24, 2006 1:27 pm

You'd have thought a temperature gauge would have been a good idea on a machine with no radiator. I don't reckon it'll be too much of a problem in the sunny UK tho!

HornHonker · Post by **HornHonker** » Wed May 24, 2006 2:21 pm

Would the Police versions not also have this problem ? I don't think they would purchase them if it was that much of an issue ?

peterbulgar · Post by **peterbulgar** » Wed May 24, 2006 2:28 pm

You'd have thought a temperature gauge would have been a good idea on a machine with no radiator.

What would be even better is a thermostatically controlled fan mounted behind the oil cooler. You know, like the oilhead police bikes already have! It would add maybe $80 to the cost of making the bike and a couple of pounds in weight - I'd gladly pay it.

Every city in this country has traffic jams, and every city gets up over 80F during the summer. BMW used to have a reputation for making motorcycles that were practical transportation as well as fun, but after a dozen years of making the oilhead we have a new power brake system every year, but the same old "the engine doesn't get cooled unless the bike is moving" paradigm from 1923.
peter '73 r75/5, '04 R1150RA

beemerphile · Post by **beemerphile** » Wed May 24, 2006 4:10 pm

HornHonker wrote:Would the Police versions not also have this problem ? I don't think they would purchase them if it was that much of an issue ?

The police versions have fans on the oil coolers. I am fabricating fan housings on mine to use K1200LT radiator fans for air cooling. Mine has more room for such because the oil coolers are mounted in the lowers of my Hannigan fairing. BMW should have put cooling fans on all models.

Post by **DJ Downunder** » Wed May 24, 2006 10:17 pm

I have ridden mine every day for the past 5 yrs and we get some stinking hot weather down here in Oz...even traffic jams...and I've never had any concerns.

I think the police bike thing is just in case they leave their bike running while they're eating donuts and don't know when to stop eating...

I've never heard of an overheating issue..even with glowing orange header pipes...these bikes are tough....

DJ

leno · Post by **leno** » Thu May 25, 2006 3:23 am

CycleRob wrote:If you're using petroleum oil, you should worry. The flickering oil pressure light was saying loud and clear that your oil has thinned out so much that it's protection is failing. Shut it down and wait. Even if you have to push the bike off the road. When the oil light flickers and the idle speed falters, treat it just like the straight-line, steady beep (heart attack) of a patient's heart monitor.

.

Wise words if it was not for the fact I was in a tunnel built to take horse and carts about 100 years ago. It's only just wide enough to take a car in each direction and it was solid both ways. Of course I was on the way out so it was uphill. I would have taken to the pavement but at that point its about 7 or 8 inch high. If I had shut down then I would have backed up traffic for the mile of the tunnel. And not very happy traffic what with being in a jam already. I did have the oil changed soon after and it's been fine. But I like the analagy of the heart attack. Mind it's better the bike had one than me trying to push it out of that hole.

Post by **duke** » Thu May 25, 2006 10:37 am

Boxer wrote: ... This bike is definitely not a good commuter bike where you have lots of slow traffic to contend with, for this very reason. When stuck this way, I have taken the risks involved to go down the shoulder or lane split to escape the parking lot.

Come and live in London then!!!

Lane splitting is a way of life (so is ABS, car driver w*****s, etc. etc.) here!

It takes me 22 - 25 minutes to cover 8 miles in the morning.
If we did not filter here ... I may as well commute by car, or at least go back to public transport.

Mind you - they (Roadster and Rockster) are a bit wide on the bars (and cylinder heads) so care should be taken! I have so far licked (slow speed) two rear bumpers with the head guards.

I wish I had a camcorder to film my usual commute and post it here!!!

Post by **frozennorth** » Fri May 26, 2006 11:25 am

These are tough bikes. Got mine hot enough to cloud up the sight glass (plastic does that when it gets hot) whilst syncing my TB's . . even though I had two big fans pumping air into the oil coolers.

Dumped the oil (full synth amsoil) and it didn't even smell burnt.

Cost me $30. for the new sight glass though

I guess that's my stupid tax.

In traffic jams, I've shut her off and done the duck-walk or just fired her up and gone 100ft, then off again. I guess that's the trade-off for not having to fuss with coolant.

I agree . . . fan's would have been nice. I would have happily paid the extra.

Post by **HiOSilver** » Fri May 26, 2006 11:53 am

I ride 100 miles a day in stop and go traffic in Phoenix where the summertime temps routinely run higher than 110F.

The bike has NEVER given any indication of problems with the heat. I do use synthetic oil because of the temperature extremes here, but that's my only concession. From what I've heard from other riders here in the Valley of the Sun you should worry much more about a water cooled bike than our oil cooled steeds.

FM696969 · Post by **FM696969** » Fri May 26, 2006 1:03 pm

#1 QUESTION:

HAS ANYBODY OUT THERE FRIED THE R1150 MOTOR IN A TRAFFIC JAM?

I DON'T THINK SO.

Brownw3 · Post by **Brownw3** » Fri May 26, 2006 2:08 pm

I just don't see it happening too often. Of course, I haven't been in a tunnel in a traffic jam but I'd say any bike may overheat in that. I've never seen an overheated Beemer on the side of the road. Mayhaps I should move somewhere where all the bikes on the side of the road aren't made by someone else.

It's kind of like any dubious reliability issues that get scattered 'cross the internet. Its a very tiny exception moved by electronic media into well accepted rule.

Bottom Line; I'm takin my chances with the Beemer and most likely I'll be running the bike in traffic jams until the exhaust melts. Just my take.

Post by **dwayne** » Fri May 26, 2006 2:51 pm

FM696969 wrote:#1 QUESTION:

HAS ANYBODY OUT THERE FRIED THE R1150 MOTOR IN A TRAFFIC JAM?

I DON'T THINK SO.

ANSWER: I don't want to be the first to find out...unless there is a collection going 'round to buy me a new motor