I have a 98 fc501 I supermoto'd. I was reading the manual and it said that the engine can't idle for more than a minute or catastrophic engine failure could occur. So far I've just been revving it every 5 secs or so when I'm at a stoplight. Anybody know anything about this?
Joined Jun 2007
4K Posts | 1K+
south east WA Australia
slow idle or long idling periods are bad for the cam and followers, high point loading and least lubrication under these conditions, best is around 3000 rpm, rest of the engine benefits from better lube at the higher rpm as well but I don't think you will have your bike seize at the lights
Joined Jun 2007
4K Posts | 1K+
south east WA Australia
thats true berger and if you sit at the lights with the engine operating at 3000rpm or higher it will overheat much quicker 
it is a common misconception though that idling an engine is the nicest thing to do to it
it is a common misconception though that idling an engine is the nicest thing to do to it
Joined May 2011
700 Posts | 3+
Wisconsin, U.S.
Nobody makes a fan kit for these older bikes that i know of and there is very little clearance between the radiator and tank, so the fan needs to be skinny or wont fit, i have two four inch by four inch fans, one on the left that just fits just inside the shroud and under the upper radiator hose and right up to the breather hose, the one on the right fits in easily except for the tank clearance problem.
If you type in an ebay search for "200 250 cooling fan", the square fan with weird triangle side mount things is what i have and work good, cut off the tabs with cutoff wheel so are perfectly square, grind the side in where it meets the tank and left shroud for clearance and i think i cut off one of the corners of both of them, seal it to the rad with foam or double sided tape, i used automotive transmission/steering cooler zip tie style mounts to hold them to the rad and wire them in to manual toggle switch or thermo fan switch, a 1984 bmw 318i switch works good 91C or 99C availability, can be tapped into a tube and mounted inline with radiator hose, i have mine in the lower radiator hose, my cooling system is still in testing phases, i have also added a 160F deg thermostat in upper radiator hose from a ktm 99 300mxc , and a bypass hose that connects both sides together, it was difficult keeping the left fan, but used the cutoff wheel and trimmed some more to keep it all in there without being under tension, but hardly!
as we speek i have my DVOM taped to the handle bars with a temp probe in upper hose, todays in town driving results 80f ambeint temp: after starting 30 sec idle drive across parking lot two stop signs, 2nd gear clutch wheelie onto hwy up to 50mph 1/4miles, 1 minute stop light, 15-30 mph in traffic two miles, then 3 back to back stop lights 30 - 45 seconds each all one block apart, 25 mph for 1/4 mile and another stop light for a solid minute, 25-30 mph another stop light then went into store for 20 minutes and then went through the same route in reverse but hit 2 less stop lights, engine coolant temp at water pump outlet highest temp was 180F after shutting off 2nd time and a few minute hot soak , running temp in town idling never exceeded 175ish i think, fans will kick on at 205 but i have yet to have that happen, restarted after a few hours and drove 15 miles of highway at 55-60mph and 5 more miles county back roads at 45-60mph temperatures stayed in the 170F range the entire time, coolant temp at radiator cap was 160F after 5 minute hot soak.
i have just started testing and usually wouldnt drive in that tight of town driving frequently but at least i know i can and it wont melt down at least from coolant temp, i didnt know about the oiling thing, i guess from now on if i come to a red light ill just turn right to avoid idling hehehe
If you type in an ebay search for "200 250 cooling fan", the square fan with weird triangle side mount things is what i have and work good, cut off the tabs with cutoff wheel so are perfectly square, grind the side in where it meets the tank and left shroud for clearance and i think i cut off one of the corners of both of them, seal it to the rad with foam or double sided tape, i used automotive transmission/steering cooler zip tie style mounts to hold them to the rad and wire them in to manual toggle switch or thermo fan switch, a 1984 bmw 318i switch works good 91C or 99C availability, can be tapped into a tube and mounted inline with radiator hose, i have mine in the lower radiator hose, my cooling system is still in testing phases, i have also added a 160F deg thermostat in upper radiator hose from a ktm 99 300mxc , and a bypass hose that connects both sides together, it was difficult keeping the left fan, but used the cutoff wheel and trimmed some more to keep it all in there without being under tension, but hardly!
as we speek i have my DVOM taped to the handle bars with a temp probe in upper hose, todays in town driving results 80f ambeint temp: after starting 30 sec idle drive across parking lot two stop signs, 2nd gear clutch wheelie onto hwy up to 50mph 1/4miles, 1 minute stop light, 15-30 mph in traffic two miles, then 3 back to back stop lights 30 - 45 seconds each all one block apart, 25 mph for 1/4 mile and another stop light for a solid minute, 25-30 mph another stop light then went into store for 20 minutes and then went through the same route in reverse but hit 2 less stop lights, engine coolant temp at water pump outlet highest temp was 180F after shutting off 2nd time and a few minute hot soak , running temp in town idling never exceeded 175ish i think, fans will kick on at 205 but i have yet to have that happen, restarted after a few hours and drove 15 miles of highway at 55-60mph and 5 more miles county back roads at 45-60mph temperatures stayed in the 170F range the entire time, coolant temp at radiator cap was 160F after 5 minute hot soak.
i have just started testing and usually wouldnt drive in that tight of town driving frequently but at least i know i can and it wont melt down at least from coolant temp, i didnt know about the oiling thing, i guess from now on if i come to a red light ill just turn right to avoid idling hehehe
Joined May 2011
700 Posts | 3+
Wisconsin, U.S.
todays drive with temp probe in coolant stream at waterpump outlet; 13 miles 45-55 mph, one minute stop sign,
2 miles town traffic 15-25, 3 quick stop light stops, stopped at three places 5 mintues each place, then 13 miles home except 45-85mph, engine coolant temperature always 155-165F at stops or when going, 85F ambient temps.
the main reason i wanted to do these mods because winter temps are always 32F to -10F, i probably wont ride in -10 but probably will in 32F, i do a lot of high speed driving and even in fall and spring temperatures are cold enough that i feared very cold engine temps when on highway, so far temperatures seem signifacantly more even in higher heat slow speed conditions, driving in the woods or feilds, although i have not got to do enough of this lately i have done some and not boiled over, i am going to continue running tests with probs in diferent locations i am very happy with results so far..
2 miles town traffic 15-25, 3 quick stop light stops, stopped at three places 5 mintues each place, then 13 miles home except 45-85mph, engine coolant temperature always 155-165F at stops or when going, 85F ambient temps.
the main reason i wanted to do these mods because winter temps are always 32F to -10F, i probably wont ride in -10 but probably will in 32F, i do a lot of high speed driving and even in fall and spring temperatures are cold enough that i feared very cold engine temps when on highway, so far temperatures seem signifacantly more even in higher heat slow speed conditions, driving in the woods or feilds, although i have not got to do enough of this lately i have done some and not boiled over, i am going to continue running tests with probs in diferent locations i am very happy with results so far..
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Joined May 2011
700 Posts | 3+
Wisconsin, U.S.
I almost forgot to mention a few notable side effects, since modifying cooling system and performing breather mod,
my oil usage over the past 200 miles has been zero where before i would needed to have added 100ml or so,
although i have been beating on it a lot lately i have still noticed a fuel economy increase, 45-47mpg on last tanks, i only checked it a few times before but hadnt gotten over 41-42mpg not beating on it as hard and mostly all road miles.
slightly better overall performance? this last one could be my imagination i just think it seems slightly more responsive at high speeds after driving on highway at high speeds for extended period than it used to be?
i could post a follow up after the next couple weeks of temp/stress testing if anyone cares to hear...
i wanted to install a thermostat but got the idea for the bypass from this website:
www.members.cox.net/watt-man/TB%20order1.htm
he has a lot of info about this mod there with graphs and such from his testing, he also uses a 195F thermostat in his kit instead of a 160F like i have, the ktm thermostat housing was the only one i could find to fit and 160F is the only option of thermostat
my thermostat is 1.39 inches in diameter, does anyone know where a hotter one could be found, i called ktm and was told 160F is all they have. 160F still just seems cold to me as far as coolant temps go, any opinions?
my oil usage over the past 200 miles has been zero where before i would needed to have added 100ml or so,
although i have been beating on it a lot lately i have still noticed a fuel economy increase, 45-47mpg on last tanks, i only checked it a few times before but hadnt gotten over 41-42mpg not beating on it as hard and mostly all road miles.
slightly better overall performance? this last one could be my imagination i just think it seems slightly more responsive at high speeds after driving on highway at high speeds for extended period than it used to be?
i could post a follow up after the next couple weeks of temp/stress testing if anyone cares to hear...
i wanted to install a thermostat but got the idea for the bypass from this website:
www.members.cox.net/watt-man/TB%20order1.htm
he has a lot of info about this mod there with graphs and such from his testing, he also uses a 195F thermostat in his kit instead of a 160F like i have, the ktm thermostat housing was the only one i could find to fit and 160F is the only option of thermostat
my thermostat is 1.39 inches in diameter, does anyone know where a hotter one could be found, i called ktm and was told 160F is all they have. 160F still just seems cold to me as far as coolant temps go, any opinions?
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