Cooling/overheating

[staugustineagent]

My 2020 Vmax will peg the coolant meter if I am stopped in hot weather here in Florida. I have to get moving and then it will return to center position. Would the Guru Gear ecu reflash be able to open the thermostat at a lower temperature and also start fans sooner? The heat is noticeable-not as bad as some Ducati’s but concerning. Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Does the red coolant light come on? Have you taken an actual reading of the engine with an I/R temperature gun? I would want to know what it actually is before shot-gunning anything at it. I live in an even hotter climate than Florida and I run very hot at stop lights and slow traffic. But never enough to turn the red light on.

 

[staugustineagent]

Thanks for your reply. No red light and my I/R thermometer shows 210 on hottest engine surface I can find.

 

[Equanish]

Thanks for your reply. No red light and my I/R thermometer shows 210 on hottest engine surface I can find.

that being high up near the TV valves I bet.

 

[Equanish]

cracked coil covers can make it too hot so I've read. only 1&3 are easy to inspect.

 

[staugustineagent]

Yikes! Cracked coils already on a 2020/5300 miles. I sure hope that is not it but I will look into it to cover as many bases as possible. Thanks

 

[Parminio]

My 2020 Vmax will peg the coolant meter if I am stopped in hot weather here in Florida. I have to get moving and then it will return to center position

A great many people think they're overheating when they are not. They thought the same thing of the Gen 1 Vmax. It's simply not true.

If your needle isn't going past redline to the actual H on the gauge, you are not overheating.

It isn't an old Chevy. It's a bike. It's perfectly normal for it to get to the higher end of the gauge. Then the fan turns on and the temperature stays pretty much right where it is. Once you get moving again it cools back down.

That is by design. It's perfectly normal. If you're not burying the gauge and actually overheating, you do not have a problem. So stop looking for one.

That's why so many people wasted time, money, energy and actually hurt their bikes (Gen 1) by putting a manual fan switch on them. They think it's a car. It is not. It's a bike.

 

[Big"A"]

My 2020 Vmax will peg the coolant meter if I am stopped in hot weather here in Florida. I have to get moving and then it will return to center position. Would the Guru Gear ecu reflash be able to open the thermostat at a lower temperature and also start fans sooner? The heat is noticeable-not as bad as some Ducati’s but concerning. Any thoughts? Thanks

I have a gen 1. I put a lesser degree temp switch in and added water wetter and better fan in. Took care a of of over heating problem

 

[Equanish]

My 2020 Vmax will peg the coolant meter if I am stopped in hot weather here in Florida. I have to get moving and then it will return to center position. Would the Guru Gear ecu reflash be able to open the thermostat at a lower temperature and also start fans sooner? The heat is noticeable-not as bad as some Ducati’s but concerning. Any thoughts? Thanks

water wetter!

 

[rreed]

1986 here in Florida and mine is never more than 3 o'clock on the temp gauge if you will.

 

[Smithjs35]

Parminio is right on with the nature of the vmax. I'm fairly new and did not know this realization so I installed Engine Ice and it barely goes past the screw on the dial. Hope I didn't screw up, lol.

 

[Parminio]

Bikes are engineered that way. The engines are small and openly exposed to air, so they get rid of heat a lot easier than a car does that has the engine in a completely enclosed area.

What's more, bikes are minimal on their charging systems. Again, by design. They're NOT cars and don't need it...until somebody goes and starts adding a bunch of load to them they were never intended to carry, that is.

Here's the post I made before on typical Vmax behavior, and it's not just the Vmax. Just about every water cooled bike ever made is the same way:

It's actually perfectly normal for a Vmax to run just below the red line. The fan shouldn't kick on until it actually gets to the red line mark. In stop and go traffic on a really hot day it can move up into the red area and the fan should be running non stop at that point. If it wasn't, you have an issue. If it was, you do not.​

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Normal operating range is anywhere in that area. The fan WILL NOT be running.​

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Below the lowest red mark I made is on the cool side. The white break in the lines is hot but not deadly hot. Typically that's right about where the fan turns on. It may creep just to the skinny red line before it turns on. That is perfectly normal.​

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Anywhere in the thin red line is hot, but not deadly hot. You're perfectly OK there but you need to get it cooled down at that point. If it hits that thick red section at the very end just shut the bike off and wait for it to cool down if you can't get out in free traffic.​

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Most people completely over react to the temperature gauge on the Vmax and do things they really shouldn't be doing and have no need to do.​

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It's almost always a waste of money and turns out making the bike run way cooler than it should. In many cases it can actually hurt the performance and efficiency of the bike.​

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Running the fan full time is a no-no. The Vmax charging system is notoriously weak. It is not made to run the fan full time. At all.​

 

[mymax]

My 2020 Vmax will peg the coolant meter if I am stopped in hot weather here in Florida. I have to get moving and then it will return to center position. Would the Guru Gear ecu reflash be able to open the thermostat at a lower temperature and also start fans sooner? The heat is noticeable-not as bad as some Ducati’s but concerning. Any thoughts? Thanks

I am in Sacramento ca and wether is around 85 and it’s my first summer with 2019 max and will let you know how it goes but I watch all Jeff marcum videos and other and as long as fan kick in it’s ok to feel the heat during summer

 

[Equanish]

Yikes! Cracked coils already on a 2020/5300 miles. I sure hope that is not it but I will look into it to cover as many bases as possible. Thanks

Sorry I didn't realize I was in Gen 2 land.

 

[mymax]

Hi
2019/8300 miles gen 2 engine stalling due to code 12 and in the shop to replace generator coil I guess the year and miles don’t matter but it’s suppose to be maintenance free motorcycle will keep you posted little disappointed but happy to own v max