Wedders
Active Member
Can anyone tell me approximately what engine temperature the fan starts. I think I remember reading somewhere it is about 84 deg. C
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That’s just what I need. Sounds like I’m fine. Just have the post maintenance jitters. Thanks.The fan is just 12v hook it up to your battery with some leads and it will run. I work in deg.C and my temp gauge reaches 96 C with no fan running, but does start after that if I’m stopped say in traffic.
It is extremely rare that the fan ever runs on my NC. No way would it ever run at 55*F normal riding unless I just parked it and let it idle in dead air for 10 minutes. In fact, if you wanted to test the fan, park it and let it idle 10-15 minutes and see if the fan comes on. I don’t have my service manual handy, but it may even suggest something like that as a test.Took my bike for a 15-20 minute test ride. Ambient temperature was about 55f. No hard riding. Top speed 55. When I got back I looked and the fan wasn’t running. I’m a little nervous because I disassembled the radiator to do my valve clearance checks, but honestly I have never looked at the fan before. No dashboard lights on. Is there anything that I should be keeping an eye on for this? Don’t want to get stranded away from home because of a bad fan.
Thank you. I did let it idle for about 8 min but it still didn’t come on. I appreciate your input. Makes me feel a whole lot better.It is extremely rare that the fan ever runs on my NC. No way would it ever run at 55*F normal riding unless just I parked it and let it idle in dead air for 10 minutes. In fact, if you wanted to test the fan, park it and let it idle 10-15 minutes and see if the fan comes on. I don’t have my service manual handy, but it may even suggest something like that as a test.
That’s interesting. Thank you. I did ride to work yesterday, 45 minutes each way and no hazard lights so I’m assuming it’s ok at this point.I found a product that is pretty handy for bikes without a coolant temperature gauge.
It is from a company called Race Temp, rather than try to explain, here is a link.
It is inexpensive and works well for things like knowing at what temperature the fan comes on.
I would say it is ok. I have approx 65,000 miles on my 2013 and I can count on one hand the times I have heard the fan come on....and those were sitting in traffic at 90+ degree heat.That’s interesting. Thank you. I did ride to work yesterday, 45 minutes each way and no hazard lights so I’m assuming it’s ok at this point.
That’s good to know. I was thinking they were more like cars and the fan came on all the timeThe cooling fan just doesn’t come on very often with these bikes. It’s so rare I can’t remember an instance that didn’t require idling 15 minutes or more. All three of my NCs were the same in this regard. For what ever reason the cooling system is very efficient.
In principle, there is no difference between a motorcycle and a car cooling system. Just like in a car there is a primary (internal) cooling circuit of the engine, forced by the water pump, and an extended (external) cooling circuit to the radiator. Both circuits are connected by a thermostatic valve (thermostat). The main difference is what the engine block is made of. Most modern motorcycles have an aluminum alloy engine, a very good heat conductor, so it cools faster. Most car engines are still made of cast iron (lower price), a much poorer heat conductor. And several times the mass of the engine block - a lot of material to cool down....I was thinking they were more like cars and the fan came on all the time
I can’t hear the elctric fan on my four cylinder car but I assumed it rarely or never came on when the car is moving and the AC is off. I’ll have to pay more attention. On my motorhome, the belt driven fan sort of idles most of the time but I hear it roar once in a great while when the fan clutch engages. Running a radiator fan all the time unnecessarily would waste energy.That’s good to know. I was thinking they were more like cars and the fan came on all the time
I'll second this suggestion on the thermometer. I finally picked one up last year and it's a wonderful little device I can point to highlight temps where I want to see them. Wish I'd had one before. As much for curiosity as for practical considerations. See my post above for ways to lower the overall temperature of your bike, if you live or ride in hot temperatures.If you are in doubt as to whether the cooling system is working properly, in addition to visually checking the condition of the radiator, the service manual provides a detailed ECT (Engine Coolant Temperature sensor) test and thermostat test.
A cheap digital infrared thermometer is also very helpful in initial problem diagnosis.