Cooling fan

[Saloonatic67]

Quick question for the Gen 2 owners ......

My cooling fan seems to cut in far more often than any other bike I've owned, even my VFR with it's side mounted radiators. That was a bike that really needed forward movement for good cooling.

Is this normal for XR's ?

The fan cuts in at 102 DegC and off at 95 DegC. I'm okay with these figures, but just questioning the time between fan off to fan on again.

For info the coolant level is good. Bike is fitted with BMW rad & oil cooler protectors.

[brickit]

Have you had a look behind your rad guard?
This was what I found behind the guards on my Mk 1 the other day.
Impossible to keep clean unless you take the guards off and that is with a front fender extender.

[Antares]

Originally Posted by Saloonatic67

Quick question for the Gen 2 owners ......

My cooling fan seems to cut in far more often than any other bike I've owned, even my VFR with it's side mounted radiators. That was a bike that really needed forward movement for good cooling.

Is this normal for XR's ?

The fan cuts in at 102 DegC and off at 95 DegC. I'm okay with these figures, but just questioning the time between fan off to fan on again.

For info the coolant level is good. Bike is fitted with BMW rad & oil cooler protectors.

This bike runs very hot especially at slow speed since it relies on the fan heavily, expect to have the fan on 24/7, if the fan can cool the bike down from 102 to 95 inside of 15-20 seconds then there is not a problem. My mates Multistrada 1260 runs a solid 15°C cooler at all times except on the motorway where we're about the same.

[Saloonatic67]

Originally Posted by brickit

Have you had a look behind your rad guard?
This was what I found behind the guards on my Mk 1 the other day.
Impossible to keep clean unless you take the guards off and that is with a front fender extender.

That is horrific ! I take it you're favourite run is through a farmyard ? 

I have been paying particular attention to cleaning the fins on my radiator and tbh they're spotless in comparison to yours.

Antares - I've never taken the time to either check the cut in/out time nor the temp when on the road. However my OCD won't allow me to leave this alone. These will be checked tomorrow 
Thanks for the input folks

[Momo1970]

Supposedly the Bren tune makes the engine run cooler. I don’t have the tune but this could be a good reason to install it.

[brickit]

Originally Posted by Saloonatic67

That is horrific ! I take it you're favourite run is through a farmyard ? 

Agreed, it isn't good and I do spend most of my time riding some terrific rural roads in all weathers, but not off road.
My point is that, certainly on the Mk 1, you can't keep your rad spotless unless you avoid wet roads and take the guards off every time you clean the bike.
The ideal would be to flush fresh dirt out from the back of the rad, but there just isn't room to get a hose or airline in there, because of the cooling fan.  Also, the guards are all positioned too close to the radiator fins, so any dirt that gets through the mesh just stays trapped. The useless designer stubby mudguards don't help at all.
If the bike overheats because of a blocked radiator, you have a major problem, because the dirt will probably be baked in and won't be easy to shift. I have found condenser cleaner to be pretty effective, along with a lot of soaking and gentle brushing. Of course one mistake and buying a new rad could spoil the entire day. 
I should add that my oil rad is now 100% clean and the water rad about 95% clear. To do the job right, the water rad would have to be removed completely, which I will do if I get overheating problems.
Of course a nice new Mk 2 would solve all my issues, but I'm still working on that.