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Need advice about riding slow in high heat

Stormrider51

Stormrider51

Active Member
Here's the situation. Brand new 09 RK. Still completely stock. Just had the 1000 mile service done and synthetics in all three holes. I ride it back and forth to work every day. The mornings are good but on the first day of Summer somebody turned on the heat and we began to have afternoon temps of 100+ F (supposed to hit 107 today). I'm riding home in stop and go traffic and then about 4 miles on a freeway at about 5 mph or less. I've ridden most of my life but this is the first time I've done it on a daily basis in this kind of heat. I'm worried about the motor. Will the 09's handle this kind of heat or am I cooking the motor? I know that if I ask at the dealership the answer will be that they need to install an oil cooler and who knows what else. Do I need to do something or am I worrying about nothing?

Thanks,
John
 
I would if there were any backroads between downtown and home. The choice is between streets with stoplights every couple of blocks or the freeway. Backroads are for weekends.

John
 
My first service was just done as well and I was told that riding slow in the hot weather will not hurt the motor however, your leg may get pretty warm! That happened to me on the way home one day - I was doing about 50km/h in 32degC weather - boy did my chaps feel like they would melt into my leg! I invested in some mid air deflectors - I thought they were a bit gimicky but so far so good - they seem to be doing their job! Now I prefer to ride the highway on warm days and leave the backroads for the cooler days just for personal comfort preference.
 
An air cooled motor relies on the air flowing over it to cool it. If it's stop and go,you'll know th motor is overheating if it is sluggish an/or pinging. Time to get it moving to cool it off or shut it off.
 
My 09 Road Glide is my first air-cooled motorcycle and I'm a little paranoid about heat. I understand that changing to synthetics helps because of their higher tolerance to heat, and you've done that. An air cooler is often recommended but they are only effective if you have some airflow across the radiator fins. I plan on getting an air cooler but in the meantime I installed a Lenale air fan (H-D also makes one) for those times when I am stuck in traffic jams where there is little or no movement. If all else fails then you will just have to rely on pulling over and turning the motor off or getting off the freeway for a while to let the engine cool down.
 
An oil cooler will help. True that oil coolers work better when air is moving over them as the rate of heat transfer is faster. However, 260* oil flowing through a heat exchanger that is exposed to 100* air still has a cooling effect even in slow moving traffic; the rate of heat transfer is just slower. An oil cooler with a fan is even better in the situation you describe and synthetic engine oil is an absolute.
 
You mentioned running synthetics, was it Syn III? If so, next oil change I'd switch to Mobil 1 V-twin or Golden Spectro. Syn III cooled down my old Heritage by probably 20 degrees (over the regular HD 20W-50)and my Pa (new owner) just switched to Mobil 1 and he said the oil temp dropped even more.

I'm not trying to change this thread's subject.....just thought good oil might help keep'er cool.
 
B-1B_Guy said:
You mentioned running synthetics, was it Syn III? If so, next oil change I'd switch to Mobil 1 V-twin or Golden Spectro. Syn III cooled down my old Heritage by probably 20 degrees (over the regular HD 20W-50)and my Pa (new owner) just switched to Mobil 1 and he said the oil temp dropped even more.

I'm not trying to change this thread's subject.....just thought good oil might help keep'er cool.
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Good oil will help for sure even if it doesnt cool it down it has a lot higher thermal break down
 
Thanks for all the advice. I'm probably worrying more than I should but as I said this is the first time I've ridden this slowly for this distance in this much heat. I've always managed to avoid living in really big cities until now. It's insane to have thousands of people hitting the roads at the same time every day but that's the insanity we live in.

B-1B_Guy...no, I'm not running Syn-3. I haven't run plain old oil or a blend in a very long time. When I went in for the 1000 mile service (at 850 miles) I had them put in Amsoil. I wanted Mobil-1 V-Twin but Amsoil is what they had so I went for that. At least it's pure synthetic.

Thanks,
John
 
it's a motor vehicle ride it and enjoy it it was made for everyday riding. A little heat aint the end of the world. If you are stopped say for an accident for an extended period of time shut it down other than that just enjoy it it will be fine.
 
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