Thunderace temperature

I've just bought a '97Thunderace and I'm wondering if all is well with the temp gauge and/or cooling system...

 While the bike is moving at any speed, the temperature gauge barely reaches 60, although it creeps up if the bike's stationery for any length of time. Is this normal, or would you expect to see a higher temperature during normal riding?

 TIA!

fastfitter wrote (see)

Normal, while the bike is moving you're getting a cooling draft through the radiator. When you stop, so does the breeze so the temperature goes up, then goes down again when you're back on the move.

Thanks, but maybe I should have been clearer about what I'm asking...

 The question I was trying to ask (!) was whether or not sub-60 temperatures are normal for a Thunderace while the bike's moving. It seems a little cold to me, but I've never had a bike with a temp gauge before, so I'm not really sure about what to expect.

It's entirely possible the thermostat is stuck open.

BUT... 

I wouldn't put 100% trust on the gauge being accurate though (is it digi or analogue?), as the gauge on my 7R is always between 1/4 and 1/2 on a ride whilst moving, in any weather - and I've tested the stat.  It only rises above 1/2 if idling for any period of time, when the fan kicks in and ti drops back down to 1/2 again.

I'll assume this is an analogue temp gauge.

Don't read too much into what the guage reads as over time these can become a tad inaccurate.

With current weather/temp don't expect the bike to run at a high temp.

My ZX9R has a digital temp guage and has only gone above 84' (normal operating temp) when in town over the last couple of weeks. At 0' and 90mph on motorway was reading 58'.

Make sure the fan kicks in and everything should be ok. 

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Thanks for the comments.

 Sounds like everything's probably OK - so far, I've only ridden it on cold, wet days, so that's probably keeping things pretty cool. I'll keep an eye on it as things warm up - springtime's got to be here soon, right?

 (Oh, and yes, it's an analogue gauge.)

I'd agree with everyone above - you generally shouldn't use any gauges to give you an accurate value, you use them to spot trends and changes in behaviour that may indicate a problem elsewhere - be it temperature gauges, petrol gauges, oil pressure etc etc. 

My thunderace usually stays at 60 unless in traffic, runs like a bit of a pig when its hotter though, noisy etc. I've got a gismo to fit (when the can be arsed valve finally re-opens) that will allow me to set the temperature that the fan comes in at rather than the 90 odd degrees it does at the moment. Some use a switch to do the same thing, but this thing is plug in and forget unlike a switch

also check out www.exup.co.uk and http://www.bikersoracle.com/thunder/ for more info on the Thunderace/Exup stuff.

apness wrote (see)

My thunderace usually stays at 60...

Hi,

I have the same problem. I thought maybe the bike did not have a thermostat (bought it second hand) or was stuck open. Once I read that the gauge sender is on the radiator, so when you are on the road the water there is cold because the thermostat is closed or almost closed. So the coolant is going around the small circuit around the engine without much of it passing through the radiator. I wanted to double check it because I was concerned, but never did it and guess I got use to it.

Regards

José

Tick-over sounds a bit high - possibly it's been turned up to compensate for something? Turn it down a bit using the throttle stop (not the pilot screws) and see what happens.

The temperature at which the fan cut in might be a bit high, or the gauge might be over-reading a bit. The first could be caused by slightly restricted water flow in which case I'd reverse-flush the engine block, radiator and hoses to clean the crud out, then re-fill with de-ionised water and try it again. If it's improved, drain and refill with a good quality coolant. I'm always a little uneasy about using actual flushing compounds...