[speeddemontbn86]

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HI GUYS!

I'm new here and recently picked up an 82' GL1100 aspencade. I am having a strange overheating issue. When I am at a stop-light, or some other area that involves stopping, the temp is fine. But when I am moving, the temp slowly climbs up and touches the red zone. It does not actually touch the red zone, but it it right there. If I slow back down to a stop, it drops within a matter of seconds.

This defies all logic to me, seeing that there is more airflow while moving, but who knows.

Suggestions?

 

[DaveO430]

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There might not be enough coolant flow to cool it at other than an idle. The radiator might be clogged or the water pump worn out or the thermostat not opening completely.

 

[Goldwinger1984]

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Perhaps someone has wired the electric fan in reverse polarity causing it to blow the air out but when you are at speed the air is stagnant because it's blowing against the fan. A burnt head gasket can also cause the engine to overheat at speed.



Vic

 

[speeddemontbn86]

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I was thinking it was one of those three.. but there is so much plastic on this barge that I am hesitant to just go tearing into it. Seeing that I live in an apartment. Is the thermostat easily accessible? I think that would be my first step.

 

[speeddemontbn86]

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The fan is definitely blowing in the right direction. It is also on all the time.

How does one check for a blown head gasket?

 

[Goldwinger1984]

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A poor man's method of checking the head gaskets is to remove the rad cap and look for bubbles. Also check the overflow tank for signs of oil.



Vic

 

[speeddemontbn86]

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This show how new I am to this. I did not know of anywhere to check coolant other than the overflow. It could be low still!

Something new happened. I took it for a ride to pick up the girl from work, and for about 5 miles straight it dropped down to the 1/4 mark and stayed there.

 

[johnmac]

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Don't put complete faith in the gauge. Does it "seem' hot?

John

 

[speeddemontbn86]

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It's rather oven-esque. I mean, the radiator is warm, the valve covers are hot, and hot air rises up like my old CB750 air cooled.

 

[jlparker77]

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You need to get the radiator cap off the see how full the radiator is. Not as easy as it should be. start at the rear, easiest to undo the upper bolts on the saddlebags and loosen the bottom ones then the bags will "flop" out and give you easy room to remove the seat then you can get to the rear two bolts holding the false tank on. Then remove the lower fairings, 3 philips screws on each one, the bushings behind them are not all the same so pay attention to which ones come from where, then behind there you can see one bolt on each side that holds the front of the false tank down. Take them out and pull the false tank up and then you can get to the radiator cap. Sorry, there is not an easier way that i know of. You could just have low coolant.

Jade

 

[speeddemontbn86]

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jlparker77 wrote:

You need to get the radiator cap off the see how full the radiator is. Not as easy as it should be. start at the rear, easiest to undo the upper bolts on the saddlebags and loosen the bottom ones then the bags will "flop" out and give you easy room to remove the seat then you can get to the rear two bolts holding the false tank on. Then remove the lower fairings, 3 philips screws on each one, the bushings behind them are not all the same so pay attention to which ones come from where, then behind there you can see one bolt on each side that holds the front of the false tank down. Take them out and pull the false tank up and then you can get to the radiator cap. Sorry, there is not an easier way that i know of. You could just have low coolant.

Jade

Oh..... Goood.... God.... help me

 

[exavid]

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Cool at idle and heating up underway with an operating fan system tends to point to a scaled radiator. Apparently with the engine running slow the system can eliminate the heat but when more power is developed the radiator can't get rid of the excess heat. The fan being on all the time isn't good either, it shouldn't come on except in slow stop and go riding in hot weather or after a long idling session. That also indicates either your fan switch isn't working or the radiator isn't getting rid of heat. The first thing I'd check would be to pull the connector off the thermostatic fan switch to make sure the fan will stop (with the key on) and then verify that the radiator is indeed full. If those two things are okay it would be a good idea to use an IR thermometer (cheap ones available from Harbor Freight) to see how the temperature changes across and up and down on the front of the radiator. The temp should be hottest at the top of the radiator and coolest at the bottom with a pretty smooth drop of temperature down it's face. The temperature from side to side should be pretty constant at a given distance from the top or bottom, ie, back and forth across the radiator. Any cool spots with warmer areas all around them indicate a pretty scaled or plugged radiator.

 

[Bschofield]

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it's not so bad.. after having mine off so many times, i had a radiator cap leak (due to operator error) and was late for an appointment. I had the seat off, lower fairing off, false tank off, tightened the cap, false tank back on, said screw the lower fairings. put on the seat and was on my way in 10 minutes flat.... but... that said.. it is a way to get intimate with your machine, as you cannot just take off the false tank you have to do a kind of dance with it.. twist to the left, lift, twist to the right pull,,, beg a bit.. and i'm sure every bike is different... have fun! isn't that why we have these? hehehe:dude:
Barry

 

[speeddemontbn86]

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Tomorrow's job, check radiator level.

Thanks guys!

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Hey Speeddemonbn86,

I would say that if you don’t know how old that coolant is in your system, simply change it. Give your system a good flush. It’s only a few more steps then checking the cooling system anyway. Coolant is cheap just watch what you get.

Hope this helps…

Tim.

 

[jlparker77]

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Yes, pictures are worth a thousand words. Study them and you will be fine. Like Bschofield said, Once you do it a dozen times then you become very proficient at it. I can get to mine in just minutes as well. Only through practice though. The first one was more like 20 or 30 minutes.

You will be ok

Jade

 

[speeddemontbn86]

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It looks like having the air compressor adds more fun to the equation.

 

[Mr Magic Fingers]

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Oh,



Just so you know, I have an 82 Aspencade as well and I had the exact same problem this spring...



Low on coolant.



Tim.

 

[dingdong]

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You also need to check your oil for coolant. You may be getting hot spots when the oil isn't lubricating the engine properly because of coolant in the oil.

 

[ldsgeek]

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Actually, to remove the seat you only need to stick an 8mm allen through the cutout in the top of the saddle bags, one on each side, to remove the shoulder bolt (right) and seat adjuster (left). Then pull the seat back to disengage the tongue at the front. THe false tank is held on by 2 10mm bolts at the rear and 2 philips head at the front. The fronts will need the lower fairings removed to access, again philips head screws. As this is an Aspencade you need to deal with the compressor, which I can't help with. The radiator cap is at the lower right front of the false tank.

Good luck,

David Tupper