Air cooled engine worries.

[Deleted member 1344]

I have been asked by numerous people if my feet get hot due to close proximity of the cylinders. My answer surprises them which they likely dont understand.
With the R18TC in 90+ temp, all the heat is pushed out the front where the wind immediately dissipates it.
When riding a HD RoadGlide in 90+ temp, the heat from the right side of the engine is so intense I frequently lift my right leg out to the right to cool it.

 

[itnetpro]

I have been asked by numerous people if my feet get hot due to close proximity of the cylinders. My answer surprises them which they likely dont understand.
With the R18TC in 90+ temp, all the heat is pushed out the front where the wind immediately dissipates it.
When riding a HD RoadGlide in 90+ temp, the heat from the right side of the engine is so intense I frequently lift my right leg out to the right to cool it.

Yea, I was impressed too the first time I rode in the heat. I thought for sure I would feel the heat coming off the cylinders. For the life of me after all these years, I don’t understand why Harley has never found a way to manage the heat coming off the rear cylinder. The last Harley I owned was a 2018 Street Glide. The Torque curve was perfect! In my opinion, that engine sets the standard for V-Twins. All that and they still fell short in managing the heat direction. If I recall, I had to purchase a $500 fan to reduce the burn.

I gave up on Harley. Loud and obnoxious just was not my thing. I still wanted an original from a traditional manufacturer that has been around for 100+ years. Even though this boxer is new, as you all know BMW has been manufacturing this type of engine for a long time. That plus I did own a 1150rt and loved that boxer.

Not only did I find a great daily rider in my r18b but im impressed with the attention to quality. Harley did such a good job on the engine but so much of the bike was cheap and lacking in detail. Even something as simple as the gas cap. Harley = cheap light plastic BMW = heavy solid metal.

My only gripe with my BMW is some of electronics are just way over engineered and complicated for a motorcycle. Yea, yea I know, it’s German, that’s what they do!

John

 

[Deleted member 1344]

That was a fun piece to read. I agreed with all of it.

 

[Lanser]

I don't know if any of you did a longer trip but I just come back a week ago from Coast to Coast NY > LA over Oregon on my R18C had no problems with hot feet of back pain because of the "only" 3,5 inch rear suspension as many test gurus predicted. The only problems I had were, the engine shot down twice on the highway (Speed limit 80 miles 6th gear) in Wyoming and next day in Idaho first by 96ºF then by 71ºF and it would not turn on, but after 5 min pause if nothing happened back to normal. Called my dealer they told me, safety shutdown to prevent overheating, asked the dealer in LA he told me low battery. I guess i have to do more investigation. The second problem I have is the tank capacity. In larger populated areas no problem but when you ride the open wide land on a road with nearly no traffic at all you start thinking where you going to get to stop and then ??

 

[aicpjim]

Was riding my new TC in the mountains of North Carolina, near Maggie Valley. Started up a long, steep incline road, and ran into a traffic jam from an accident a mile or so ahead. Lots of bikers coming the other direction were motioning me with the "turn around" signal, but I didn't listen. So - crawling up a steep hill, for 45 minutes, about 10 feet at a time, then stopping for 3-4 minutes, then moving 10 feet, etc. Got the engine overheat warning... Ended up turning the bike off in the longer stop intervals. Not very fun keeping it from rolling back on that hill, either.

 

[Deleted member 1344]

That is surprising in 79 degree temps. BMW even built an oil jacket around the exhaust valve to keep the head cool.

 

[Greg_H]

I'm finding that I am reluctant to ride my R18 at times due to the fear of getting stuck in traffic.
Throughout my ownership of the bike so far, the bike has gotten hot enough to warn me to stop, twice.
The first time it happened was while waiting in a long line to enter a national park.
The second time it happened was when I was riding in NYC.

The other day, while returning from a 400 mile day trip, I got stuck in traffic on my Husqvarna. There was a huge delay and I was sitting in stop and go traffic for half an hour in 90F+ degree heat.
In my head I was thinking... thank goodness I didn't bring my R18 today.
I HATE the fact that this thought went through my head. I want to ride it without any worries.
I like the bike so much that I was thinking about upgrading to a TC... but oh boy that return trip messed me up.

Has any of you experienced this worry? How do you deal with it? Any tips on keeping the engine cool?
While I was waiting in line to enter that national park, I had the luxury of turning the bike off and on as the movement of the line was predictable.... and it STILL overheated.
That luxury was not afforded to me in NYC.
This has me looking at other bikes... I might be happier going back to a GS... help!

I live in the South. It's hot and humid all summer, and it's a LONG summer. And traffic? Yeah, the greater Atlanta area knows how to pile it up. That said, I've been much more comfortable in stop-and-go traffic on my R18CLA than my R1250GS. Maybe it's just me, but I find myself cooler on the R18. Granted, I'm soaked to the bone under a mesh jacket on both! As for the engine over-heating, it's never happened. Never have I worried it would. If I see we're going to be at standstill for any length of time, I hit the kill switch. Sometimes, I'll step off to air out the nut sack. May not a big help for the bike, but it does me good.

 

[Greg_H]

Was riding my new TC in the mountains of North Carolina, near Maggie Valley. Started up a long, steep incline road, and ran into a traffic jam from an accident a mile or so ahead. Lots of bikers coming the other direction were motioning me with the "turn around" signal, but I didn't listen. So - crawling up a steep hill, for 45 minutes, about 10 feet at a time, then stopping for 3-4 minutes, then moving 10 feet, etc. Got the engine overheat warning... Ended up turning the bike off in the longer stop intervals. Not very fun keeping it from rolling back on that hill, either.

That's when the Hill Start Control is a marvel.

 

[Deleted member 1344]

LOL, I didn't know that the Nikasil coating is harder than a whores heart. Glad to know the bike ran fine after the overheat though.

 

[nielsm]

I don't know if any of you did a longer trip but I just come back a week ago from Coast to Coast NY > LA over Oregon on my R18C had no problems with hot feet of back pain because of the "only" 3,5 inch rear suspension as many test gurus predicted. The only problems I had were, the engine shot down twice on the highway (Speed limit 80 miles 6th gear) in Wyoming and next day in Idaho first by 96ºF then by 71ºF and it would not turn on, but after 5 min pause if nothing happened back to normal. Called my dealer they told me, safety shutdown to prevent overheating, asked the dealer in LA he told me low battery. I guess i have to do more investigation. The second problem I have is the tank capacity. In larger populated areas no problem but when you ride the open wide land on a road with nearly no traffic at all you start thinking where you going to get to stop and then ??

Tracking your real-world economy is critical for any bike, but especially if you are in parts of the west with large areas of nothing. On my R18 Classic, I find I can easily cover 135 miles in a tank with plenty of reserve, in fact it's around there that I'd expect the fuel reserve light to go on. With my overall average economy, I expect an empty tank at about 180 miles, so I aim to fill up between 130-150 miles. My longest tank was 166 miles, when it was particularly fuel efficient (lots of highway/calm throttle use) and I wanted to see how far I could go in an area with plenty of stations. I still had 0.75 gallons in the tank, so it might have been able to stretch to ~200 miles. But I wouldn't count on that type of range.

My GSA has an 8.7 gallon tank, so the range is much greater with it. I expect empty at around 330 miles, but aim to refill between 250-275 miles. I'd only worry about that in parts of Canada or the Dalton Highway in Alaska.

In areas that are more sparse, I find a good strategy is to fill up whenever you see a station and you have at least 40 miles on the tank. You might also carry some extra fuel canisters. But, researching where stations are is critical. US 6 in Nevada is famous for around 168 miles between stations, but that would be just within the range of the R18C. Check out resources like: https://www.roadtripamerica.com/for...etch-without-a-gas-station-in-the-lower-48-us.

 

[David R]

I have only seen the high temp light when I tested it with the scanneer.

By bike gets HOT. It runs fine and does not ping. In hot weather, on hot days in stop and go traffic, when I shout it off. Upon restart, it rattles like crazy. ONLY HOT Really hot. I took it to the dealer, they said it had no problems. I sent in an oil test , they say no problems.

To me it sounds like it lost its oil pump prime.

I ride the heck out of this thing. 18,000 miles. Runs better than when it was new.

Use only BMW oil and filters.

Had a 00 RT got started and left running. It melted the oil window and quit. Still had compression, did not seize.

David

 

[laennecr]

It is 100+ here every day.No issues and I'm pulling a sidecar.Next Saturday it will be 108+ then the 1-teens will be starting soon.
That makes the old saying "Fun as Hell"to take on a whole new meaning.
My R18C runs cooler than my Indian 116BBK.Now you talk about having something hot between the crotch,WOW!
Actually thinking of going to a water cooled bike.Maybe a Challenger.The EPA has aircooled motorcycles running at the same 14.7:1 and shit gas.
Electric(maybe not here as the temps really kill a battery)or Water Buffalo.
Last thing,I also need to protect my body and try to make my trips when the weather is cooler because I ride everyday.
To suggest a Tuner may solve your issue.Good Luck and be safe out there.


Oh,I did get caught is a over 2 hour slow,stop & go traffic thru Sedona.I learned to not use to much throttle as the clutch will be affected and the clutch will over heat.
The trick is to slip/feather the clutch without using the throttle.The bike has more than enough torque with the BrenTune and DNA filter.

What manner of sidecar do you have? I’m putting a Ural car on mine very soon. Ural died and R nine T i too small.

 

[Deleted member 939]

What manner of sidecar do you have? I’m putting a Ural car on mine very soon. Ural died and R nine T i too small.

Here are some pictures on this thread half way down.
I think the Ural car may not be big enough.I also was looking at the Watsonian listed below.
I wanted a brake and the ECC(electrictroni camber control).So I chose the Hannigan $12,000 but all hand laid fiberglass & built to the hilt.

https://www.r18forums.com/threads/just-ride-the-damn-thing-share-your-adventures.673/page-3


https://www.watsonian-squire.com/product/sterling/


Good luck

 

[laennecr]

Thanks very much. Looks beautiful.

 

[Goobiwan]

Picking up my bike today after it’s run in service. 3 degrees Celsius here, should get to 7 by lunchtime! I’m praying for the heat from Bertha!

 

[HOSSMAN1]

A lot of good comments on this thread. I used a product called LOVE JUGS on my last two Harleys, both Ultra Classics. The cooling fans were small, nicely chromed, reliable, and WORKED. I just emailed the owner of LOVE JUGS, (link here) https://love-jugs.com/ to see if he had any plans to adapt mounting brackets for the R18s. I can see how I could easily adapt the Mighty MIte model, (with some trouble attached), to mount on my engine protection bars. if LOVE JUGS takes the step forward to make a product to fit I'll buy it immediately. As I recall they reduce head temp over 100 degrees. I live in Louisiana and haven't had any overheating issues yet....and I don't want to. Anyway, I think if there is truly an overheating issue this void will be filled by LOVE JUGS or someone else. Keep the rubber side down for Thanksgiving!

 

[Houston Bagger]

Love jugs would be absolutely pointless, the heads on the R18 stick straight out the side so the wind hits them directly, keeping them cool and already doing what love jugs do. Why would they need an extra fan? HD needs them because no wind hits the heads due to the configuration of a V-twin.

 

[HOSSMAN1]

I just got a call from Adam Halstead, owner of LOVE JUGS, and h3e informed me he is active pursuit of a product variation for our R18s. FYI

 

[Deleted member 939]

Love jugs would be absolutely pointless, the heads on the R18 stick straight out the side so the wind hits them directly, keeping them cool and already doing what love jugs do. Why would they need an extra fan? HD needs them because no wind hits the heads due to the configuration of a V-twin.

Besides the fans would get in the way of the leg griller/rests,LOL!

 

[sjeuf12]

Hi, I did have an overheating issue last summer, during a traffic jam on the London Hiways.
Did already write something about this, but the conditions where as follows:
35 deg C
30 miles traffic jam with stop and slow traffic.
First overtemp warning after 30 or so minutes
Second, more urgent, warning some 5 minutes later.

Did park the bike on the curb and let it cool down until the primairy alarm was cleared... took some 45 minutes
This did happen 3 or 4 times during that trip and then trafic jam speed increased to 5-10 mph... this being sufficient for the oil cooler to get everything under control

Did miss my ferry back to Holland by 3 hours; had to stay some extra 2 days in England.

Now I do have one of my winter/hibernation projects started and I would like to show you guys some pictures on my "cool the cooler" project.
2 8cm heavy duty fans, mounted on a Wunderlich like (but from Ali) oil cooler cover; stainless steel, chromed. The fans are mounted on this and these are then covered by another Ali simpler cover....
Did choose a black one on purpose, because I had to smack that one with a hammer to get the proper fitting.
The fans will be switched on and off manually for now, but in future this could be temp controlled.

All mech work is done today... and, surpise, it fits... and doesn't even look bad
Tomorrow electrical work and testing.
yes, I do have a diag tool to verify engine and oil cooler temperatures... I will take some screenshots during these tests

br
Ser