At lot of us run temp gauges. It is a great idea. You know the engine is warm before you hammer on it and you know if you are heating up and need to move a little more air through the radiator.
I rode my 250 for 20 years without one but sure like it now that I have one on the Zilla.
I run the same one you posted. I like it works good and it keeps your max temp for you.
That is a way nicer piece than the analog pieces. I've never seen that temp gauge. It's got me thinking.
Ordered one just now from Dennis Kirk.
So now the next question:
At what temperature does one have to start to worry?
Keep it below 200. Get the coolant above 100 before running it hard at all.
just remember when you shut bike off it will climb 10 more deg. 200 is a good place to shut down or run bike against wind to help get it back down.
That's right. I always cool'er off if I start getting up around 190. No sense pushing my luck on the old beast!
I run the same one on my hybrid i stuck it just in front of fuel cap on the plastic. alot more convienient than the inline dial gauges cause you dont have to lean off the side to get temp. Im with nopick when it gets close to 190-200 i get nervous
How about those inline cooler pieces? Has anyone tried them to aid in the pre-cooling of the coolant? Do they work, and if so which one works well?
Ive been told they do nothing.
On zillas they mount close to the exh pipe and soak lots of heat from there. It would need to be mounted in an area with lots of air flow and away from the exhaust.
So if I wanted to buy the same temp gauge would I need the 22mm version for the LT500? It comes in a few sizes and I just don't wanna get the wrong one lol.
Oh ok gotcha. Thanks that would have sucked!!
Haha hey DMoney I didnt know you hung out over here too lol!!
And Im not overly worried, I have that big CBR radiator and plan on (hopefully) getting the jetting dialed in good. Im just kind of a numbers guy and want to keep an eye on it and look for patterns and what not with how the motor is running.
That EGT is pretty nifty though. What kind of values would you even be looking out for on that??
On zillas they mount close to the exh pipe and soak lots of heat from there. It would need to be mounted in an area with lots of air flow and away from the exhaust.
not only that but puttng a temp guage down by your feet just doesnt make sense. One of these digital ones or a warp drive seem like the best option.
So in the 6 days I was riding in Glamis my temp went as high as 220F (and it was only in the low 70's!)
I think its a pipe dream thinking it won't get over 190F
Now where mine is mounted is very close to the exhaust so maybe that makes a difference.
But Bill said he also seen 220F on his so that gave me a bit more peace of mind.
If you're really worried about getting your Zilla too hot, get an EGT. By the time your water temp is skyrocketing, your top-end could already be toast. An EGT won't prevent a meltdown either, but it will feed you a more accurate response 20x faster than the water temp will.
This is about as cheap as you can find, but you will need a power source. http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIGITAL-EGT-THERMOMETER-PYROMETER-W-CLAMP-ON-PROBE-/200600832380?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item2eb4bdc97c
About the best way to make sure you aren't overheating is to properly jet your bike with a plug chop and do a leakdown test. Air leaks and wrong jetting are probably the biggest top-end killers out there.
Yes an EGT will give you an approximate condition of your jetting. The jetting affects water temperature very little. Water temperature is primarily affected by the amount of power being produced and the air flow THROUGH the radiator.
We have found that the major causes of high coolant temperatures are missing air scopes, after marker grills and corrosion inside the radiators.
If the engine is being worked hard in first and second gear the speeds are too low and the engine will usually overheat in a matter of a couple of minutes or less.
Extra large radiators with air scopes may be required for low speed trail riding. Cooling fans are not options for most two strokes because of their alternators low power output.
So where would you place the probe for this?
I do a lot of tight trail riding and woods hill climbing with a lot of 1st and 2nd gear riding. I was having overheating issues and did end up opting for a new radiator. I couldn't be happier.