K8 Busa in the Heat

[TxThundar]

Well guys/gals I have a question for those with Busa experience. How do they handle the heat? I had an '04 R6 and it had a digital water temp on it that would get in the 240 range in stop and go DFW Texas summer heat. I am talking 110 degrees here the fun stuff. I am wondering how the K8 will hold up, as it has more plastic and seems to put out more heat in the 80 degreee heat we have had already this year. I wish it had a digital temp instead of the analog gauge. I also have a '06 Roadliner, which is air cooled Vtwin. It has no guage and ran ok the last two summers. I am sure Suzuki does hot weather testing just looking for your advice. I have seen a few threads about second fans on Gen I's what is this about?

 

[shawnski]

this is my 4th busa and never had any problems with 95 degrees heat, never overheated etc...and i am confident that 08 busa will even be better with dual fan! not to worry.
now the zx14 is another issue, there is alot of heat generated from engine and it will bbq your legs.

 

[rubber2burn]

I am sure it will fair better than most the GenI's because the GenII's have dual fans which is a much better set up and I do not think any one has had theirs long enough to see how it will perform in the 100+ temps so once summer gets here buddy go ahead and fill us in on how the GenII's hold up to the Texas Heat

 

[christianjax]

My 02 ran Hot Once while I was at a traffic light, but I think it was a fluke because it only did it the one time. Other than that it takes the Florida heat well. (ever been to bike week? You sit in traffic for LONG periods of time idling in the heat) Like has been said, the 08's have an extra fan so should run good. I was stuck in traffic on my first day on the bike on an 80 degree day and the needle never moved above normal on my new 08.

 

[rykstr]

Wrap them up!

 

[Warchild]

I'm sure it'll be pretty toasty, but it's not going to be any worse then the Blackbird or FJR.

The trick is to stay moving. If you are going to be crawling in traffic when the ambient temps are 3 digits, most any modern big-bore engine that is fully encased in tupperware is going to be warm. Note that in addition to a second fan, there is also a larger, curved radiator on the K8, compared to Gen I bikes.

 

[thebbbusa]

My GenI was fine until I installed an aftermarket exhaust.  In long stop and go it used to run hot, I've wrapped the pipes with header wrap now, so hopefully it won't be an issue this year.

Anybody know if the 2nd fan on the k8 will bolt to the Gen1? As in easy to do?

 

[silverfreak]

I have had mine out in 90+ temps already. and there is definately alot more heat that radiates out around the sides.it does get real toasty on the bottom of the thighs and legs while commuting round town.stop and go.the cooling fans work very well at keeping the temp in the middle of the guage though.hiway riding no problem.

 

[BIKE DUDE]

2 fans.I think it will do just fine.

 

[Robot]

2 fans.I think it will do just fine.

+1 Dual fans should help alot. It has been cool here in Virginia since I got the bike back in October.

    I put a little thermometer in the instrument cluster, surprisingly even on 60 degree days, I have seen the thermometer approach 100 in the sun.

    I think the screen acts like a greenhouse for the instruments. There have been warnings on other posts that the metallic iridium type screens and how they increase this effect and have damaged gages in some instances.

 

[Italian Trev]

Thats not a problem we tend to worry about in Northern Europe

 

[roadthing]

If it can survive in Arizona temps, it can survive anywhere.

 

[TxThundar]

Thanks for all the feedback. I was not overly worried just curious. Modern motorcycle and car makers do a lot of cold and hot weather testing and I am sure Suzuki did its home work.

rykstr and thebbbusa, may be on to something with the header tape. I assume if you wrap the headers all the way up to were the mid pipe exits the body work then that would keep down some of the heat forcing it to stay in the pipes until it gets to the cans, is that true?

 

[DirtyBird02]

replace ur coolant with engine ice

 

[rykstr]

Thanks for all the feedback. I was not overly worried just curious. Modern motorcycle and car makers do a lot of cold and hot weather testing and I am sure Suzuki did its home work.

rykstr and thebbbusa, may be on to something with the header tape. I assume if you wrap the headers all the way up to were the mid pipe exits the body work then that would keep down some of the heat forcing it to stay in the pipes until it gets to the cans, is that true?

Yes, this is true. plus its supposed to add a few HP also

 

[DirtyBird02]

 

[V8Pinto]

My Busas run faster the hotter it gets. My wife always says "that girl likes it hot" right before we race.

This is running at El Mirage and Bonneville where it's very very hot..