Tired of Turbo Bike Leaving me stranded :(

N

nychayabusa

Registered
Had Frank from Powerhouse motorcycle install an RCC Stage 1 on my completely stock 2003 Hayabusa about 2 years ago (with dyno tune and all recommended parts by him). Well, it summer again and I took the bike out tonight in 70 degree weather and after 45 minutes of stop and go traffic the bike heats up so much that the fuel in the tank starts to burn my legs. The needle climbs up past the mid point butdo my best to speed up and let the air cool it but eventually it stalls and I have to let the bike sit for over an hour before it will start again. I'm not beating the bike, just cruising through stop and go traffic in NYC. Well, I had started noticing this problem this first year I had it so he put the aluminum fan on and Engine Ice coolant. After that I pretty much only rode the bike on highways so I didn't have an issue but since I am doing a lot of riding into the city now the same issue popped up and of course i got stranded tonight. Tonight was only 70 degrees so i know I'm screwed for the rest of the summer now.

Tried reaching out to Frank a couple times and haven't heard back so I figured some of you would have ideas.

My question is, can I do anything to cool this thing down better. I think at this point the only thing I didn't do is the second fan addon. Any thoughts on whether this would help much? We already tried burping the system etc.
 
Have you put in the fan temp switch mod or put in a manual override on the fan itself? its super easy and allows you to keep the bike super cool with the override switch.

Cant believe Frank hasnt reached out to you - he always answers my questions in a very timely manner.
 
Mo old Gen1 had the same issue without the Turbo of Course. Get the Second Fan.....................Huge Differance !!!

Robert
 
NOT A MECHANIC OR TUNER AND HAVE NEVER OWNED A TURBO ANYTHING

From reading your post it sounds like you are suffering from a vapor lock issue. You stated your water temp rose above mid gauge. How far above ? You might try a second fan. You have a modified Busa, just don't know if you'll ever be able to ride it in heavy traffic. Does the bike have an intercooler ? I wonder what your plenum temp is ......
 
Have you tried calling Richard at RCC ? He's extremely helpful from everything I've ever read.
 
stage one with no intercooler shouln't heat up to that point, talk to Richard or Frank during business hours they will definatly help. Here's a few things I did. Second fan, both with Muzzy aluminum fan blades, relocated the radiator temp switch (bought the temperature relocation switch from RCC) , clip the wings on the thermostat (remove the center section) water wetter or engine ice as coolant. Also a high volume oil pump gear which spins the water pump faster as well. The gas getting hot sounds like you need to insulate the fuel pump (some use coolie's for beer can's) or relocate the pump under the tail. Insulate your fuel lines, and the bottom of the gas tank
 
No turbo experience here but my problems of warm starts were solved by this 24 volt start harness and battery. Spins up like a 600. Just warm start suggestion. Tiger Racing
 
Can't believe you have not been able to reach me. My phone number is the same, and I have received no emails from you at all. I respond to everyone and anyone. Even when POWERHOUSE is closed, you can leave a message on my answering machine and I will return your call every time. I am not quite sure what is going on with your particular bike, but if you get it to us, we will find out . . .
 
Frank,

I have a different email and telephone for you. Is the fastcycle address working anymore? That could be the issue. I knew you were great with responses so this makes sense.

I will reach out to you using the info you gave me on PM. Thank for responding. Also, thanks everyone for the guidence.
 
First. Have Frank put the second fan on, it is a basic requirement for a bike like yours. Once your water temps come way down, your overheating issues might go away. Wasting time and money without the second fan is just that, a waste. Good Luck!
 
Well from what I am reading and seem to understand is that it gets hot anyway whether the fans runs or not. All suggestions are good but the question is why is it getting hot so quickly just cruising around town at only 70' outside temp? All the advice is great for when it gets hot but it's what to do to keep it from getting hot. The fan switch relocation is good as it will turn the fan on earlier which will help keep the bike from going over to quickly. If you have a second fan then when the switch kicks in then both fans will help cool it that much quicker. Muzzy fan blades are good but to get them to work optimal the blades have to be bent just right. A good battery is necessary to keep two fans running often so keep that in mind.

It maybe a bike but it can certainly get hot inside the plastics and under the gas tank with a turbo. You have to spend the extra money for insulation for fuel lines, fuel pump(better to relocate away from the gas tank area), good ceramic coatings on the header, turbo housings and even the dump pipe will help keep heat away from the outside components. A better coolant such as Engine Ice(there is a better one out there but I forget the name), a good engine oil(Synthetic) and overall good tune(maybe a little on the rich side say 11 to 1 AFR) will help a lot.

But after all that is said and done, a turbo modded vehicle is still a turbo vehicle and will always run hotter than a NA setup. The factory cars that use turbos do a lot of little things to keep them from melting down so you just have to do the same.

And after all that has been done to help and it still overheats, then you simply have blown headgasket which maybe mild but to the point of heating up the coolant via the combustion chamber.......Good luck!
 
Man, I feel for you on this one, especially in the City. Sounds like you'll get it straightened out. Good luck.
 
personally I decided to ceremic coat my header, DP and the hot side of my Turbo. I also opted for a Spal fan.
 
nychayabusa said:
Had Frank from Powerhouse motorcycle install an RCC Stage 1 on my completely stock 2003 Hayabusa about 2 years ago (with dyno tune and all recommended parts by him). Well, it summer again and I took the bike out tonight in 70 degree weather and after 45 minutes of stop and go traffic the bike heats up so much that the fuel in the tank starts to burn my legs. The needle climbs up past the mid point butdo my best to speed up and let the air cool it but eventually it stalls and I have to let the bike sit for over an hour before it will start again. I'm not beating the bike, just cruising through stop and go traffic in NYC. Well, I had started noticing this problem this first year I had it so he put the aluminum fan on and Engine Ice coolant. After that I pretty much only rode the bike on highways so I didn't have an issue but since I am doing a lot of riding into the city now the same issue popped up and of course i got stranded tonight. Tonight was only 70 degrees so i know I'm screwed for the rest of the summer now.

Tried reaching out to Frank a couple times and haven't heard back so I figured some of you would have ideas.

My question is, can I do anything to cool this thing down better. I think at this point the only thing I didn't do is the second fan addon. Any thoughts on whether this would help much? We already tried burping the system etc.
Click to expand...

GNBRETT said:
personally I decided to ceremic coat my header, DP and the hot side of my Turbo. I also opted for a Spal fan.
Click to expand...
I also have my system ceramic coated, its on my 14 and the kit came that way so not sure how much it helps with the heat. I have 2 fans on my bike and no heating issues whatsoever.
Every kit I've seen for a busa requires you to remove the oil cooler, I wonder how much hotter that makes the bike run? I would definately make SURE you have no air in your cooling system, and install a second fan. Maybe find a cooler thermostat, and temp sensor to bring the fans on sooner as well. Or install a manual override switch and keep them on all the time in traffic.

And be sure your radiator isn't partially plugged from age/corrosion, and be sure the fins are clean and open to air. I run a brush over mine occasionally to keep the fins from plugging up with bugs.

I never liked the thought of pulling the oil cooler off my busa to turbo it, one of the reasons I boosted my 14 instead.
 
one other thing i forgot to mention, is the electric water pump, which keeps a good volume of water flowing all the time, which I hear is especially good for stop and go traffic. RCC sells one as well, it will fit in the stock water pump location and you keep the stock water hoses. NYC traffic, would be tough on any bike even if it was not turbo. Good luck
 
Amsoil 10w40 is pretty good with engine temps here i texas. I dont have a turbo but i do be in traffic in 100 degree weather.
 
arthur39 said:
one other thing i forgot to mention, is the electric water pump, which keeps a good volume of water flowing all the time, which I hear is especially good for stop and go traffic. RCC sells one as well, it will fit in the stock water pump location and you keep the stock water hoses. NYC traffic, would be tough on any bike even if it was not turbo. Good luck
Click to expand...

Art39: the electric water pump that bolts into the stock location is no longer available. The one that bolts to the back of the cylinder has taken its place. And although a lot of good things are being mentioned, turbos do not normally have a problem like nyc is experiencing. My Ultra runs around in 85 degree heat with a stock water pump, no oil cooler, and no issues. Keep in mind an Ultra has an extra half-radiator sitting directly in front of the stock rad - effectively partially blocking it. So before nyc goes off half-cocked bolting a lot of extras on, his primary problem must be addressed, which is probably what only one of you mentioned - Bushashot - a blown head gasket. If POWERHOUSE sees this bike, the first thing we will do is a leakdown on the motor - if that gasket is leaking into the cooling system, we will know right away.
 
if it's pushing coolant, likely a head gasket. i know 1507's riding around on the street in traffic with no heat up issue so it's gotta be internal or maybe a bad thermostat. it also depends on when he rode it last it could be sticking. a leak down will tell..
 
I got in touch with Frank today. I am going to bring the bike to him next week and will let everyone know how it goes. Frank did a leakdown test a couple thousand miles ago before i put the turbo and it came out good so I'm hoping we have the same results this time. I appreciate that he wants to find the root cause of the issue! Basically here is what I am experiencing:

-No problem riding on Jersey roads where I don't cruise at low speeds. At thsi time the needle always stays under the middle line
-Above 70 degrees I will start the bike off and ride. If I'm under 20-30 mph for more than 30 minutes the bike will start to heat up and go JUST above the middle temperature line.
-Once the needle hits just above the middle line I will notice the heat from the bike start to work up my legs into the fuel tank.
-At that time I will usually do my best to find some kind of open area to hit mroe than 40MPH to start cooling off the bike.
-Once I slow back down the heat will aggressivly come back and the needle will rise to the middle of the "center and top most" temperature mark. (not enough for the warning light to go on)
-At that point I know I'm screwed and the bike will eventually stall or I will have to get off from teh sweat pouring off of me even though its cool out. But usually the bike will just stall.
-If I turn the key on the fan is on and the bike won't start. To be honest its probably better if I don't even start it at this point. I looked at the overflow tank and it seemed to be at normal level.
-Wait on the side of the road for hour and 15 minutes and start the bike. I have a good 20 minutes to park the bike before this all happens again.

I had Frank do the following about a two years ago to attempt to help this:

-Gut thermostat (turbo install)
-High volume oil pump.
-Think the water pump spins faster now but I don't remember.
-Aluminum fan (still only have one)
-We did a dyno tune and leak down test which turned out good.
-Engine Ice Coolant
-Burped the cooling system a number of times. Nothing really ever came out when doing this.

I really hope we can find this issue. I should have addressed it a year ago but got so frsutrated that I just got sick just to look at the bike. Got so tied up at work that I forgot about it until I started riding it a few weeks ago.

Will keep everyone updated.
 
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