Riding in desert heat

[miklos]

I had to ride an hour in 110 degrees F. a few days ago. Can this hurt the engine? What could it do?

[ross]

hey there miklos....not sure about desert heat here in michigan, but have ridden a couple 100 f days around here......you should be fine...just make sure you are up on your oil changes and type of oil....and just pray you don't have to sit at the red light too long....engine heat will sizzle your shorts....i'm sure you will get advice from some of our southern members that would know better then i.....remember it is air cooled.....but all in all, i think you should be fine...just my 2 cents....ross

[Jerry]

I lived in Arizona for 3 years, routinely ran the XJ in temps of over 110 deg F, remember a run to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, temps was 117 deg F. Other members have run through stuff hotter than that, no ill effects.

What to do for the engine:
For prolonged hot riding, move up a grade or two in oil. I ran 20w - 50. (Still do, recent run to Yosemite had temps between 90 - 100 deg F, was 104 during a 168 mile stretch.) Oil is a coolant as well as a lubricant, so make sure you have enough oil in the engine. I fill mine till the oil level is at the high side of the site glass when the bike is on its center stand.

Use a good quality oil (No, I don't want to start another oil thread!) as cheaper oils will thin out under high heat conditions to below their rated SAE specs.

I generally ride with a range cooler spark plug. Stock is NGK BP6ES. IIRC, the plugs got cooler as the number goes up. I run BP7ES plugs for the most part. Plugs remove heat from the combustion chamber; they act as a heat exchanger. Plugs can get damaged from overheating; you may want to pull your set and check for damage or blistering, though I doubt an hour's worth of riding did anything to them.

If you are using regular air in your tires, go to a tire store and see if they will fill them with nitrogen. Air is already about 78 percent nitrogen, advantage in high temps is nitrogen will not expand as much as air and this keeps your inflation pressure more stable. Note the High Temps qualifier; use of Nitrogen in tires is kinda like asking 'what is the best oil'...there is a lot of hype and mis-information going around.)

Anyway, thats how I prepared for summer riding in AZ...heavier oil, cooler spark plugs, Nitrogen-filled tires. Seemed to work for me.

[The Lorax]

I can't imagine it being an issue riding in a high temp area. I have no experience with this but, logic denotes that even at 100F the ambient air temp is still a couple hundred degrees less than the temp of the engine and as a result there should be good heat transfer off of the engine. an oil cooler couldn't hurt but if you are moving most of the time, I would think it would perform ok. hell, Harley lets their bikes sit in a metal box in the desert while running to make sure the engine can handle parade duty in xsive heat. if a Harley can handle it, should be a piece of cake for the venerable XS. just a thought, have a nice day and ride safe

[John]

I may be qualified to respond to this one...having spent the last 19 years here in Texas. Though I may not live in the desert areas, it gets pretty damn hot here in July and August. I have an oil cooler on my bike, and Wildkat has one on hers also. I just put a cooler on the Bag Lady yesterday, and dpotter rode it for about 100 miles. I had asked him to keep an eye on the oil temp for me. The bike has an oil temp gauge on it. I had seen oil temps as high as 220-230 (indicated) just last week. Yesterday, dpotter said that it was running around 170 (i). Not a bad reduction in temperature. I ride to and from work in the hot, and cold. I don't think your little jaunt in the heat will be any problem to your bike, as mine has had no problems handling the heat after the last seveenteen years that I have owned it.

[xs11jack]

Harley in the desert

I believe that the video on the Harley in the desert was a deal on the development of the Harley Vrod and I also believe that the Vrod is water cooled, so this does not make an outstanding example for high temp riding. Howsomeever, When I bought my 79 XS new, I also added a Pacifico fairing, Vetter bags and Vetter trunk. With both my wife and I in the California desert, the oil temp gauge never showed excessive heat.

[The Lorax]

You are correct sir, however, I was given the impression that it was a standard test on all new engine development. I could be mistaken, would not be the first or last time but that was what I took out of that particular documentary. At any rate, my position is unchanged, bike should be ok, add an oil cooler if you feel the need, I'm certain that someone on this site can tell how long one of these can sit while idling before damage occurs. I've read many posts indicating that some air flow across the motor is necessary to keep it from overheating, I wonder exactly how much is needed. a box fan moves air at what speed? doesn't strike me as alot, I think a stiff breeze would be enough to provide proper cooling. If Yamaha's engineers are worth their salt, the machine should be able to sit idling for at least a little while without overheating. by and large, the bike seems to be well designed, I'm not terribly impressed with the transmission, but it is a stout piece of engineering. Someone please correct my on any erroneous information I may have thrown out here. just some thoughts, have a nice day and ride safe

[miklos]

Heat

I rode about an hour. I didn't turn off the engine even when idling because I was worried it might not restart. There were times the bike sat idling for 5 minutes. I'll be changing the oil now.