PULSE AUTOCYCLE NETWORK

[hatfield]

After doing a lot of rebuild on #276 over the winter, I have been driving it a lot since early March. It continues to ever heat. It has the Gold Wing 1100 engine. We replaced all hoses and fittings, boiled out the radiator, new radiator cap, new engine water pump. But after a while on the highway, it get up hot enough, 250 degrees or more, to start spitting flowing coolant out the the overflow bottle and on to the ground. Have any of you with the Gold Wing engine had cooling problems?
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Pete Hatfield
Muscatine, IA
www.petehatfield.com

[Steve Schmidt]

I have the Goldwing 1100cc engine. My Pulse never overheats.......unless the outside temp is over 75 and I am stopped in traffic or moving only 5 - 10 MPH.

In 90 degree heat, it will not get hot at 25 MPH or higher.

I use a special coolant in the radiator for motorcycles that is suppose to cool engine temps by 50% which is an alternative product to anti-freeze . It is called ENGINE ICE. This is very expensive since the amount needed to fill the system which includes a long run of hose from the engine to the front windshield area for the defroster. Mine does not reduce temps by 50% at all.

I also use a special syntheic engine oil to reduce engine temps. I don't know if this helps either.

You could try taking thermostat out. OR leave defroster open all the time.

Maybe you could install an oil cooler.

I also have one factory fan with an automatic on-off switch and also a manual switch. This fan rarely runs, unless the temps get over 200 degrees.

If mine ever starts to run high temps all the time .....I will add another 3" fan pointed directly at engine heads in the other opening near engine.

Motorcycle engines are not meant to be operated in an enclosed body. So you must find a way for fresh cooler air to enter the body and an exit for hot air to vent from body.

Some owners have cut hot air exit vents in top of rear fiberglass engine cover.

Anyone else have additional thoughts ??

[elden simons]

Does it overheat coincidently when a specific passenger is getting a ride?
I used to try to sneak the autocycle out (way back when) for solo rides but my wife was ever watchful. After such attempts, she quickly gets in the passenger seat feeling kind of steamed.

Other than that...I had wondered one time when investigating the servicing of the radiator and found no sign of antifreeze in it. "Whoa!" I topped it off and felt I didn't have any further worry again.
Well, with it stored in the garage, I was under the belly trying to figure out if I could build a belly cradle like Steve George had done for his, when I discovered discoloration and calcium like crud at a hose hook up. Right down there under the engine (front). I pulled and... no antifreeze.
The bugger have been the culprit since day one. Whatever. I also had kind of wondered why I didn't have a huge dumping of antifreeze when I disconnected the junction for the defroster line. Just a spoonful dripped.

[steveg]

a good sythetic oil combined with an oil cooler (get a tranny cooler from a jeep) should do it.. check the temp readings agian...to be sure..
goldwings usually dont overheat unless pushed to the limit..

and like mentioned before i would seroiusly look into slotting and venting the rear cowl a bit...

my suzuki gets hot enough to boil the gas in the tank untill i added the oil cooler..
next project is tail vents (upper) when i get the nerve to cut the 'glass!!


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steve george litestar #009
otisco NY

[gregorkeller]

Hi All
When I first got my Pulse in 1990 I had a heating problem in slow traffic.
We wired cooling fan on radiator to be on all the time and that solved the problem.
Gregor

[Dave Bauer]

Pete,
What type of heater/defroster do you have in your machine? Is it connected?

One of the problems with the water cooled Pulses is that the defroster is installed higher than the engine and radiator. This allows air to get trapped in the heater core and will cause the problem that you described, even if your water pump is working properly. I know this from personal experience.

The solution is to flush the air out of the system at the heater core. It's not too hard to do.
-Dave
Pulse 167
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-Dave Bauer
Pulse 167

[hatfield]

Dave,

I don't remeber the brand of heater but it is the original one up under the front dash.

I would like to try what you suggest. You say it is not hard to do. How would you suggest it be done/ Thanks for your help.
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Pete Hatfield
Muscatine, IA
www.petehatfield.com