I met someone at Keller's recently that told me they have seen heat guards on a 3rd gen Magna. He said they are simple "covers" that mount between the seat and gas tank and redirect the heat downward toward the ground. Have any of you heard of a product like this? Could it be true and if so, does it work?
Magnas make that much heat that it has to be re-directed? lolol!
1) I go fast enough that the heat never reaches me - we never get real hot up here
2) when its sooo cold my finger go numb, I stop and lay my fingers and hands on the cylinders - and they take a while to warm up!!
Where you at Mary?
Mary is in Texas, where if the view don't take your breath away the heat will :D..
Mary I was hoping to hear you had figured this problem out, I know it has been plaging you for a while.
yes....
COME UP NORTH TO ROCHESTER, NY...and you'll LOVE that heat.
Even my home state of maryland, heat welcomed 9 months of the year :)
It's like a heater blowing right towards my body and face. When it's 100+ degrees in the summer there is serious heat coming up from the pavement and then you add the bike's heat blowing on you, it's miserable. I compare it to the mother of all hot flashes, but then you guys wouldn't know anything about that, eh? (ha ha) It's a bitch. The bike basically stays in the garage from late June until October.
Heat guards are mainly used on air cooled motors (Hardley) because there is so much heat coming off the cyclinders, not much on water cooled Bikes.
What year is your bike? My '94 never puts out enough heat to notice, even on day-long rides at 100+ degrees. 'Course I rarely get under 65. ;^)
I'm wondering if she is low on coolant, and the fan is blowing hot air backwards at her more than it should.. when i got my bike, the reserve tank barely had anything in it and the fan cycled on/off a lot. now that i topped off the reserve tank/changed out the coolant, the fan barely comes on. i never noticed too much heat from mine either, even on 85 or 90 degree days.. maybe she has aftermarket pipes without rejetting and it's running hotter and she is feeling the heat from the exaust more?
My '96 doesn't seem to put much heat on me, except occasionally if I am parked at a long light, and there is absolutely no wind.
Mary, if you could make it to one of our wrench sessions, we can at least advise if yours is exceptional in some way. Seems a shame to park the bike all summer.
Mary you're not crazy! :-P I'm with ya. This 100 degree air that blast over the side of the motor making it hotter and right up in your face, it is unpleasant.
Here is some thoughts
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32864201@N08/3086197812/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/32864201@N08/3086197812/)
http://www.pekingenterprises.com/ (http://www.pekingenterprises.com/)
http://www.rjsoriginals.bizland.com/roadstarsale.htm (http://www.rjsoriginals.bizland.com/roadstarsale.htm)
When I first got the bike I didn't notice the heat. Then I joined MOOT and discovered the pipes could be "modified" for louder sound. Well, I couldn't wait for that!!! Then I got Vance & Hines pipes the next Christmas and my husband put them on for me. Greg Cothern re-jetted for me (still didn't notice the heat yet). After about a year with V&H pipes, I started noticing the heat a lot, and started thinking I was just "going through the change!!!" I even took it to Rockwall Honda and spent $80 to have them look at it (they found nothing wrong). Somewhere along the way I noticed the reserve coolant tank was low and filled it. I think I've added a small amount one or two more times but haven't had to in a long time. I eventually became convinced that the V&H pipes were the problem so I found someone and traded back for stock pipes (what a dumb a__ I was). The V&H pipes were $650 plus the re-jetting costs. I did not re-jet after changing back to stock. Wrote to Greg and he said I would probably be OK.
I feel like a complete idiot. I love to ride that bike, but I can't stand the heat when the outside temp barely exceeds 80. I truly believe something is wrong (probably something simple) but I have absolutely no mechanical knowledge and I don't want to spend the money to find out. I can't tell you how many times I've decided to sell, then the weather would turn cool and I'd change my mind again.
That's the whole story. Any ideas fellas?
That does a bit unusual Mary, I don't know the bike could put out that much heat and it last anytime. Where in the area do you live?
While I'm not overly sensitive to heat and ride all summer long, part of the reason I bought my '99 Magna was I was hoping that a smaller bike with no fairing would be cooler than my Valk to ride to work in the hottest summer weeks. After three summers I decided I couldn't tell any real difference. When it's hot out there, it's HOT. I don't believe it would be much better on any two wheeled steed.
Curtis
I live close to Casa Linda, just east of the Arboretum and White Rock Lake spillway - Buckner & Garland Road. I've love to let one of you experienced guys ride the bike for a while to see for yourself. Or tell me once and for all that I'm just expecting too much. I realize we're in Texas and it's going to be hot. But my husband's Valkyrie does not run "this" hot. OK, I'll shut up now. Thanks fellas.
Mary do you have the most problem when your riding or when your sitting in traffic? I can't remember but did we discuss what type of windshield you have (they are not all created equal)? Can you post a pic of your bike as it is right now?
There is a yarn spin wheel store not for from you. I am sure my wife would like to stop in the shop then swing by with my temperature gauge to compare our bikes.
Quote from: magnagregcan on February 11, 2009, 09:47:04 PM
Magnas make that much heat that it has to be re-directed? lolol!
1) I go fast enough that the heat never reaches me - we never get real hot up here
2) when its sooo cold my finger go numb, I stop and lay my fingers and hands on the cylinders - and they take a while to warm up!!
Where you at Mary?
See I just put on heated grips to avoid such situations.... although with the Magna, I did on several occasions warm my hands on the crank case
Quote from: Jester on February 13, 2009, 09:01:42 AM
2) when its sooo cold my finger go numb, I stop and lay my fingers and hands on the cylinders - and they take a while to warm up!!
See I just put on heated grips to avoid such situations.... although with the Magna, I did on several occasions warm my hands on the crank case
My hands are what get's coldest in cold weather.. At stoplights I bend my fingers and place the non-palm sides on the tops of the rear cylinders to warm them up.. It's not much heat, but it helps.
I understand what Mary is saying.
I live in Cyprus in the eastern med and July, August and September here it gets hot hot hot. The air temperature coupled with the heat given off by the tarmac and engine heat at times is quite unbearable if travelling below, say, 35 mph. Above that, say over 50mph its not so bad. Town driving and crawling in traffice during those hot months is a no no...I just avoid it if I can.
Added to the heat here we get periods of high humidity which is just downright horrible.
Early mornings and evenings though...beautiful.
As much as I would like to ride during the day I just avoid it until evening comes if I possibly can. We have several bikes and this is not something peculiar to the Magna..its the same on all of them.
Quote from: hootmon on February 13, 2009, 09:15:11 AM
Quote from: Jester on February 13, 2009, 09:01:42 AM
2) when its sooo cold my finger go numb, I stop and lay my fingers and hands on the cylinders - and they take a while to warm up!!
See I just put on heated grips to avoid such situations.... although with the Magna, I did on several occasions warm my hands on the crank case
My hands are what get's coldest in cold weather.. At stoplights I bend my fingers and place the non-palm sides on the tops of the rear cylinders to warm them up.. It's not much heat, but it helps.
[/quote]
Your fingers can get cold in Florida? :shock:
Thanks for the support Connor. If I can't get this problem figured out, I just may have to ride with my hubby in the easy chair on his Valkyrie Interstate. I guess that's not such a bad alternative, eh?!!!
I don't know but would a liquid cooled twin be a little cooler on the legs. The head is not as wide so is a little further away from your legs.
Quote from: MarylandMagnav45 on February 11, 2009, 11:22:07 PM
yes....
COME UP NORTH TO ROCHESTER, NY...and you'll LOVE that heat.
Even my home state of maryland, heat welcomed 9 months of the year :)
I was able to remain in the metro Atlanta area and
still loved the heat off the engine. When I left for work yesterday, it didn't seem to be all that cold outside in the driveway, so I went with my uninsulated leather jacket and uninsulated gloves, left the balaclava and chin skirt at home, and dearly wished I had not been so stupid within two minutes of getting underway. When I reached the highway, my neck felt like it was going to freeze solid even before my fingers finished going numb. Then I got to ride along at 75 mph to keep pace with all the four-wheelers for the next five minutes or so. When I finally got to work, I put my gloved hands on the engine casing just to warm them up enough so that I could get some feeling back in them without burning them first. Only when I got to my desk and checked the local airport temperature did I realize that it had been about 27° for my ride. I was just giddy that my throat wasn't frostbitten.
Quote from: connor on February 13, 2009, 12:06:44 PM
Added to the heat here we get periods of high humidity which is just downright horrible.
Early mornings and evenings though...beautiful.
You would feel right at home where I live Connor. We, too, get ferocious heat and steambath humidity during the summer in Georgia (the US state, not the Eurasian country). I used to work with a man who hailed from Sudan who told me that after growing up in the 115-125°F degree heat of Sudan that 100°F in Georgia would be refreshing, or so he thought. Then he made the move, and he said he thought he would die of heatstroke during his first summer here and that he just felt as if he were suffocating.
I am going to miss winter when it's over.
Quote from: Guy Gadois on February 19, 2009, 12:08:52 AM
Quote from: MarylandMagnav45 on February 11, 2009, 11:22:07 PM
yes....
COME UP NORTH TO ROCHESTER, NY...and you'll LOVE that heat.
Even my home state of maryland, heat welcomed 9 months of the year :)
I was able to remain in the metro Atlanta area and still loved the heat off the engine. When I left for work yesterday, it didn't seem to be all that cold outside in the driveway, so I went with my uninsulated leather jacket and uninsulated gloves, left the balaclava and chin skirt at home, and dearly wished I had not been so stupid within two minutes of getting underway. When I reached the highway, my neck felt like it was going to freeze solid even before my fingers finished going numb. Then I got to ride along at 75 mph to keep pace with all the four-wheelers for the next five minutes or so. When I finally got to work, I put my gloved hands on the engine casing just to warm them up enough so that I could get some feeling back in them without burning them first. Only when I got to my desk and checked the local airport temperature did I realize that it had been about 27° for my ride. I was just giddy that my throat wasn't frostbitten.
I'm really in shock considering Atlanta I think would be so warm. Then again, I guess the mornings are still cold right?
You know they sell insulating material to put in cars under the carpet to keep exhaust heat out of the car and they sell a "tape" to wrap around exhaust to keep the heat down. I am wondering if wrapping the exhaust (from where they bolt to the head down to where they can be seen) and also placing a layer of the insulating material (it is pretty thin) between the head/exhaust and frame on the back cylinders would help the problem?
I have been thinking I might do this to my project bike as it goes back together.
I agree with you on the heat coming from the back cylinders. In Houston traffic it gets pretty darn hot. Not too hot for me to ride of course! :lol:
Quote from: Magnum Magna on February 18, 2009, 10:49:08 PM
I don't know but would a liquid cooled twin be a little cooler on the legs. The head is not as wide so is a little further away from your legs.
My wife rides a VT1100C2 Sabre (V-twin) and I would say it throw as much or more heat off than my Magna (My wife would say more)..
Part of which is because the rear exhaust pipe comes out so close to the right leg.
I agree pipe placement would make a difference.
I am thinking the Honda 750s could be cooler on the legs then bigger bikes where their pipes are placed.
(http://www.hondasuzukinorth.com/honda09/images/shadow-aero-rd.jpg)
(http://www.hondasuzukinorth.com/suzuki09/images/boulevard-m50-bk.jpg)
I spent summers growing up on the top of a John Deere or Case tractor. Maggie is cool by comparison, so I suppose I am less affected. Also a whole lot less dusty :-D
Anybody think we could be looking at a: failing, sticking, or simply wrong , thermostat?
It could be time to take it our and "boil it" with a thermometer to confirm opening temperature.
(I'm just guessing the Gen III works like my V-65, "The Beast".)
Quote from: MarylandMagnav45 on February 19, 2009, 05:22:32 AM
Quote from: Guy Gadois on February 19, 2009, 12:08:52 AM
Quote from: MarylandMagnav45 on February 11, 2009, 11:22:07 PM
yes....
COME UP NORTH TO ROCHESTER, NY...and you'll LOVE that heat.
Even my home state of maryland, heat welcomed 9 months of the year :)
I was able to remain in the metro Atlanta area and still loved the heat off the engine. <snip>
Only when I got to my desk and checked the local airport temperature did I realize that it had been about 27° for my ride. I was just giddy that my throat wasn't frostbitten.
I'm really in shock considering Atlanta I think would be so warm. Then again, I guess the mornings are still cold right?
That's generally true. Certainly our average winter temperatures don't begin to compare with what those of you in the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and farther north areas have to endure and we don't usually have the rapid-fire weather changes you can get in the Northwest US. I think what catches a lot of transplants from New England and the upper Mid-West offguard is the tourist bureau image of the South as always being sunny and warm, so days like today come as a rude shock, when it's 24°F at 8AM and has only managed to struggle up to 34° by noon, eventually hitting a sweltering 38° by 4PM. But, if you've got good gear, it's great riding weather. :grin:
To be honest, while this is the coldest winter we've had in the last few years, it's been pretty mild compared with some previous years.In the late '70s and early '80s, we had a number of winter days where the highs didn't make it to the teens and nighttime lows were 5-10° below zero. It's just not the norm this regio.
Interestingly, we seem to be more likely to have ice storms in March and even April than in January and February. In March of 1993 I had just driven my brand new Dodge Dakota nervously to work, on pins and needles because I owed $11,000 on it and was working an $11/hour temporary job. I got to drive it home in a genuine blizzard, slipping and sliding the whole way.
Quote from: Guy Gadois on February 20, 2009, 09:31:47 PM
That's generally true. Certainly our average winter temperatures don't begin to compare with what those of you in the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and farther north areas have to endure and we don't usually have the rapid-fire weather changes you can get in the Northwest US. I think what catches a lot of transplants from New England and the upper Mid-West offguard is the tourist bureau image of the South as always being sunny and warm, so days like today come as a rude shock, when it's 24°F at 8AM and has only managed to struggle up to 34° by noon, eventually hitting a sweltering 38° by 4PM. But, if you've got good gear, it's great riding weather. :grin:
To be honest, while this is the coldest winter we've had in the last few years, it's been pretty mild compared with some previous years.In the late '70s and early '80s, we had a number of winter days where the highs didn't make it to the teens and nighttime lows were 5-10° below zero. It's just not the norm this regio.
Interestingly, we seem to be more likely to have ice storms in March and even April than in January and February. In March of 1993 I had just driven my brand new Dodge Dakota nervously to work, on pins and needles because I owed $11,000 on it and was working an $11/hour temporary job. I got to drive it home in a genuine blizzard, slipping and sliding the whole way.
I have plans either before or after grad school to move South. Texas would be a stretch (sorry Texans) but I'm considering either Virginia, North Carolina, or South Carolina (or a little farther South).
What do you like and/or pros/cons about living in Atlanta Georgia?
Hootmon...same question....living in Florida? pros/cons?
My main push South is to escape the winter cold. I love the Summers in Maryland when its 95 degrees out, and the humidity is high. I'm probably the only biker wearing full leathers on those days. I'd rather roast then crash w/ no gear on.
I do not mind the cold on special occasions like winter camping, hiking, skiing, snowboarding...
but i
HATE living in the cold...day in day out driving to work in freezing temperatures (back when I lived in Rochester, NY.