Anyone with a 250/510 that overheats?

[NumberCruncher]

I have seen a few comments now about TE450's overheating. I am a bit nervous as I am about to pick one up either tonight or tomorrow and the overheating is my only concern about the bigger bike vs. the TE250.

I would think 510's would overheat just as often but maybe most riders with 510's are in open spaces? What about TE250's? My 2004 TE250 never boiled over.

Greg

[ktodd]

i live in florida and this summer the avg. temp. was 95 with a heat index of 105-110 and my bike has never overheated.i have an 06 te 450 with an auto clutch to.i do run engine ice in it also.

[Nielly]

I was in Moab this past July and while it was not blazing hot by desert standards it was near or at 100. Even down in the deep sand washes my bike never overheated. I was worried about it at first but no longer.

[EM_rider]

My 06 TE450 is the only bike I've ridden that did not overheat on one of my favorite long/slow/technical trails in 90deg plus temps. I've also got flatland rad guards and run engine ice.

R

[NumberCruncher]

That is good news. It appears I should have less to worry about than I thought with regard to my TE450 overheating. Maybe if Nissan actually fixes my truck by the weekend I'll be able to pick my bike up and go riding this weekend.

Greg

[tmex]

TE510 here, and no over heating issues whatsoever. I have had it in some tight stuff with rider log jams in 95F+ weather.

[bigbob 901]

3000 miles of 05 TE510 ownership, it over heated only 3 times always when feathering the clutch in slow soft soil up hill in the summer. I reported it in here, but you have to remeber the reports are like 0.001% of motor hours. rare instances

[jr50kid]

Mine has only overheated one time-

My bike club was riding in a parade and hot august afternoon + extended crawling speeds + no discernable air flow + copious amounts of clutch = melted overflow bottle cap + steamy wet pants and boot. ?

I'll take the full blame for that one. Never any problems 'out in the wild'.

paul

[gettr]

I posted an overheating issue.... engine ice and quit feathering the clutch has got me in shape... no issues whatsoever now.

Hope this helps

[NumberCruncher]

I posted an overheating issue.... engine ice and quit feathering the clutch has got me in shape... no issues whatsoever now.

Hope this helps

I am sure clutch work is part of the problem but what to do when negotiating those gnarly switchbacks with bowling ball size bolders every two feet? I really wish these bikes had internal gears such that final drive could be 14:52 so that I could drop to a 13. Going to a 12 is not an option and I guess you can only go to a 51 on the rear.

In all likelihood I am overly concerned and after a ride or two, I won't think anything more about this.

Greg

[DualsportWA]

And if it is an issue you can go to Engine Ice like the guys here mentioned, and perhaps even electric fan(s).

[coffee]

Greg - Here is a link to some testing DR did a little while ago - LINK. Go for the bike you want and don't worry about it getting too warm.

Just let us know what you decide!

.

[bigbob 901]

= melted overflow bottle cap .

paul

not the owners manual, but the service manual will tell you to keep the coolant overflow reservoir half filled with coolant at all times. Check it often the stuff evapoarates down there. Coolant reserve in the bottle does two things:

Protects your plastic bottle and cap from melting due to a shot of steam coming down from an overheated radiator blow release from the rad cap above, and if you turn the bike off after the steam, cooled some now by the coolant reserve in the bottle, releases out the small vent hole in the coolant bottle cap, then in a few minutes of motor off cooling the bike will suck the remaining coolant in the bottle back up into the radiator there by replenishing the coolant spent in the steam release.

Been all there both melted bottle and then read the servcie manual then installed a new bottle then experienced the bottle doing its magic after an over heat. Been there done all that.

[CowboyBob]

Jen got her bike not at the San Diego National, but that was after MILES of "Galmis Style" Sand, and more importantly it had Radiator Guards on it which have since been removed.

Cause of death was the big end rod bearing.

[NumberCruncher]

Jen got her bike not at the San Diego National, but that was after MILES of "Galmis Style" Sand, and more importantly it had Radiator Guards on it which have since been removed.

Cause of death was the big end rod bearing.

So Jen lost the entire engine due to overheating?

Greg

[CowboyBob]

Well, sort of.

Let's say she lost a half a Months Pay due to overheating.

It's one of those deals where you can't put the blame on anything by itself, but it was 90 Degrees plus, Bike was running hot, the course was really stupid since it was laid out by "Quad Fags" and ran through Miles of Sand....

The weak point is the Lower Rod Bearing and that's what let go!

A case could be made for detonation, but there were no visible signs on the Piston. We were running straight Pump Gas at the time like always.

Even the 450's were Overheating, I think Russ Pearson burned a Bike up there too??

[lairpost]

Some ideas that have worked for me,

George at Uptite has cast up a nice alum Y to replace the plastic T. Cooling efficiency is much improved by actually using that right hand radiator! $30.

The guys at CV4 will have a nice silicone hose set done soon, it too uses a Y not a T union, but even better the Y is molded in...blue or red. $100

Run propylene glycol, boiling point is near 400F, and it's a little thicker than standard ethylene glycol coolants...some have theorized that the pump is moving the coolant through the rad(s) too quickly...$30

With the Y and Evan's NPG-R and a rear trials tire, I see ~215F on my slowest climbs...little clutch, but very slow speeds in 100F humid weather. I have rad guards, but zip-tied the plastic stock vanes over them, I believe they increase the air speed over the radiators. With my skills (or lack thereof) and terrain, I need the guards.

Good luck.

[NumberCruncher]

Anyone hazard a guess as to whether running higher octane fuel would keep temps down a bit?

Greg

[mikekay]

My '05 TE 510 never overheated in 2 seasons of baja, california desert and nevada desert racing. Never!

However----our '06 TE510 has been plagued with overheating issues. We think it was from an early crash that pinpricked a radiator or hose or something un-detectable.

Anyway--for Dakar we have bought the oversize and super beefy radiators from the UK (cheaper than OEM replacement!), as well as silicone hoses, a 1.6 radiator cap, aluminum Y, cooler plug, and we adapted a TE610 fan.

We also run Engine Ice, have larger headers to move the heat and more.

Just some ideas.

--------

On the issue of the big end bearing failure....

We have had it happen twice also. Both times it was after prolonged periods of high rev stuff in very very very open countyside. Something to be aware of.

I dont think any of this is a "Husky problem" -- i've had overheating and big end failures while racing XR650's. Try abusing a CRFX bike -- they cant take half of what the Husky can take.

[gettr]

I doubt running a higher octane would help.... Richening the mixture will help a bit. There's a place in the UK that had oversized radiators..... but they had a pretty nice price tag too. I ride in a place that for me is all 1st thru 3rd gear.... I used the clutch alot..... I just made an effort to not slip it as much and it has had a big effect.