will a 5.10 s17 rear tire fit?

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Jeff Saline
Posts: 2246
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2003 6:02 pm

klr650 2nd radiator colder weather test results

Post by Jeff Saline » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:59 pm

Listers, I've just returned from a 72 minute ride in 36-37 degree temps to test my 2nd radiator. I had hoped to mirror the test I did on 3 January 2006 when I first installed my 195 thermostat housing. That test was recorded and sent to the list and is at the end of this post just in case you want to compare today's test with the earlier test using a stock radiator system. The short story is there's absolutely nothing spectacular to report. I rode at speeds varying from 5 to 50 mph and the temperature stayed between 180 and 200 degrees depending on the circumstances. Most of the time the needle on the temperature gauge was steady to moving about a needle width showing 195 degrees. Here's a detailed version. I took a ride this morning totalling about 42 miles and the temp when I started was about 27 degrees. The heated vest and grips worked pretty well and I'm really glad I just installed the dual control heat troller for the grips. They were on the entire ride. The temperature gauge needle stayed pretty steady for most of the ride which was at speeds up to about 60 mph on Nemo Road. At times there were some wider fluctuations of about 15 degrees which is normal for this set up. When I got home I thought I was finished riding for the day. I noticed the ambient temp had risen to 37 degrees and I got to thinking about duplicating the test from 3 Jan 2006. That's been on my list for a couple of weeks but the weather hasn't been cooperating. I was watching the race at Martinville on TV and started getting antsy about not riding. Then the temp dropped about a degree. I decided I might not get another opportunity to do the test this spring so I got ready to take another ride. My intention was to duplicate the earlier test for a really good comparison. You'll soon see why I changed the plan while on the ride. Since the bike had only been put up for about 1 1/2 hours it hadn't completely cooled down. I could feel a bit of warmth when I put my hand on the cylinder and also the bottom of each radiator. I used my infrared temperature indicator to learn it was at about 84 degrees. I pushed the bike outside while I was suiting up hoping the cooler outside temps would put a chill into the engine and cooling system. Probably 8 to 10 minutes later I was suited up and ready to ride for the test. Just so you know... I was wearing a heated vest under a First Gear Kilimanjaro liner and jacket and had First Gear HT overpants with liners for below the waist. I was wearing heavy socks with Oxtar Matrix riding boots. For my neck and head I had on a turtle neck shirt and a Harley Davidson balacava and topped that with my HJC Sy-Max helmet. I even remembered to put in my custom ear plugs before putting on my helmet. : ) For hand protection I'm using First Gear Commander Gloves which are still on closeout at www.newenough.com for only $15 last week. I normally wear a size large glove but in the Commander I wear an XXL. My hands would also be holding onto grips heated with Moose heating elements on the low setting controlled by the dual control Heat Troller. I was set up to ride. I started the bike and immediately rode to the end of the driveway. I had to wait about 30 seconds for traffic and I even remembered to take a look at the clock on my handlebars. For the beginning bit of the test I'll try to use the same format as the earlier test. Here goes. Oh, my gearing on this test was a bit lower than the other test so my rpms and speeds were just a bit different sometimes. I don't think that had any effect on the results of this ride/test. 0 min Start the bike with full choke and immediately put it to 1/2 choke. Start riding slowly down the driveway. Stop and wait for traffic. 30 sec Turn right, turn choke off. Now riding @ 4.2K rpm @ 50 mph indicated. 1 min Temp is steadily rising. Remember ambient temp is 36 degrees. Temp in the 2006 test was 38 degrees. 2 min Temp gauge indicates 180. 2 1/2 min Temp indicates about 185 I turn around and have to stop for traffic for about 5 seconds. 3 min Stabilizes at 195 needle steady. 12 min Pull into a small but clear parking lot at the Post Office. The parking lot I used 2 years ago had vehicles in it. Temp at 190-195. Do figure 8s at 1,200 rpm. I have gearing at 14/46. This is about 15% lower than stock. 14 min Temp steady at 195. Last test I had to turn the fan on at this point as the temp was at 210 degrees. 15 min Temp remains steady at 195. Still doing figure 8s. I'm getting good at reading the clock, temp gauge and tach. The GPS shows I'm riding at between 5.2 and 7.0 mph depending on where I am in the figure 8. 16 min Temp still steady at 195. Stop doing figure 8s. At this point in the 2006 test the temp had returned to 195 and I turned the fan off and got back on the road. Well today this was pretty boring as the needle wasn't moving. So I decided to continue the figure 8s and see if the temp would begin to rise. 27 min After 15 mins of riding figure 8s at 5-7 mph the temp was still steady at 195 degrees. I gave up on the slow speed testing in the parking lot and returned to the road @ 3.2K rpms @ about 40 mph indicated. Temp moves up to about 200 indicated and then drops to 185 and then begins the move back up again. It's back to cycling on the stat. This is about the time I quit looking at the clock and just tried to get the temp to rise. Here's what I did. I rode about 4 miles at 45-50 mph and turned onto a small road with little if any traffic. I put the bike in 2nd gear and rode at 2,500 rpm for about 2 miles. The GPS showed I was moving at 17 mph. The needle stayed steady. I rode up a hill for about 3/8 mile and the needle stayed steady. Back down the hill and on level for 1/4 mile or less. No change. Then up a long hill in 1st gear at 3,000 rpm with the GPS showing a speed of 11.6-13.0 mph. I rode up the hill for about a mile and I'm guessing it's about a 4% grade. The needle stayed the same at 195 and steady. Down the hill nice and slowly it stayed the same and back to the main road in 2nd gear at 2,500 rpm it was the same. Like I said at the beginning, this wasn't a spectacular test. Getting back on the main road I turned left towards home. Riding for 1 mile at 50 mph the needle again began to move up to about 200 and then drop to 185 and then begin the cycle all over again. So I rode past the house and watched the needle with a slow and steady movement indicating the stat operation. After about 3 miles I turn onto some small roads that would be interesting to ride on at about 30-45 mph. All along this section the needle only moved about the width of the needle staying pretty steady at 195. That was probably 5 miles of riding and snow was coming down very lightly. Ambient temperature was still showing 36 degrees when I got home. I finally got about 3 miles from home and could increase speed to 50 mph. The needle then started making the normal 15 degree sweeps up and down in synch with the stat operation. Getting home I forgot to turn my fuel off about 3/8 mile out so I turned it off while turning into the driveway. When I got near the house I did a couple of circles and then rode back down the driveway and did a U-turn to return to the shop. As I pulled up to the shop I left the bike idling on the side stand as I went in to remove my helmet and ear plugs. When I returned to the bike the needle was steady at 195 degrees. I shut the engine off and wheeled the bike into the shop parking it until my next ride. I quickly grabbed a piece of paper and the infrared temperature indicator to try to capture some temp readings on each radiator. You may remember I did this and shared the readings from my first test ride a few weeks ago. Here are the results after todays's 72 minute ride. Readings are in degrees Fahrenheit. Left Right 159 www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT <><><><><><><> Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2006 14:59:42 -0700 Subject: 195 Degree Stat 2nd Test <><><><><><><> Listers, In my earlier post about oil analysis I mentioned I'd send further news of my 195 degree stat performance in a later e-mail. Well, here it is. Not having the expertise of Bill Watson, nor his professional data collection tools and methods I submit this for your examination. The ambient air temp this morning was 38 degrees. I was taking a ride to warm my engine and oil in preparation for taking an oil sample for later analysis and had a goal to see how the 195 degree stat works while getting up to temp. Here's the best I can remember about the ride. 0 min Start the bike with full choke and immediately put it to 1/2 choke. 30sec Start riding slowly down the driveway. Stop. Turn right, turn choke off. Now riding @ 4K rpm @ 50 mph indicated. 1 min Temp is steadily rising. Remember ambient temp is 38 degrees. 2 min Temp indicates 200 and drops to 180. It takes a gulp of cold coolant. 4 min Stabilizes at 195-200 needle moving gently showing stat operation. Coolant in radiator cool and still cooling the engine too quickly. 10 min Pull into a small but mostly clear parking lot. Maybe 120 x 60 feet. Temp at 195. Do figure 8s at 1,200 rpm. I have gearing at 16/46. This is only about 0.3% lower than stock. 12 min Temp to 210 and slowly rising. I think this is from no cooling air over the radiator at slow speeds. I turn on the fan. 13 min Temp just begins to drop from 210. Fan still on. Still doing figure 8s. I'm getting good at reading the clock, temp gauge, tach and missing the ice. I wonder if somebody's getting ready to call the sheriff on me. 14 min Temp at 195 and using stat for temp regulation. Stop doing figure 8s. Turn off fan. Return to road @ 3.2K rpms @ 50 mph indicated. Temp remains steady at 200 indicated. Coolant in radiator hot. 19 min Temp remains at 200 indicated and needle remains steady. 22 min Arrive at my shop. Temp is 200 indicated. Idle engine for 30 seconds. Temp steady. 22 1/2 min Turn off engine. 24 1/2 min Temp rises to 220. 26 1/2 min Engine is off. Temp has dropped to 210. END OF TEST. Further examination of the new stat housing indicates coolant leaking from the housing bleeder bolt. No drops of coolant just a path showing it's been there. I'll try to tighten the bleeder bolt another 1/4 turn. I only tightened it about 1/8th of a turn after my first test. I have a neoprene washer under the bolt head and have plenty of room for additional tightening. I think the temps and operation indicate Bill's calculations and advice were right on the money. I'm sure he'll either confirm, or correct me as appropriate. The temperature quickly reached 195 degrees and then gently fluctuated until the coolant in the radiator had a chance to get warm. Then the needle remained steady while on the road. Under the parking lot/slow conditions the lack of air flow over the radiator allowed the temperature to rise steadily. A minute after the fan was engaged the temperature began to drop until the stat again began to regulate the temperature. About 5-6 minutes after the engine was shut off the oil and engine temp were within 4 degrees. I suppose the by pass orifice could be just a little large as the temps remain higher than the 195 of the stat. Or the orifices are correct and the gauge face is off about 1/32" showing 200 when it's really 195. Without a thermocouple for accurate measurement I'll never know. It would be interesting to observe performance of a stock KLR in similar conditions. I don't think it would get to operational temp in 2 minutes or stay there. My rides a few months ago in 22 degree temps showed engine temps of only 170-180 degrees. I think this new stat has fixed the cool coolant in cool temps issue. Best, Jeff

Bill Watson
Posts: 330
Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 12:03 pm

klr650 2nd radiator colder weather test results

Post by Bill Watson » Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:30 pm

Wow, lots of data there Jeff, thanks for the update. Two comments: 1) You said: "if If anyone is riding a KLR650 with a stock cooling system and can duplicate the test above (i.e. ambient air temperature of 36-38 degrees, same type riding) I'd really like to hear the results." If anyone does this, to get accurate results they'd have to measure the temperature just after the factory 'stat because with a stock setup and no bypass, the water flowrate is so slow when cold that the stock temp sensor is over in a dead corner which becomes a hot spot- reading 15 to 20 degrees higher than the water is over at the stat. So a stock bike is even colder than the factory gauge reports. I do have data from a 37 degree morning on a stock bike at www.xanga.com/watt_man and measured "at the stat" to eliminate the hot spot by actually installing the thermocouple in an enlarged bleed hole in the factory stat. The test was not identical to yours, but has some similarity. 2) I'll be most interested in hot weather testing. I also have a KLR250 Right-side radiator (not installed though, like you!) and will probably play with it this summer, just for fun, here in Phoenix. My installation won't be nearly as professional as yours, mine will just be for test and then it will come off. Of course, depending on how well it works, I can see how that plan would change... Thanks for all the hard work. Bill Watson Phoenix, AZ www.xanga.com/watt_man --------------------------------- No Cost - Get a month of Blockbuster Total Access now. Sweet deal for Yahoo! users and friends. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Jeff Saline
Posts: 2246
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2003 6:02 pm

will a 5.10 s17 rear tire fit?

Post by Jeff Saline » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:58 pm

On Mon, 31 Mar 2008 15:39:27 -0700 (PDT) Robert Ackerman writes:
> Group, > > Will a 5.10 S17 fit on a KLR? I finanlly ran the tread smooth on > my current IRC and pulled the new rear tire I ordered a year ago. > > Instead of another 4.60 S17 I must have ordered the 5.10. Before > I go through the effort of mounting can someone tell me if, and > should I run this tire? > > Thanks all. > > Robert
<><><><><><><> <><><><><><><> Robert, I run a 5.10 x 17 Kenda K270 on my KLR rear. It fits fine but the left knob edges do rub on the chain guard. It's been doing that for about 21,000 miles and just seems to work well. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT

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