Question on air-cooled engines.

[COOLMACHINE]

Question for all. A lot of people on this forum have owned many bikes before this spyder. What are your thoughts on an air-cooled bike over 1,000 cc’s.
I’ve only owned 1 air-cooled bike in my life and it was 400 cc Suzuki, 1-cylinder, I bought in 1981. I put 24,000 miles on it and never had a problem with overheating and the summers get pretty hot here in St. Louis, MO. I would appreciate reading some of your experiences, good or bad on air-cooled bikes over 1,000 cc’s. Thanks everyone. Jerry

 

[BajaRon]

Question for all. A lot of people on this forum have owned many bikes before this spyder. What are your thoughts on an air-cooled bike over 1,000 cc’s.
I’ve only owned 1 air-cooled bike in my life and it was 400 cc Suzuki, 1-cylinder, I bought in 1981. I put 24,000 miles on it and never had a problem with overheating and the summers get pretty hot here in St. Louis, MO. I would appreciate reading some of your experiences, good or bad on air-cooled bikes over 1,000 cc’s. Thanks everyone. Jerry

Air cooled has both advantages and disadvantages (a bit heavier on the Dis these days).

But if it is air cooled it is designed to work fine that way and should not be an issue.

 

[Dragonrider]

If you don't like tinkering, stay with a water cooled bike - bikes run lean to meet EPA requirements - and places like California are even worse. However, richen it up a tad (ie; JB), and an air cooled engine will last many miles.

Airhead beemers routinely see 100K+...

 

[JohnS_Rosamond]

Harley's okay

I have a 89 inch (like 1440cc or so) run by one carburetor in my Harley. I have a small Jagg oil cooler and I have never run hot. The new twin cam 96 inch bikes that have EFi tend run lean stock- so they can run a little hot. However, there have not been warranty claims for heat related issues.

 

[stormtrooper]

I had a 05 roadking and a 08 fatboy and both bikes the rear cylinder would get very hot on summer rides.The heat coming up was hot between the legs and on the fatboy it was melting the bottom front part of the seat and the seat was coming apart.:yikes: I guess the glue harley uses on there $375 seat was not able to take the heat.

 

[Bob Denman]

An air-cooled engine is built to just a bit looser specs than a water pumper, but iif you've got enough airflow over the cylinders they work just fine... In fact most snowmobilers prefer an air-cooled mill for real low speed work like trail grooming. The heat exchangers just don't get enough snow thrown on them to keep things cool!

 

[NancysToy]

Where's that can-of-worms icon when you need it?

Any engine is designed to operate properly with the cooling method it is equipped with. That goes for air-cooled, oil-cooled, water cooled, or a combination. Air-cooled may have more difficulty in stop-and-go traffic...requiring additional fins for cooling area, and it does not work as well in a streamlined (bodied) vehicle...unless fan equipped, but the engineers have designed it for the application, and in most cases it will be just fine. JMHO

 

[Bob Denman]

:agree: Why didn't I just agree with him sooner?? You Da Man! :2thumbs:

 

[chris56]

know a guy who had a BMW 1200 GsG(aircooled flat twin) .. started it in the garage and run in his house to take a telefon-call...
in the meantime (10 minutes?) the bike burned out complete (including a part of the garage ) lot of problems with the insurence/police and so on .. (read the BMW manual - not allowed)
for me a watercooled engine is more healthy ...

 

[boborgera]

know a guy who had a BMW 1200 GsG(aircooled flat twin) .. started it in the garage and run in his house to take a telefon-call...
in the meantime (10 minutes?) the bike burned out complete (including a part of the garage ) lot of problems with the insurence/police and so on .. (read the BMW manual - not allowed)
for me a watercooled engine is more healthy ...

You shouldn't need a manual to tell you NOT to leave a unattended vehicle running in a garage.:lecturef_smilie:

 

[AMTJIM]

Some dealers I spoke with weren't really interested in seeing air cooled machines going away. They didn't care to see the extra weight and components, more to care for and more to go wrong. They also said one of the biggest sales points was the effect of quieting the internal engine noise and vibes. Engine exhaust kits really started ramping up at that time and look where we are.

 

[BajaRon]

Where's that can-of-worms icon when you need it?

Any engine is designed to operate properly with the cooling method it is equipped with. That goes for air-cooled, oil-cooled, water cooled, or a combination. Air-cooled may have more difficulty in stop-and-go traffic...requiring additional fins for cooling area, and it does not work as well in a streamlined (bodied) vehicle...unless fan equipped, but the engineers have designed it for the application, and in most cases it will be just fine. JMHO

:agree:

Air cooled engines are designed for each application and function just fine, in most cases. My previous comment was more a generic comparison between the two.

There is a certain nostalgia about air cooled. The big reason Air Cooled is going away is not that it isn't a good design for some applications. It's because Air Cooled does not do well with emission requirements.

Running an air cooled engine lean is really hard on them. So to get them to live in a 'Tree Hugging' environment you have to detune them so they don't make so much heat (or power for that matter).

But if you take the smog stuff off and mix the fuel correctly you can get a lot of great power and increase longevity at the same time.

In fact, there can be more head room for making power in an air cooled engine than in a water cooled (percentage wise).

 

[Campverdefela]

You shouldn't need a manual to tell you NOT to leave a unattended vehicle running in a garage.:lecturef_smilie:

True....but sometimes its unintentional such as the last parade I was in with the ALR riders and we were put in the back of the parade with long delays. Quite a few bikes had to exit prematurely while my Spyder was fine.

 

[Oldmanzues]

Ask any HD riders except V-Rod. My last three M/cs have been watercooled and I would not go back.

I think air cooled on the road is okay, but in "parade mode". They tend to get very hot or just quit.

My Opinion of course.
OldManZues

 

[ataDude]

Where's that can-of-worms icon when you need it?

 

[COOLMACHINE]

Thanks everybody.

Thanks everybody,
After reading the threads, I feel more comfortable considering an air-cooled machine. I do not want to put myself in a box. The more options the better.

 

[BajaRon]

Thanks everybody,
After reading the threads, I feel more comfortable considering an air-cooled machine. I do not want to put myself in a box. The more options the better.

I would not hesitate to get an air cooled machine (depending on which one). I've owned several and they are just fine.

Air cooled is fine. I'd look into circumventing the emissions and setting up the fuel/air correctly. You'll have a much better experience if you do.

 

[bcspyder]

I have a Victory that has a stock, small oil cooler and have never had an issue with heat, either operating temp. or static heat off the motor. That thing is bulletproof. Both my Spyder and Ducati send more heat to the rider.

 

[bikeguy]

I'm not much of a plumber so I really prefer air cooled motorcycles. My 1975 900cc BMW can still run all day in the west Texas heat and I'll melt down long before it does. But all else being equal, water cooling allows tuning engines to make more horsepower. I laughed at the first liquid cooled dirt bikes thinking the plumbing would never survive the first crash or the first trip into a mesquite tree. Shows how smart I am. Now, it's hard to find a dirt bike that isn't liquid cooled.

Cotton

 

[millers1]

I've had many of each. Currently have two air cooled bikes. The ONLY issue I see is if I'm stuck in a traffic jam that's not moving, I'll shut it down. I'd do the same for a liquid cooled bike. Air Cooled bikes are fine.