Bike overheated; embarrasing
Unofficial HDF Chaplain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 21,160
Likes: 18,083
From: san diego
Bike overheats you'll know it they start acting real ignorant , sputtering, stalling and making noises an air cooled engine never should. Dealt with a number of fried harley engines back in my midwest days, worse case is pistons start to seize then let go and skirts break and you throw a rod. What usually happens is scores hell of the cylinders walls and the piston slap starts, weakens rings were they won't seal and valve guides gall up, seen more than a few get so bad the guides break loose in the heads.
This was all shovel's & evo's which run cooler than these new big inch ball cookers you guys ride.
This was all shovel's & evo's which run cooler than these new big inch ball cookers you guys ride.
one of the things that happens to BMW car motors when badly over heated, they dont blow head gaskets, they pull the threads right out of the block via the head bolts. quite a big deal time-serting 16 holes!
Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 724
Likes: 3
From: Florida
As Charley suggested, check for codes.
Then add a good dual fanned oil cooler to start.
I was headed south last week on I-75 interstate here in Florida and a lumber truck decided to smash into another vehicle wherefore scattering 2x4's everywhere.
15 mile backup.
Once my jeans started smoldering I said the hell with this and headed for the side of the road and proceeded towards the kaos which caused the traffic jamb.
Turned a 1 hour back up delay into a 5 minute delay.
Then add a good dual fanned oil cooler to start.
I was headed south last week on I-75 interstate here in Florida and a lumber truck decided to smash into another vehicle wherefore scattering 2x4's everywhere.
15 mile backup.
Once my jeans started smoldering I said the hell with this and headed for the side of the road and proceeded towards the kaos which caused the traffic jamb.
Turned a 1 hour back up delay into a 5 minute delay.
Club Member
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 66,131
Likes: 51,462
From: Niles Canyon Ca.
Yes , but metallurgy has come leaps and bounds since those days, along with oil technology, kinda apples and oranges there, but you are right as to what can happen to any severely overheated motor.
one of the things that happens to BMW car motors when badly over heated, they dont blow head gaskets, they pull the threads right out of the block via the head bolts. quite a big deal time-serting 16 holes!
one of the things that happens to BMW car motors when badly over heated, they dont blow head gaskets, they pull the threads right out of the block via the head bolts. quite a big deal time-serting 16 holes!
Road Warrior
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,405
Likes: 6
From: Portland, Oregon
https://www.harley-davidson.com/app-...NG/file-6.html
Air-cooled engines require air movement over the cylinders and heads to maintain proper operating temperature. Extended periods of idling or parade duty can overheat the engine, resulting in serious engine damage. (00178a)
Air-cooled engines require air movement over the cylinders and heads to maintain proper operating temperature. Extended periods of idling or parade duty can overheat the engine, resulting in serious engine damage. (00178a)
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 16,271
Likes: 15,108
From: Somewhere SW
https://www.harley-davidson.com/app-...NG/file-6.html
Air-cooled engines require air movement over the cylinders and heads to maintain proper operating temperature. Extended periods of idling or parade duty can overheat the engine, resulting in serious engine damage. (00178a)
Air-cooled engines require air movement over the cylinders and heads to maintain proper operating temperature. Extended periods of idling or parade duty can overheat the engine, resulting in serious engine damage. (00178a)
Unofficial HDF Chaplain
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 21,160
Likes: 18,083
From: san diego
I strongly suspect heat is one of the major reasons the twin cams run the looser engine tolerances than the old ones did so things have room to swell and move a bit. Couldn't believe how hot some of the twinkies are when buddie stop by and we aren't a hot area. Early evo's were prone to stretching the cylinder studs and pulling the threads from the cases when they overheated badly, most times the heads would warp and the gaskets let go first.
Extreme HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 13,402
Likes: 941
From: Illinois
BS. HD runs tests at their facility in the Arizona desert leased from the Chrysler Proving Grounds there. The test involves letting the engine idle for a full twenty four hours. They never failed.
"Overheating" is when an engine is damaged such as warped heads or valves. So how much did the repair cost you?
I was caught in a traffic tie up on the interstate down south during a declared tropical heat wave in 2011. The traffic was stop and go for over an hour. The 2010 Ultra went into the rear cylinder cut out mode each time we stopped. No damage at all.
The following year on a trip through Death Valley during a summer day of temps of 115 to 120 degrees neither my son's TC 88 or my TC96 suffered any damage.
This was the destination during the heat wave.
So OP just man up and admit that you couldn't take the heat as well as your HD did.
"Overheating" is when an engine is damaged such as warped heads or valves. So how much did the repair cost you?
I was caught in a traffic tie up on the interstate down south during a declared tropical heat wave in 2011. The traffic was stop and go for over an hour. The 2010 Ultra went into the rear cylinder cut out mode each time we stopped. No damage at all.
The following year on a trip through Death Valley during a summer day of temps of 115 to 120 degrees neither my son's TC 88 or my TC96 suffered any damage.
This was the destination during the heat wave.
So OP just man up and admit that you couldn't take the heat as well as your HD did.
Last edited by lh4x4; Jun 2, 2015 at 09:43 PM.
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more than an embarrassment it's a problem. There's one REAL solution
On vacation in Miami with a bunch of guys in my club and my bike overheated in traffic. She wouldn't start up until in cooled down. Took about 15 minutes. Embarrasing cause I'm the only one on a Harley, and the only one who overheated. To be fair, we were in bumper to bumper traffic for about an hour in the Florida heat, so it's not the bike's fault. Wondering if the 2014 or 2015s with the liquid cooled heads would still have this problem? Don't want this to happen again.