should i shut down in traffic????
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Cruiser
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 116
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should i shut down in traffic????
hi im use to riding metric cruisers with water cooled ,this is my first harley my question is when im sitting in traffic should i just shut it off to be safe ,or just let it run????? thanks !!!
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,481
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From:
RE: should i shut down in traffic????
If it's 90 degrees or more, and I'm at a large intersection that might take a while to give me a green light, I shut it down. No scientific data goes behind that decision. And after I do my stage one mods I might not do that anymore, but for now, my bike runs pretty freakin' hot.
Road Warrior
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,481
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From:
RE: should i shut down in traffic????
ORIGINAL: Nasty350LT1
I have been riding for over 37 years and I have NEVER heard such a thing.
I have been riding for over 37 years and I have NEVER heard such a thing.
Cruiser
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 155
Likes: 3
From: Moyock, NC
RE: should i shut down in traffic????
I've never shut mine down unless I come up on an accident or construction, where it's obvious that I'm going to be sitting for a long time. Ordinary stop and go traffic, or at a stop light, I leave it running.
Road Captain
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 734
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From: Corona, CA
RE: should i shut down in traffic????
This has been discussed before in another post, but good to hear more input.
I have a 07 deluxe and have fried my thighs in stop and go traffic on a few occasions, watched my bikes oil temp go over 300 degrees, yes I use synthetic oil, I have upgraded the pipes, running with a PC3, has been dyno tuned, still runs hot in stop and go traffic, especially when the outside temps are 100 degrees. Mind you my bike runs well under 240 under normal circumstances, All my Harley’s have ran hot in stop and go traffic tho', their air cooled bikes, I know that! My 07 seems to run hotter than any I've owned. I have been tempted to shut it down at a stop, BUT, I don’t think its safe to shut her down when stopped in the middle of the road surrounded by idiot cagers. I'm thinking about getting a oil cooler, I know you still need the airflow to make the bolt on oil coolers work, what are you guys doing when your bikes running really hot. Right now I just deal with it, it’s not like I'm always in these circumstances,
I have a 07 deluxe and have fried my thighs in stop and go traffic on a few occasions, watched my bikes oil temp go over 300 degrees, yes I use synthetic oil, I have upgraded the pipes, running with a PC3, has been dyno tuned, still runs hot in stop and go traffic, especially when the outside temps are 100 degrees. Mind you my bike runs well under 240 under normal circumstances, All my Harley’s have ran hot in stop and go traffic tho', their air cooled bikes, I know that! My 07 seems to run hotter than any I've owned. I have been tempted to shut it down at a stop, BUT, I don’t think its safe to shut her down when stopped in the middle of the road surrounded by idiot cagers. I'm thinking about getting a oil cooler, I know you still need the airflow to make the bolt on oil coolers work, what are you guys doing when your bikes running really hot. Right now I just deal with it, it’s not like I'm always in these circumstances,
Tourer
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 324
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From: Mentor, Ohio
RE: should i shut down in traffic????
The engine will lower the idle in stages to handle the heat.Ithink eventually it drops to one cylinder.If you aren't hearing a difference in the idle, I wouldn't worry about it. I personally don't shut down the engine, you never know when you may have to leave an intersection in a hurry.
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4th Gear
Joined: May 2007
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RE: should i shut down in traffic????
It has been a while since I took the motorcycle saftey course, but I'm pretty sure they said you should always have your bike running and in gear when in traffic. I live in South Florida where the summers hit 95 in the afternoon easily, and if I had concerns about heat issues I'd rather just get off the road and shut it down.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2006
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RE: should i shut down in traffic????
I've been working on cars since I'm 7. When you shut down a car engine, the heat actually goes UP for the next hour or so. You have all the heat in the engine, and you've shut down all the cooling. We learned this when you had large, relatively high compression engines in the 1970's which when they got hotter, the pistons expanded in the cylinders and the starters simply couldn't restart them a half hour after you shut them down on a hot day until they cooled down.
Harley engines are not that different than those engines in materials or mechanically. When you shut them down, you are not generating any more heat, and not cooling MUCH with no airflow, but shutting it down shuts down any cooling that the engine does for itself (the oil moving heat out of the dead center of the engine).
The danger of sitting in traffic combined with the fact that the engines just don't lose heat all that quickly when shut down leads me to suggest that you find a way out rather than shut it down completely.
Harley engines are not that different than those engines in materials or mechanically. When you shut them down, you are not generating any more heat, and not cooling MUCH with no airflow, but shutting it down shuts down any cooling that the engine does for itself (the oil moving heat out of the dead center of the engine).
The danger of sitting in traffic combined with the fact that the engines just don't lose heat all that quickly when shut down leads me to suggest that you find a way out rather than shut it down completely.