Get rid of the cat that alone will be enough to keep it a lot cooler.

 

Worthless. Plus installing a gauge won't work. The information comes from the ECM. Not like hooking up an oil pressure gauge.
Some tuners like the Power vision will display the head temp. Just driving yourself nuts worrying about head and oil temp.
Contrary to what you read on the net it will not melt.

 

The reason I asked was because I understand the ECM has a heat management system that will shut down the rear cylinder if things heat up too much.

I don't plan on doing any parade duty and the other member's comment about riding in all kinds of conditions and not burning one up yet was encouraging. Appreciate the replies and will save my money for other things for my bike.

 

 

Smart man!

Keep in mind when spending money for the bike, in order.... comfort, performance, and very last, looks. I quit spending on looks three bikes ago. Saved the money for better beer. Comfort worth every penny. Performance for fun. Looks....if you can't see it from the saddle, why bother.

Enjoy your new ride!!!

 

If you are riding a stock bike or have built your motor and put it on a Dyno then I would agree with what has been said that monitoring head temps is just one more thing to obsess about. These bikes run extremely hot.
On the other hand if you are running a PV, Thundermax or any other tuner with a canned tune and want to modify that tune to maximize performance and gas mileage the ability to monitor heat temps is critical. Most of the canned tunes provided with these tuners are running pretty rich, typically around 13.6:1 and although they perform well the gas mileage usually sucks. Leaning these tunes out in the cruising range can increase gas mileage significantly. Leaning out the tune in the cruising range will also increase head temps so knowing where you're at is important. I’m running Dakota Digital gauges on all 4 of my bikes and have the ability to monitor head temps. I will lean the tune out in the cruising range, let’s say between 2000 and 3000 RPM, to the point I see head temps start to rise to an unacceptable level and then call it good.
Running hot is the nature of the beast with these motors and regardless of what anyone says heat is the enemy of any air cooled motor. Extreme heat has a huge effect on the performance and longevity of these motors. No one is melting their motors down or having catastrophic failures due to overheating but how can they say that extreme heat has no effect on the longevity of these motors

 

Joe,


I live in SoCal/Inland Empire, and have never used the EITMS (heat management) system or whatever they call it. Have ridden in 100+ degrees for hours at a time. Never had any issues overheating in 37,000 miles. Do yourself a favor and just ride your bike.

Paul

 

Just ride and concern yourself with more important things - like where you put your gas cap.

 

Yeah, the power vision can display that info. Mine gets hot enough to shut down the rear cylinder if I am not rolling down the highway. My tune sucks but I can't do much about it without a computer to hook it to.

 

I had a lot of problems with my bike getting very hot. This only happened when stuck in rush hour traffic. I first tried a dyno tune and that helped but still would go into EITIMS and ping and knock once I got out of traffic. I first got the MIGHTY MITES cooling fans. With the fans on I can sit in traffic for hours and not go into EITIMS or get to hot. I have since removed the CAT and that was a huge help. My right calf no longer gets hot and a traffic light.