Engine temp in Cold Weather

[tomatocity]

If I am cruising a freeway my 2012 normally runs at 167 F

 

[Tippo]

The potential problem of running in cold weather with cold engine temps is the ECU can be fooled into running a rich mixture and gas mileage goes to shit. On a long cold, rainy trip on my Ducati ST4s I had to block off half the radiator with a piece I cut from a pizza box. The temp went up, the bike ran better, and the mileage improved. I haven't had to do this on the Tenere and I am not sure how I would do it if I had to. A sushi box perhaps.

Jeff

 

[tubebender]

You may want to check your thermostat. According to my 2012 service manual, it doesn't open until 159 degrees so theoretically there is almost no water circulating.
I would say that would be where the temp readout should be in cold ambient temps +/- a few degrees.
It is possible to over-cool if the thermostat is stuck open.

A couple of anecdotal observations.
In colder climes you'll see (older) semi trucks with some sort of foldable tarp over the radiator grill to reduce the amount of air across the radiator.
When I use to work on race cars (which never had a thermostat) we had a selection of block of plates (and in some case duct tape) to regulate the temperature according to conditions.

 

[markjenn]

Sounds to me like you have a thermostat issue. Your comment that this is the first you've noticed this problem since a "rebuilt radiator" would make me suspicious that something was amiss with your repair.

I'd ditch the 20W-50 oil too. Maybe use it in the summer, but I think 5W-40 or 10W-40 are probably the optimal viscosities year-round.

- Mark

 

[rbmgf7]

Did one thing at a time and luckily the first thing was the issue.

Went ahead and swapped to a 15W-40 and now not only does it warm up faster but now it's hovering around low 160s while on the interstate. The temp is 30 so it's about the same scenario as the other days.

 

[markjenn]

Went ahead and swapped to a 15W-40 and now not only does it warm up faster but now it's hovering around low 160s while on the interstate. The temp is 30 so it's about the same scenario as the other days.

Happy you think it is fixed, but I can't come up with any plausible technical explanation why switching from 20W-50 to 15W-40 would cause any change in steady-state freeway running temperatures in a water-cooled, thermostatically-controlled cooling system. If there was a measurable change (and I doubt there would be), I would think it would be the opposite - the lower-viscosity oil would slightly reduce engine friction and result in slightly lower temperatures.

- Mark

 

[Nimbus]

So this is not a thermostat issue. It is a Yamaha issue. As far as I can tell Yamaha does a lot right, but it doesn't do well with lights (recalls on both FZ and S10), cooling systems, or cam-chain tensioners. If you search on this board, it's a common issue. If you do a google search, the FJR does the same thing. My '14 FZ-09 does the same thing but way worse than the S10. On my S10, it takes a while to warm up on a 50degree day, but it'll run at 160-170. On my 20 minute ride to work when the temp is in the upper 20's, the bike will never get past 150. I just take a t-shirt and stuff it down the radiator intake. It works great. It's also way better than the tape that I added to the rad guard on my FZ-09; when it's 30 in the AM and 65 in the PM, I just take the T-shirt out before I ride home.

FWIW, I had an '07 CBR600rr that would hit 172 within a mile of my house when the temp was 25 and would maybe, maybe run 176F when at a 60mph cruise at 105F. I liked that bike.

 

[markjenn]

So the engine oil is 140 or 150, is this something catastrophic?

Not catastrophic, but definitely undesirable. The ideal oil temperature is somewhere in the 190-220 range - below this and the oil isn't hot enough to vaporize moisture (which tends to build up in the oil and promote corrosion) and above this, oil life starts to deteriorate. And an engine running at 140 deg is going to get poorer gas mileage and make less power than one running at an optimal 180 or so. (Oil temp tends to run somewhat higher than coolant temp.)

- Mark

 

[LousyPups]

When removing the side covers, with Altrider bars I have found it helpful to use that blue non stick tape to cover the areas of the side panels that come in contact with the bars to prevent unecessary scratches. FWIW.

I just throw a towel over the alt rider bars and left turn signal so that the side cover will slide out without getting scratched. It does have to be bent just a little.

 

[Ramseybella]

I noticed the other day when it was cold I started my bike and just about gassed me and my wife out it was pumping so rich, I had to close the front door as my bike is parked on the porch.
I also noticed the day I rode my bike to the shop for valve adjustment and new CCT install I took all the side plastics off to save them on time and me money from time.
Noticed how much cooler the rad temp was compared to when the ram vent is installed, I thought it would make it run at a higher temp without the sides on.

 

[cb0802]

For what it's worth:
On my way to work the outside temp was 30 degrees.
While running through gears (about 3 miles stop and go) the engine temp was between 160 and 170.
While on the interstate (about 5 miles at 65 mph) the engine temp was 154.
27,500 miles, 24 months, and welcoming my 3rd winter without issue.