I installed a rocker switch on my dash, (lower left), ran wire to switch from my fuse panel, that I had installed, then to fan. (Switch is in parallel with thermostat) Turn it on any time I want. Also installed a green led light in dash to indicate when fan is running.
....and we're gonna ride, we're gonna ride.....
ride like the one-eyed Jack of Diamonds, with
the devil close behind,.....we're gonna ride....
but don't think you have a choice on thermostats. They are set to open when engine is warmed up. Controling the fan should not be a problem. You can also adjust or change your coolant. I run 75% water and 25% cooland with water wetter. Mind you we don't have freezing temps. My RS runs at 5 bars in warm to hot temps and 3 or 4 bars in cooler weather. When was the last time you changed your coolant...??
Gene and Ilana De Laney Mt. Helix, California
2012 RS sm5
2012 RS sm5 , 998cc V-Twin 106hp DIY brake and park brake Classic Black
Re: When was the last time you changed your coolant...??
I haven't; the Spyder only has 7200 miles on it.
About 10-12 days ago, in very hot weather ( for here, ~ 95* ) and in stop-n-go traffic, it got to 8 bars, went into Limp-Home with Check Engine Light on.
I finally found a place to stop & pull over to let it cool. Took about 5 minutes and I was down to 5 bars; I was only 1 - 2 miles from home and made it OK. Check Engine Light did not come back on after about 30 minutes sitting in my garage; and never since.
I am a little gun-shy on high temps; I cooked a car engine many years ago when the idiot light did not come; no guage back in those days.
Another question: At about how many bars should the fan come on?
And re: I run 75% water and 25% cooland with water wetter
Are these machines fairly easy to change out the coolant and/or flush the cooling system?
I know, lots of questions; but that is why I joined this forum.
Thanks,
Jerry Baumchen
'I'll never forget what's her name.'
'Things are more like they are now than they ever have been before.' Dwight Eisenhower
AF1 does make a lower temp thermostat for the Aprilia RSV that would also work on the spyder. However, I think I'd start with some normal maintenance and verifying that your oem Stat is opening. My Stat stuck open last year. Noticed it over the winter when I was seeing 0-1 bars while cruising. It's only a $40 piece and pretty easy to swap.
Do you have some contact information, and a part number for that thermostat?
And you're right; make sure that the system is right, before throwing strange parts at it!
( Damn... another ... )
Is your fan working correctly and is it clear of debris? Is the air blowing off of it HOT?
Is you coolant full?
The thermostat actually opens at about 3 bars on the scale. 5 bars is approx the temp the fan cycles on and off. It maintains that temp on hot days with the thermostat fully open. On cold days when the fan is not needed, it will maintain about 3 bars on the gauge. A lower temp thermostat will not lower the warm weather operating temp of the Spyder.
Re: Is your fan working correctly and is it clear of debris?
I do not know if it is working correctly; I need to check this.
It is clear of debris.
Re: Is the air blowing off of it HOT?
This is also something I need to check.
Re: Is you coolant full?
Yes, it is.
Re: 5 bars is approx the temp the fan cycles on and off.
Thank you for that info.
Re: On cold days when the fan is not needed, it will maintain about 3 bars on the gauge.
What would you call a 'cold day?' Just wondering so that we are talking the same things.
Re: A lower temp thermostat will not lower the warm weather operating temp of the Spyder.
I will never say that I know everything about anything; but why do you say a lower temp stat will not lower the operating temp?
To me, this is two of the features that a stat is designed to do; one being to stay closed until a pre-determined operating temp is reached & then to open ( as needed ) and then to maintain that operating temp.
And thanks for your thoughts; they are all welcome - from all of you on here,
Jerry Baumchen
'I'll never forget what's her name.'
'Things are more like they are now than they ever have been before.' Dwight Eisenhower
My experience with stats is with car stats and many years ago. I have not changed one in at least 30 yrs.
From what I knew then ( and I think most car stats are about the same today ), is that you can buy them for some XX* temperature. It was not uncomman back then to buy a hotter or cooler stat depending on what your car was doing or what you wanted it do.
Re: The thermostat does not always open fully and stay open once hot. It cycles towards open and closed to maintain temp, constantly adjusting.
With car stats, they only adjust ( move the butterfly ) if the water temp changes.
Do you know if the stats in Spyders are of similar construction? Just wondering so as to learn more about all of this.
Re: the Aprilia guys pretty much say don't waste your time to swap to a lower stat.
It would be nice to know what their reasoning is. I readily admit I know nothing about the stats in Spyders/Aprilia as I have never seen one.
Thanks for your inut,
Jerry Baumchen
'I'll never forget what's her name.'
'Things are more like they are now than they ever have been before.' Dwight Eisenhower
Is your fan working correctly and is it clear of debris? Is the air blowing off of it HOT?
Is you coolant full?
The thermostat actually opens at about 3 bars on the scale. 5 bars is approx the temp the fan cycles on and off. It maintains that temp on hot days with the thermostat fully open. On cold days when the fan is not needed, it will maintain about 3 bars on the gauge. A lower temp thermostat will not lower the warm weather operating temp of the Spyder.
I think on a modern day fuel injected vehicle running cooler is not always better. Concerns of over cooling causing the ecu to go into open loop, carbon buildup, sludge, etc etc.
It's something that if you only ride in hot weather then you'll likely be fine, but if you ride on a cooler day or in the cold you may have issues.
I think on the Aprilia bikes they struggle to cool to begin with, so having the thermostat open earlier doesn't really accomplish anything as they heat up anyway. Dunno if the spyder is capable of over cooling in the heat. It will over cool in weather below 50 for sure though. I do wonder if the AF1 lower temp stat would push the spyder into open loop when riding in the cold.....
The thermostats are the same physically, but the thermostat itself is within a plastic housing. You'd swap the entire housing.
Here is a post from 2009 by Lamonster showing temp related to the number of bars. As you will see, 5 bars (when the fan kicks in) is about 197 degrees.
Re: I think you're trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist.
At the end of the day, you might be correct. As mentioned up thread, it went into Limp Home at about 8 bars or so and that sort of freaked me out. And I just prefer things to run cooler as a safety buffer.
Given enough time, I will probably just get used to seeing the 5 bars.
Re: It is interesting though. Let us know what you come up with.
I'll keep all of you posted if I make any changes; and what the results are.
Jerry Baumchen
'I'll never forget what's her name.'
'Things are more like they are now than they ever have been before.' Dwight Eisenhower
Re: Is your fan working correctly and is it clear of debris?
I do not know if it is working correctly; I need to check this.
It is clear of debris.
Re: Is the air blowing off of it HOT?
This is also something I need to check.
Re: Is you coolant full?
Yes, it is.
Re: 5 bars is approx the temp the fan cycles on and off.
Thank you for that info.
Re: On cold days when the fan is not needed, it will maintain about 3 bars on the gauge.
What would you call a 'cold day?' Just wondering so that we are talking the same things.
Re: A lower temp thermostat will not lower the warm weather operating temp of the Spyder.
I will never say that I know everything about anything; but why do you say a lower temp stat will not lower the operating temp?
To me, this is two of the features that a stat is designed to do; one being to stay closed until a pre-determined operating temp is reached & then to open ( as needed ) and then to maintain that operating temp.
And thanks for your thoughts; they are all welcome - from all of you on here,
Jerry Baumchen
\
What you do not get here is there are 2 thermostats. A mechanical valve in the coolant (the one you are thinking of) and an electrical one that controls the fan. They operate at different temperatures. Once the mechanical valve opens, if there is not sufficient air flow across the radiator the temp will continue to rise until the fan cuts on. The coolant temp will then stay around the fan on/off temp with the coolant stat wide open. This is exactly what is happening on warm days when your gauges is at 5 bars.
The coolant stat really only helps warm the engine and maintain a minimum temp on cold days when the fan is not needed. Cold day is relative and depends on how fast you are going to create air flow.
Re: What you do not get here is there are 2 thermostats.
I do get that. What I did not know until I saw the thread that Lamonster did back in '09 was at what temps the fan comes on/goes off.
In his post Lamonster shows us that he saw 4 bars @ 175* and 5 bars @ 197*. I seriously doubt that these are exact numbers but they do put us in the old ball park. This type of info begins to tell us something about what Can-Am has designed/wants the Spyder to run at.
Re: This is exactly what is happening on warm days when your gauges is at 5 bars.
I live in the Portland, OR area. A HOT day here is 90* and above; nothing like the southern climes with their 105+* days.
We are in the midst of a heat wave for here; every day has been about 90* - 95*. I have had the Spyder go to 8 bars and into Limp Home Mode due to the engine heat. I can get about 6 bars in traffic these days.
If it was actually maintaining 5 bars in these temps/traffic I would not be concerned.
A lot of you are saying it cannot be changed. I am a Mech. Engr. and I reject that type of thinking. It may be that it cannot be changed; but why not give it a try?
As mentioned up thread, if I can get parts to get things changed, I'll let everyone here know.
Jerry Baumchen
'I'll never forget what's her name.'
'Things are more like they are now than they ever have been before.' Dwight Eisenhower
If you are seeing 6 or 8 bars and limp mode in 95 deg air temps, you have something wrong with your bike. You don't need a cooler thermostat, you need your cooling system looked at as part of it is NOT working.
Your bike should maintain near 5 bars in temps well above 100 deg. Humidity has nothing (or very little) to do with it. Don't start to redesign the system thinking there is a design deficiency. Yours is just not working as designed.
You've got something going on with your cooling system for sure with those temps. A bad stat could cause overheating, but it could also be a blockage/partially clogged radiator, a bad or improperly installed cap allowing coolant loss, etc etc. Time to pull things apart and give everything a good service.
If you do go with the AF1 stat let us know how you like it! Good luck.
You've got something going on with your cooling system for sure with those temps. A bad stat could cause overheating, but it could also be a blockage/partially clogged radiator, a bad or improperly installed cap allowing coolant loss, etc etc. Time to pull things apart and give everything a good service.
If you do go with the AF1 stat let us know how you like it! Good luck.
It sounds like there is an underlying problem that's causing your overheating. Find that first.
Thermosstat
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Originally Posted by jcthorne
it was fun while it lasted.
