The dreaded right foot french frier

[Doktor]

My wife and I decided to go for a quick ride before dinner this evening, I decided to go down to the Fort Jackson Recreation Area, a military lake and camping area about 15 miles, I guess, from the house. We rode about 2 miles uphill behind a overweight pulp truck struggling to get up a steep grade. He was probably making, maybe, 5-8 mph, I was constantly watching the temperature gauge to see for any abnormal rise, none at that point, and once he peaked the hill, he was rolling along like a raped ape, test one was a pass. We rode the rest of the way to the lake unhampered. Test 2 was a pass, no hot feet on the highway pegs (webs). We entered into the rec area, and I, purposely, drove very slow, 5-10 mph for a couple of miles around the campground, up and down the hills, probably, only momentarily, above 2000 rpm, stopped and started several times, test 3 was a pass, as well. No excessive heat either on the gauge or on the foot, floorboard, or on the pegs. Later in the week, maybe Friday or Saturday, I'll go to the next phase, hook my utility trailer up, and do the same circuit, my ultimate test, however, will be to hook up my Kwik Kamp popup camper behind Big Red, and pull it through the circuit.
Tentatively, my hot foot mod is a success yay.


Doc

[Bob Denman]

Bob? I've looked and looked for that post. If you get a chance and it's not too hard, would you please post here? I'd sho nuff appreciated. (and I take back all the bad stuff I've said about ya.

You're gonna have to keep repeating all of the bad stuff... I know that he said it; I just don't know where it was posted...

[ringalls51]

hi just got 2013 rt-s just wondering I was told that there is a whole under the glove box that you can cover up to stop a lot of heat on the rider Have not found anything yet on this

[Bob Denman]

No excessive heat either on the gauge or on the foot, floorboard, or on the pegs. Later in the week, maybe Friday or Saturday, I'll go to the next phase, hook my utility trailer up, and do the same circuit, my ultimate test, however, will be to hook up my Kwik Kamp popup camper behind Big Red, and pull it through the circuit.
Tentatively, my hot foot mod is a success

[Dan McNally]

I don't have the mechanical ability (nor the tools needed) to do this, but it seems as though a cover for both the upper and lower radiator vents could be fabricated that had large chromed truck exhaust pipes or something similar formed from heavy sheet metal, that merged and extended just below the floor board. If the end was designed to create a venturi effect, it would help pull the heat out, venting it below the foot . . . or an exhaust fan could be in the pipe.

[CyncySpyder]

I believe that Lamonot posted that those 2013 model year pans are removeable; it just isn't quite as easy on the prior models...

Bob? I've looked and looked for that post. If you get a chance and it's not too hard, would you please post here? I'd sho nuff appreciated. (and I take back all the bad stuff I've said about ya. ) Chris

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...-plate-removal

But then, he kept looking a little deeper and found this one from way back in May
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...n-on-2013-RT-S

[Spyder Smyles]

what year is your bike my 2013 doesn't have a heat problem

You are very fortunate that you do not have a heat problem. I have a 2013 RT-S and it had a major heat problem until my husband worked his magic by covering the pipes, installing some type of heat tape and adding the Spyderpops heat sheild.

[Bob Denman]

http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...-plate-removal

But then, he kept looking a little deeper and found this one from way back in May
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/s...n-on-2013-RT-S

So he did... and then he didn't!

I guess that I was only half-right this time!

[GuitarPlayer]

An update of trying the new fire fighter boots I just purchased.

When ever the forecast says it's going to sunny out I commute to work which is 100 miles round trip. I don't mind driving in the rain but I wouldn't want to try driving the RT in a thunderstorm like we usually get here. My commute is about half freeway and half 2-lane.

Yesterday afternoon the temp was 95 degrees for my trip home. It was quite warm. I wore the fire fighter boots I just purchased and I must say that while my right foot got warm, it was very tolerable and much better that with the previous Can-Am boots or First Gear boots that I have. The boots are All American Fire Fighting 401 and I purchased them from stompersboots.com. Chippewa Boots also makes a boot that's similar.

As I said above, I think for now until ISCI get's the Fan Can updated for the 2013 RT's, I'm going to go with this setup. Other than this heat problem, my RT Limited runs great and I've put on over 7500 miles since last April.

Hope this helps,

Tony

[MouthPiece]

I feel like I need to add to this heat issue thing. I've known about the heat since day one when I bought my first 2010 RT-S. It certainly wasn't anything "new to me" and I was fully aware. Knowing the above, I still choose most of the time from late February to the following December of the same year to wear shorts and tennis shoes. I'm a native Flowridian and choose this dress attire for reasons that most 70 year old Native Flowridians would understand.

When mother nature decides to cool down around these parts, I then wear jeans with either cowboy boots or my tennies. Keep in mind that all of this in conjunction with the heat issue. It's simply a choice on my part. Would I like for the spyder not to have this issue? You betcha. However, it is not a game changer for me and I live with it and enjoy this ride more than any I've ever had.

Sum and substance is that it may seem that I'm complaining about this heat issue. I'm not.

Chris

[Spyder Smyles]

I'm looking at this solution with interest. I see two possibilities. One is the spyderpops block off plate with a baker wing (lower) installed to take care of the "lower hole".

The solution you are offering up in your post also makes sense to me. I'm going to wait and see if and what ISCI might come up with.

I would note that on my 2010 RT-S the spyderpops block off plate and removing the pans underneath did wonders. However, my 2010 had footpegs and not a floor board. If you take a look at where the placement of the footpeg is, you will find that your foot placement is much higher than where they rest with the 2013 floorobards. Consequently, the 2010 fix, i.e., spyderpops block off plate worked in that the lower hole heat went underneath your foot. However, that is not the case with the 2013 floorboards. Your foot is flat out next to the hole. Admittedly you can move your foot back and that does help. However, isn't that why we had floorboards was to stretch your leg out?

Again, I think your solution sounds logical as well as the spyderpops fix with a lower baker airwing.

(Now what do we Corbin seat riders do with the heat that comes out our gas tank door.)

Chris

Chris I ran into the same problem with my new Corbin seat, my husband added heat tape and a heat shield blanket under the tupperware and around the the gas cap area, he also wrapped my pipes to help with the heat and it worked great. I no longer have heat coming through my gas tank door.

[rick_w]

Chris I ran into the same problem with my new Corbin seat, my husband added heat tape and a heat shield blanket under the tupperware and around the the gas cap area, he also wrapped my pipes to help with the heat and it worked great. I no longer have heat coming through my gas tank door.

That was the answer for us also.
I wrapped the Left side pipe as you can see from the picture below and also installed more heat shielding as you can see from another picture.
That took a huge amount of heat away from the Left side and really the whole machine.
Also installed the Block Off Plate on the Upper Right side. There is really no comparison now.
Rick,
Value-Accessories

See what we Ride......................

[Doktor]

An update of trying the new fire fighter boots I just purchased.

When ever the forecast says it's going to sunny out I commute to work which is 100 miles round trip. I don't mind driving in the rain but I wouldn't want to try driving the RT in a thunderstorm like we usually get here. My commute is about half freeway and half 2-lane.

Yesterday afternoon the temp was 95 degrees for my trip home. It was quite warm. I wore the fire fighter boots I just purchased and I must say that while my right foot got warm, it was very tolerable and much better that with the previous Can-Am boots or First Gear boots that I have. The boots are All American Fire Fighting 401 and I purchased them from stompersboots.com. Chippewa Boots also makes a boot that's similar.

As I said above, I think for now until ISCI get's the Fan Can updated for the 2013 RT's, I'm going to go with this setup. Other than this heat problem, my RT Limited runs great and I've put on over 7500 miles since last April.

Hope this helps,

Tony

I'm glad that you've got a solution, and my solution was good until I was waiting at a gas station, and got the orange, I'm hotter than Halle Berry in Catwoman! screen. Of course the ambient temperature was at 104, so it may not be a true failure, but we, as owners, shouldn't have to come up with some kind of compromise for a lack of competent engineering on the part of BRP! don't get me wrong, I love the bike, but, if they'd have redirected that one area of heat to a place that would not fry the rider's foot, it would make all the difference. We are supposed to be totally happy with our vehicle. If our girlfriend was everything we ever wanted, but had a bad habit that we couldn't get past, say wore spurs on your bike, and kept scraping them across the seat, she would either need to get rid of the spurs, if she was going to ride, comedic, yes, but we'd be hard pressed to let her continue gouging up your seat. To me it is the same type of thing. I like riding, but that blast furnace is a BIG spur in the flank of our bike.
Having to wear heavy boots doesn't eliminate the heat, if you had to do an "Iron Butt" because your life depended on it, those boots would just continue to heat up, until the amount of surface area heated penetrated to your foot. Now in addition to having overheated boots, they will not cool down in the amount of time that just filling your tank, your foot is now burning up, and you have so much mass heated that it stays hot much longer. Physics does still have laws, and the bigger the mass, the slower it will cool.
Many of us live in climates or have health issues that make it unacceptable to wear those boots. The engineers really need to address the heat issue. I had a Goldwing that had a vent that did what our heat problem does, but made it capable of being controlled by the driver. You didn't have to be an unwilling participant.
Rant off


Doc

[poordom]

Moving air is at a lower pressure than static air....so.....I'm wondering whether forming a short length of duct with a cross section to match the shape of the outlet so that the duct outlet is outboard of your foot and ankle to let the lower pressure of the outside air (vehicle is moving forward) induces the hot air out of the engine compartment...???

I have tried different things, without any major success.

What you say makes lots of sense.

I had a similar thought, but would require the assistance, of a sheet metal worker.

Providing there is enough room to do so, I was thinking of having a duct made in such a way that the air flow would not be restricted, the duct would go over the fan at one end and right through the floor at the other.

The end going through the floor would have a spring loaded trap door, which would only open once the fan came on thus avoiding any crap from getting inside.

Now, once the fan cameall on, the flow created by the fan would force the trap to open, allowing the hot air to escape, further more, the air flow created under the trike due to movement would, I assume, generate a vacuum, essentially sucking the air out at a faster rate, than generated by the fan.

In theory all suggestions sound good, its only when you try it that everything goes to ****s, LOL.

Dom

[poordom]

Good morning All,

The more I think about this heat issue, on the right side, the more I wonder if we are not looking at it the wrong way.

Everyone including myself have been trying to redirect the hot air from the rad, is it at all possible that the heat generated is the result of a lack of fresh air being fed to the rad. in the first place.

Any thought on the subject.

Dom

[Dan McNally]

Good morning All,

The more I think about this heat issue, on the right side, the more I wonder if we are not looking at it the wrong way.

Everyone including myself have been trying to redirect the hot air from the rad, is it at all possible that the heat generated is the result of a lack of fresh air being fed to the rad. in the first place.

Any thought on the subject.

Dom

I could be wrong, but if insufficient air was flowing over the radiator, two things would happen . . . the engine would over heat . . . and there would not be that blast of hot air coming out behind the radiator straight at the right foot . . . I think the issue is where that air is vented. Down and out would, to me, appear better than straight at my right foot. A shame we couldn't get a CanAm engineer to explain the rationale of that air coming at us, rather than straight down, underneath.

[poordom]

I could be wrong, but if insufficient air was flowing over the radiator, two things would happen . . . the engine would over heat . . . and there would not be that blast of hot air coming out behind the radiator straight at the right foot . . . I think the issue is where that air is vented. Down and out would, to me, appear better than straight at my right foot. A shame we couldn't get a CanAm engineer to explain the rationale of that air coming at us, rather than straight down, underneath.

I could be wrong too, so does two wrongs make a right ?

I think we are all looking at possible solutions, and without trying different thing, we will never find a solution, right?

Maybe we should try and get an engineer involved, what the heck!

Dom

[NancysToy]

Although other heat sources may not be, heat at the radiator outlet vent is perfectly normal and unavoidable. When air enters the radiator the heat in the coolant transfers to the air and is exhausted through the vent. If you get 90 degree air in, you will get much warmer air out. You can't cheat physics. The problems arise when the air flow is diverted, the rider puts his feet near the vent, or aftermarket pegs are used which put the feet even closer. Different leg lengths and sizes can also put an individual rider's legs closer, as can differing riding postures. Slow vehicle movement, or cross winds can redirect thehot air toward the rider. BRP cannot readily design around all these possibilities. If you are having troubles, you may have to be part of the solution. Wearing protective gear or installing aftermarket fixes are possible answers. If a solution cannot be found, a different type of vehicle may be the only choice. All vehicles present certain compromises between design considerations and practicality, appearance, or economics. The Spyder is no exception. Such things have to be taken into consideration when electing to purchase or continue to own any vehicle. JMHO

[poordom]

Although other heat sources may not be, heat at the radiator outlet vent is perfectly normal and unavoidable. When air enters the radiator the heat in the coolant transfers to the air and is exhausted through the vent. If you get 90 degree air in, you will get much warmer air out. You can't cheat physics. The problems arise when the air flow is diverted, the rider puts his feet near the vent, or aftermarket pegs are used which put the feet even closer. Different leg lengths and sizes can also put an individual rider's legs closer, as can differing riding postures. Slow vehicle movement, or cross winds can redirect thehot air toward the rider. BRP cannot readily design around all these possibilities. If you are having troubles, you may have to be part of the solution. Wearing protective gear or installing aftermarket fixes are possible answers. If a solution cannot be found, a different type of vehicle may be the only choice. All vehicles present certain compromises between design considerations and practicality, appearance, or economics. The Spyder is no exception. Such things have to be taken into consideration when electing to purchase or continue to own any vehicle. JMHO

Wouldn't it stand to reason that the air or heat coming out of the rad. cannot be any greater than that of the coolant. in other words, the temperature outside, can only have the coolant reach its temperature sooner than later.

Doesn't also stand to reason that if one can lower the temperature of the coolant the air or heat generated would be a great deal lower, therefore if one would change the coolant thermostat to a lower temperature one, or even the change the temperature sensor controlling the fan to have the fan start at a lower temperature could solve this problem.

The above are thoughts and questions, and should not be considered as negative points.

Dom

[NancysToy]

Wouldn't it stand to reason that the air or heat coming out of the rad. cannot be any greater than that of the coolant. in other words, the temperature outside, can only have the coolant reach its temperature sooner than later.

Doesn't also stand to reason that if one can lower the temperature of the coolant the air or heat generated would be a great deal lower, therefore if one would change the coolant thermostat to a lower temperature one, or even the change the temperature sensor controlling the fan to have the fan start at a lower temperature could solve this problem.

The above are thoughts and questions, and should not be considered as negative points.

Dom

The air temp won't exceed that of the coolant, but that is plenty hot enough. Coolant temperatures run within a fairly small window. They cannot be lower than 195 degrees after the thermosat opens, in order to meet EPA emissions requirements. Cold engines are fairly dirty emissions wise. Changing the fan switch setting would be of little value, IMO. The Spyder fan typically runs only in slow traffic or very hot weather. Switching the fan on sooner would likely only lower the temperature at those low speeds when less air flows through the radiator naturally...and it would only make a 5-10 degree difference in water temp at best. Typically water cooled vehicles run in the 200-225 degree range during operation...especially in hot climates or weather. That is not considered to be overheating with modern emissions-friendly engines.

[poordom]

The air temp won't exceed that of the coolant, but that is plenty hot enough. Coolant temperatures run within a fairly small window. They cannot be lower than 195 degrees after the thermosat opens, in order to meet EPA emissions requirements. Cold engines are fairly dirty emissions wise. Changing the fan switch setting would be of little value, IMO. The Spyder fan typically runs only in slow traffic or very hot weather. Switching the fan on sooner would likely only lower the temperature at those low speeds when less air flows through the radiator naturally...and it would only make a 5-10 degree difference in water temp at best. Typically water cooled vehicles run in the 200-225 degree range during operation...especially in hot climates or weather. That is not considered to be overheating with modern emissions-friendly engines.

So, I guess the only valid solution is to completely divert the after radiator air, downwards, with as little obstruction as possible.

Dom

[NancysToy]

So, I guess the only valid solution is to completely divert the after radiator air, downwards, with as little obstruction as possible.

Dom

Not necessarily. It has to exit somewhere, and the air currents could bring it right back up the bottom or back of your leg. Completely redesigning the vehicle is complex, and has hidden pitfalls. If you cannot live with the air flow the way BRP designed it, perhaps the Spyder isn't the vehicle for you. I know that sounds harsh, and I don't mean it to be that way, but it is a reality. You can't make an owl into a chicken or a robin into an eagle.

[Doktor]

Not necessarily. It has to exit somewhere, and the air currents could bring it right back up the bottom or back of your leg. Completely redesigning the vehicle is complex, and has hidden pitfalls. If you cannot live with the air flow the way BRP designed it, perhaps the Spyder isn't the vehicle for you. I know that sounds harsh, and I don't mean it to be that way, but it is a reality. You can't make an owl into a chicken or a robin into an eagle.

I would agree, except I found nothing in the manual that says, "We've had this heating problem for several years, and you are going to have to live with it." I wasn't told that, when I bought my RT-S either.

I'm also thinking that another part of the solution might be if we can hook a high volume "muffin" fan, (I think that's what they are called) The type of fan they used to put in the side of a computer to cool the CPU, gently direct the flow straight out the bottom, or centrally under the cycle. I'm certainly no engineer, as I said at the onset of this thread, but it surely can be presented to the quality control section of BRP. Someone mentioned putting duct work, I saw somewhere, I think it was on this thread where their floorboards went up to the upper "black hole" that could possibly be the best solution and duct the hot air under that, and I may try approaching from that angle. I am not someone that just says, "fix it," and then just sit back and wait for someone to do 'it'. When I was in the Army, I saw a need for a secure way to hold oxygen bottles for patients that were being transported to appointments, I got hold of medical maintenance and told them what I wanted and help them design a prototype, it worked an reduced the possibility of busting the valve of if the cylinder was dropped. Those things can go off like an artillery round, and damage to personnel and equipment was prevented. I don't know if I had invented it, but it was a need met. We, as owners, owe it to people that buy a Can Am to get it solved, it may prevent a possible serious wreck from someone that suddenly reacts to his or her leg being burned, and swings into a cage as they try to get away from that heat. It may only seem like a nuisance, but often, people will react in inappropriate ways, to a stimulus and cause an inexcusable wreck, making that become a safety issue. BRP has spent a lot of money designing our vehicles, another few hours to design it better, surely, should worthwhile. Just my 2 cents, FWIW


Doc

[Dan McNally]

If you cannot live with the air flow the way BRP designed it, perhaps the Spyder isn't the vehicle for you. I know that sounds harsh, and I don't mean it to be that way, but it is a reality. .

With that mindset, I suppose everyone should remove the Baja Ron sway bars, the Elka shocks, the Akrapovic mufflers, and all the other inappropriately installed devices that change how their Spyder runs when it comes from the factory, because it isn't the vehicle for them? I see nothing wrong with people trying to make their ride more comfortable . . . JMHO

[NancysToy]

I would agree, except I found nothing in the manual that says, "We've had this heating problem for several years, and you are going to have to live with it." I wasn't told that, when I bought my RT-S either.

I am having a hard time understanding why and how BRP should hbe expected to provide explanations about a "problem" that is being caused by owners modifying their vehicles to change their foot position. It cannot be foreseen, and should not have to be warned against, IMO. I will certainly concede that BRP's 2013 footboards may have created a similar situation, and that they have some responsibility from that point onward, but that does not constitute having the problem "for several years". If an owner's modifications are the cause of putting him in harm's way, or even just create an inconvenience, the responsibility is his. If the mods are necessary for him to enjoy the vehicle, the choice of vehicles has to come into question. Spyders are fabulous vehicles, but they may not be suitable for everyone. If you tried a car and found the steering wheel hit your knees, would you buy that car?