K11 Owners Group

beemeerr11 · Flying Brick Rider Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 168

Over the last two months, the 95LT has been running quite hot, and the Thermo fan comming on more than usual. Was time to change coolant and I also bit the bullet and payed $85:00 (Aus) for a new Thermostat, instaled the Thermostat and filled it with 60.40 mix of coolant.
If you take the Blue Zone and Red Zone on the Temp Gauge and call them 10 oclock and 2 oclock, the bike previousley would run at about 11 oclock, after the new thermostat change the bike runs at 12 oclock, and if stopping for a couple of minutes the Thermo fan starts air temp 22 degrees C. There is no coolant leaks or oil in the coolant, although I did notice some air bubles comming into the overflow bottle, after I pulled over about 20k's after the coolant change, assuming it was excess air in the radiator.
the coolant level in the overflow bottle hasn't changed even when cool.

Any suggestions?

Lou
95LT

jarnbak · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 4:23 am Post subject:

No pressure in the system=water boiling at a lower temp.Propperly a
leaking radiatorcap.
Regards Palle.

Jim · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 8:44 am Post subject:

You know these bikes are a RPITA when it comes to bleeding air out of the the cooling system, right? That's the first thing that comes to mind.
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Jim
1997 K1100LTSE 94,000 - has gremlins!
1995 R100RT Classic 16,650 crashed - repairing
1992 K75RTP 46,000

"We shall not all die, but we shall all be changed."

hfxrzw · Mad Brick Rider Joined: 30 Jan 2009 Posts: 78

Maybe the overflow/connection line between the cap and the reservoir is porous?
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Greetings from Florida.

BMW K100 '85

Flying Duck · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 3:12 pm Post subject:

drikko · Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2010 9:25 pm Post subject:

Aaaggghhhh! Must be the season for it here in OZ! I just rode to work and the temp gauge was firmly planted in the red, it went down to about 1 o'clock when moving for a reasonable distance, but straight back up to red at the lights. The fan has stopped working but I would have thought it would get cooler while moving. There's still fluid in the overflow tank.

Oh well looks like it's fairings off and see what the issue with the fan is tonight.

Good excuse to drink some beer and tinker.....not that I needed one.

Edit:- I just noticed that the fan, it's fuse and switch aren't even shown on any of the circuit diagrams at http://smithduck.home.comcast.net/~smithduck/bmw/kwiring/kwiring.htm

Either that or I'm blind!

edit 2: just keeping it here for a place keeper. How to install an aftermarket fan:-

http://www.k11og.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5543&highlight=fan+replace
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K1100RS '97
Laverda RGS 1000 '84
Jim Young Trailer Sailer 5.7M WB

DISCLAIMER:- Anything I say may have been when I was drunk so please don't take it personally.

'Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.'
Oscar Wilde

beemeerr11 · Flying Brick Rider Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 168

drikko · Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2010 3:27 pm Post subject:

Yeah the Perth mob want $408 for a fan so if I ever need one I'll go the $45 aftermarket one as per Gary here:-

http://www.k11og.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5543&highlight=fan+replace

They are available at supercrap or fleabay.

Update on mine, nothing wrong with the fan, it is just the temp guage dicking around. After the sneezing incident I was sitting at the lights and noticed it jumping from 12 o'clock over to the red and back. It was a relatively cold day here (21C well that's cold for us!) so it shouldn't have been running hot and it didn't feel like it. So I just have to fix that!
_________________
K1100RS '97
Laverda RGS 1000 '84
Jim Young Trailer Sailer 5.7M WB

DISCLAIMER:- Anything I say may have been when I was drunk so please don't take it personally.

'Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.'
Oscar Wilde

superchicken · Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:50 pm Post subject: fan tastic...

A week ago on a trip to Alabama the coolant guage and the sensor for the water pump both went red! Found a gas station on the edge of nashville and hydrated myself while letting the black RS cool off.
I had replaced the radiator fan last August up at Morganton, NC and Cycle Recyled parts.

Sooo after stopping in Alabama i continued east thru Atlanta then headed north east up I-85... almost patting myself on the back on keeping the temps out of the red zone!

Well there is road destruction just before the South Carolina border... and then those cage drivers decided to crash into each other.. thankfully I was running around 9pm. Yep red lights... and YES I know the manual says to pull over and let the engine cool... Not on these freeways!

I did get the bike off the road and cooled for some time.. then back down on that stretch of road again... Finally made it into Greenville, SC

Saturday I headed to Napa and purchased an automotive fan. 10" diameter. Mounted it to the front of the radiator with zip ties. Wired it backwards as the Fan part is sticking out in the wind.

Works! Almost looks like it should be in there... heh

By Monday the cold front had come thru and i was heading home. 1050 miles or so from Greenville, to Rockford, illinois. Good run for an early spring ride! Tuesday rode the rest of the way to minneapolis.

Yep i hear you.. Tedious to remove the radiator and replace the fan... This one is independant of all sensors... Flip the toggle switch and watch the needle on the gauge drop to 11 o clock.\

tough engines!

tim lindstrom
columbia heights, mn
95 k1100RS

Ernie-NH · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 8:43 am Post subject:

Good morning drikko....

Just a thought... but while you're tinkering, have you checked your water pump impeller ?? It might not be JUST the fan, and the others have told you how to check the fan circuit. At any rate, good luck and keep us posted as you resolve this problem!

Best regards.........// Ernie-NH
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'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

drikko · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:28 am Post subject:

Very guilty of hijacking Lou's thread here!! Sorry Lou, did you get anywhere with your issue?

Ernie, I have checked the fan it is indeed fine. It is just the temp gauge itself. I was sitting at the lights and it was going up and down quite fast, the motor wasn't even warm at the time.

So I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, and probably won't for a few weeks. I'm off sailing on my other toy Smile

_________________
K1100RS '97
Laverda RGS 1000 '84
Jim Young Trailer Sailer 5.7M WB

DISCLAIMER:- Anything I say may have been when I was drunk so please don't take it personally.

'Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.'
Oscar Wilde

Ernie-NH · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2010 9:53 am Post subject:

Jeeeeezzzz ! Drikko...

Re: "" I'm off sailing on my other toy ! "" You really know how to rub in in ! We're still freezing our collective asses off here in upper New England and YOU'RE off sailing. It aint fair........

Have fun, forget the temp gage !

Best regards............// Ernie-NH
_________________
AMA,, American Deaf Bikers
Airhead Beemers Club
'11 G650gs
'95 K1100LT
'76 R100/7

drikko · Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:45 pm Post subject:

Would you like me to post photos to really annoy you?
_________________
K1100RS '97
Laverda RGS 1000 '84
Jim Young Trailer Sailer 5.7M WB

DISCLAIMER:- Anything I say may have been when I was drunk so please don't take it personally.

'Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.'
Oscar Wilde

Scott_Anderson · Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:49 pm Post subject:

drikko · Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:51 pm Post subject:

Haven't actually gone yet, during the week.
_________________
K1100RS '97
Laverda RGS 1000 '84
Jim Young Trailer Sailer 5.7M WB

DISCLAIMER:- Anything I say may have been when I was drunk so please don't take it personally.

'Bigamy is having one wife/husband too many. Monogamy is the same.'
Oscar Wilde

SugarHillCTD · Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 8:59 pm Post subject:

RAL88 · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 7:33 am Post subject:

I am in the process of rebuilding my water/oil pump and here is what I do to fill it. I remove the two nuts that hold the filler cap to the bike. Then I pull it off those tow studs and sit on top of the studs. This is enough to stretch the tube and get the kink out so you can just poor the coolant in. You still have to pour a very little at a time and poor slowly but I never have to massage the hose.
_________________
Rich

"If it ain't broke, take it apart and make it work better"
*************
'96' K1100LT-SE
'97' R850GS-R

beemeerr11 · Flying Brick Rider Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 168

beemeerr11 · Flying Brick Rider Joined: 05 Mar 2006 Posts: 168

I know this is and old topic, but I couldn't find the last one I posted.
So new hoses, new thermostat, new radiator cap, radiator taken to cooling specialist and charged me $50:00 to tell me it was O.k., replaced the oil/water pump seal and a new shaft as the original was worn. added 3 litres of BMW coolant/demineralised water mix 50/50 and burped it from the bottom hose.

WTF it is still running hot and nearly boiling on short runs, no water in the oil and no oil in the coolant, and like I said in the earlier post, the overflow bottle never changes it's height?

Any suggestions/help?

Cheers
Lou

Flying Duck · Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 11:05 am Post subject:

Is the warning lamp in the cluster illuminating? If that light isn't coming on and the radiator cap isn't blowing then you're OK.

Are you judging this solely by the temp gauge? It could just be that the sensor or the gauge is messed up.

The temp sensor that matters is the one in the pipe coming off of the front of the cylinder head. That's the one that the Motronic uses to monitor engine heat and kick in the fan. Here's a table of how much resistance that should have at various temps:

If this only happens at low speed on short runs then the solution is to ride faster and farther. Laughing

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