Temperature gauge

[George]

My 74 L seems to be running a little warm . Now granted in Hawaii right now it's hot and very humid . So I was just wondering where the temp. gauge should be sitting at while riding .

[Alan H]

Between the 2 little white marks near the top.
It might be an idea to flush the radiator and refill with antifreeze and water. Yes, I know you don't need antifreeze there, but glycol assists cooling, not just protects from freezing. I daresay someone will come in with ratios of water/antifreeze as I can't remember offhand what's in mine.
Glycol also protects the internal alloy from oxidation and 'furring' of the coolant passageways.

[PaulD738]

Used distilled/ionised water not tap water, it prevents limescale building up

[slosher]

Coolant to distilled water ratio Suzuki state 50-50 usually takes 4 litres with the Kettle

[George]

People run their cars with no thermostat here . Of course they run cooler . Has anyone done that with a kettle ?

[Alan H]

Takes ages to warm up then.

[teazer]

Alan, that's true in bleedin' Yorkshire but not so much where he is.

It is true that it takes a little longer to warm up and there's a theory that if the stock thermostat is not used or leaks, then too much water goes via the bypass and not enough circulates properly. I have no idea if that theory holds water though (sorry about that). And if the thermostat isn't fully opening, the bike will run hot. It's worth replacing the thermostat or at least remove and test it in a pot of water.

There are other reasons a bike might be running hot, but first check that it's not the gauge itself or the sender.

[Filth]

Isn't there a trick to tweak the thermostat so it opens early to allow water to flow into the Rad to reduce the temperature ?

Mine runs warm. I was thinking of taking out the thermostat and checking what temp it opened up then check the gauge itself just to put my mind at ease........or just have another drink ?

[George]

The jet needle was on position 2 , I dropped it down to position 3 ( richer ) . It turns out that the guy I bought it from was running with no thermostat . So I left it like that . Pilot screws 1/4 turn out . I put the Asian red radiator fluid in . And for shits and giggles , I put some purple ice in . She is definitely running cooler . And without the thermostat here in the middle of the Pacific , it doesn't take long to warm up .

[George]

And I switched to a champion plug equivalent to an NGK b7 .