I talked about my bike "Upchucking" some coolant in the topic "First oil Change" I thought I had maybe blown a head gasket since no one else has had this problem. Well I've read a lot of reviews and post's in other forums on the subject and it seems a lot of ppl deny that the 14 gets hot. They claim the LCD gauge is inaccurate and that it's just your imagination. Some claim that if the bike is left to sit and idle that when the fan kicks on it will cool back down. Some say it won't.

Well i've got another 1500 miles on my bike (with no problems) and I had just rode about 50 miles in 80° weather. I stopped at Witt's barbeque, shut the bike off and in a few mins I lost about a quart of coolant out the overflow bottle. What will happen when summer gets here and it's over 100°?
I ride next to my brothers zx14 and temps run about the same on both bikes. (he doesn't have the spewing problem) At 50+ mph about 3 bars, under 50 about 4 bars. In town, in slow moving traffic (80°)sometimes 5 bars. No problem because it cools off quick when you get moving. The problem is the heat spike you get when you shut the bike off after the temp gauge is at 4-5 bars. (my fan kicks on a little after the 4th bar lights up)
I took it to the dealer I bought it from today and showed him the aftermarket headers (Which most people say helps make the 14 run cooler) and I ask if I still had a warranty. He said it depends on the dealer. Sounds fair huh? But he was nice about it and we agree'd it wasn't a headgasket because it boils over after shutting the bike off, not while it's running. But he didn't know what was wrong. This was their head mechanic I was talking to. I ask could it be a faulty radiator cap? He said no because all the 14's use the same cap so they all would be boiling over. I gave up at that point with logic like that.

I agree that the bike would probably run fine with the engine temps varying 30-40 degrees, better than an air cooled engine. But ideally you would want a more constant temp to keep metal in the engine from expanding and contracting constantly. It doesn't help your oil do it's job either.
Ok in my experience, my Busa will get hot in slow traffic or sitting at a light. It cools off at about 30+mph. My 90 CBR 1000 and my 85 900 Eliminator would get warm sitting still. None ever spewed coolant after shutting it off or while riding.
I think the thermostat should be a little lower in temp even if it hurts emissions. A higher pressure radiator cap might help. Two rad fans would be good for the days you have to ride in heavy traffic. A smaller front fender to let more air past it.

http://www.bikeland.org/story.php?storyID=32272
http://www.zxforums.com/forums/zx-14-forum/23852-08-zx-14-high-temp-issues.html

Throwing parts at it is one thing. Having parts tested is another. Take the radi cap to the auto store. If they have a radiator pressure tester, just let them see if it blows off under 15psi and can't hold say the full 18 pounds the pump puts out.

Then you can either buy a replacement cap or bring the bike to the dealer, have the mechanic check the cap now or buy a tool that says, "Some 14's caps are not all like that." For the mechanic not to check the logical step is the cap blowing off way too many times is to see if it is the cap or begin looking elsewhere. Because women have the same poo sea, does not mean they all taste like chicken. I never give up to point out the obvious logical step is to dive into the touch and taste test.

Thanks Hub, At first I thought I had left an air pocket in the engine when I put my exhaust on,(I was careful filling it with anti-freeze) but now I read about a lot of 14's having the same temp spike and spit after they shut it off..The bike still runs great. Still pulls away from Bugd's bike :-) (hope he reads that)
A lot of what I read last night at work was that after about 2000 miles the problem gets better. I understand some bikes my have a little more friction or compression maybe to make more heat but wouldn't that mean something isn't right in the motor?
Yeah no sense buying parts till I find the problem. I'll have the cap pressure tested. One of the guys I work with runs an automotive repair shop. He said he has a pressure tester so see what pressure my coolant is building up to.
Thing is, I can't reproduce the problem but every 1500 miles so far.. haha and I'm not wanting to make it overheat just to test a $30 rad cap.

Thanks again Hub.

How would a sensor make your bike overheat? Maybe make the temp gauge read wrong?

http://www.bikeland.org/board/viewthread.php?FID=27&TID=38533
hat run hot and boil over have a bad senser. I have had more then one here with this problem. It had me scratching my head trying to fiqure it out why some run hot and others don't. What i did was removed the senser from my bike that has never once run hot and installed it in one that was here that kept spitting coolant. This 14s fan come on and thats what fooled us but the fan wasn't consistent. I just said f%$k it and switched the sensers sure enough mine ran hot the customers did not. I have since replaced two more and one of the new off the self Kaw parts was bad also. That made three on one bike. I would have posted about this before but i thought this had been taken care of?? Bill..... on one bike. I would have posted about this before but i thought this had been taken care of?? Bill..... this before but i thought this had been

HDC ^^^^

I got trapped in my own retort of sort. I ASSUMED there was never a drain of the coolant. That brings back the capiss crap is the mechanic is back to being on his side of the logic.

This is like you burp-piss the yank on your wank. You need to undo the cap now. Cold engine, mind you, the circulation already happened with the first fire-up like 20 seconds and shut it down.

Now, you either adjust your hose you on the squat, or let the pants crease squeeze your hose is right side hose is the squeeze. And have this on the side stand with the cap off.

Pull back the plastic mesh and hose down on the hose to see the water level rise. Can you see any now without a squeeze? If it jumps up to the neck, she is too low. Top off with distilled water to the neck. Do not lift up bike when the cap is off [on the side stand].

I see no difference if you are on the bike stand upright. The same hose deal, but no worry about lifting bike up to center. The recovery tank will level the rest of the radiator as normal. I drained my radiator at the pump housing. I never topped off or drained my recovery tank. I did take a ride, rather than a fire-up-20.

She was a little low the next morning. I just left it on the side stand, checked the hose level with a squeeze, topped her off at the neck and never had another problem. I looked a 3rd time which was a waste of time. Now, we are back to the logic of the cap being not the problem, you have a cold engine with a low water neck level on the side stand. Go look now [if it's cold].

I have since replaced two more and one of the new off the self Kaw parts was bad also. That made three on one bike.

How would a sensor make your bike overheat? Maybe make the temp gauge read wrong?

That fan/sensor are teaming to the water temp balance. So, it runs to cool or stays off to heat up. Lets just say it runs a lot during operation. You just don't hear it over the engine and air noise going through your helmet.

Ok i'm checking the coolant with the motor cold.. On the sidestand it is about 1/4 in below the neck. The coolant goes up and down when I squeeze the hose on the right side.
I'm going to richen up the coolant some to raise the boiling point. Maybe as my bike gets more broke in it will get better.
my driveway is over 100 yards and gravel. The road in front of my house is kinda straight so I have to wind the bike up coming home then driving slow down my driveway to keep the dust down doesn't help the temp. But then I have to drive slower going down about a 45 degree gravel slope to my basement garage. By the time i get it turned around to back it in the garage door it's warmed up a bar or two.. Maybe I could fix the problem if I would just pave my driveway? :-)

http://webpages.charter.net/kgolden/zx14coolant.jpg

* Last updated by: Pete on 4/17/2010 @ 1:26 PM *

Hey Hub, My brother an I are going to the dyno next Tues. He's already offered a bribe to the dyno guy to give him bigger numbers.. haha From what I've read, the 07's and older bikes have more hp because of the extra cat in the 08's up. I'll let you know what we get....

Top that water up. It should hug right at the neck ring [around the collar] high.

Lube the chain before you go. Helps bump the numbers up. Any little gain is a hidden tidbit of HP.

They said the cat in the 2nd gen header gave a grunt bump downstairs. No, if you read the Kawi brochure, they said they were ready for any comers [Busa] making plans to dethrone the King. So, there is a touch more HP with the '08's and up. New spray angle, new spray, bigger header, and more subtle things in the head area. From what you read is call Kawi a lawnmower HP liar?

or maybe i could call the law on you for go n to fast past my house ? maybe a big fat ticket would slow you down and fix my problem with you pulling away from my faster 07 that is potty trained and doesnt piss in my garage lol thanks for the oil tip hub!

Ok my chain is adjusted, cleaned and oiled. Don't pay any attention to Ronald on his pocket rocket. Haha. Anything else I need to do when I get home from work tonight Hub? I don't want to do the thinner oil thing yet :-) A Harley guy here at work said to mix acetone in my gas? I've heard of nitro methane in gas.. He might not like crotch rockets..;-p

pete heres a google search on acetone.

Some automotive enthusiasts add acetone at around 1 part in 500 to their fuel, following claims of improvement in fuel economy and engine life.[9] Systematic testing has determined that acetone has no measurable effect on fuel economy or may in fact reduce engine life by adversely affecting fuel system parts.[10][11] The effect of acetone on fuel economy was addressed on the popular American TV show MythBusters in 2006, in which they observed a decrease on fuel economy.[12]

Flammability
The most common hazard associated with acetone is its extreme flammability. It auto-ignites at a temperature of 465 °C (869 °F). At temperatures greater than acetone's flash point of ?20 °C (?4 °F), air mixtures of between 2.5% and 12.8% acetone, by volume, may explode or cause a flash fire. Vapors can flow along surfaces to distant ignition sources and flash back. Static discharge may also ignite acetone vapors.[15]

Thanks Scott! I know acetone can take paint off pretty easy. I wasn't planning on trying it. That Google is the smartest person I know.. Haha
If I get higher HP numbers than my brother (Bugd) in the morning ill brag ..uh I mean ill post our results ;-)
Thanks again for the info.

pete good luck and keep us posted

pete when they dyno yours have em stick a 200mph leave blower in her nose lol

Ok we just got back. Both the bikes were rich. The dyno guy was a Suzuki fan. I think he said he had never dyno'd a ZX14. He had a few turbo Busa's sitting around. The dyno guys wife drag races bikes too :-)
Thanks to Hub for the chain oiling tip! Scott, I didn't have a leaf blower

I shrunk this scan so I hope you guys can read it.
Http://webpages.charter.net/kgolden/Bug_Kent_s.jpg

* Last updated by: Pete on 4/21/2010 @ 1:39 AM *

Have you guys seen the torque the yamaha raider makes? A guy i work with brought his raider along to check his a/f
I think it makes more torque at idle than mine does anywhere in the rpms haha

Ok, I have to comment on this one. My bike is exhibiting similar symptoms - coolant coming out the overflow tube aimed at the ground - in drips though and not entirely a steady drip. I also believe that the constant fluctuation in heat during the course of a day's riding is cause for concern, regardless of all these people telling me how normal this is and to "just get used to it". Bologna. I'm probably going to install the second fan in her as well as the Engine Ice and see whether this impacts that heat gauge. Looks like Muzzy's aluminum fan is the way to go as posted by someone else on this forum. Not entirely sure where to mount it as space is tight. I just don't believe that the amount of heat I'm experiencing coming off the '14 is "as designed" and really want to ensure a long life for my girl. I'm just under 2k miles on my '09 and already need to change the rear tire, but I'm glad - hate the factory Bridgestone. Decided to go with the Pilot Road 2. Now I need to make my mind up about 55 vs 50 in the 190/XX/17.

Loadedmind ...I helped my problem by lowering the coolant level in the overflow bottle to a little below the low line when the bike is cool. Least it will have more room to overflow before it runs out on the ground. Like Hub said, It might be a good idea to have our radiator caps checked. They may be letting off pressure a little early. They do make higher relief caps. Let me know if the 2nd fan helps..

* Last updated by: Pete on 4/22/2010 @ 12:37 AM *

wow must be an 09 problem lol when hot outside my 08 runs hot but have never had it boil over after shutting it down now if really warm ill leave fan run for a minute or 2 before turning key off. the dealers say thats typical? bullshit

Well it must be the 3 extra hp the 09's make over the black 07's .. like bugs! Lol

The Dyno guy said the EPA took the zinc out of motor oil in 2008. He said the zinc helped the oil adhere to the bearing surfaces. Especially on new Japanese bikes. He said we should buy non street, racing oil with zinc. Anyone heard of this?

* Last updated by: Pete on 4/21/2010 @ 8:05 PM *

pete you gonna post your dyno sheet?

Isn't it up already? I posted 2. The first Dyno sheet has both mine an my brothers on it. If its too small a font, you can download it from the link near it. Make sure the link has the 2 low slashes _ _ in its jpg name.

yep it was close i think if i would've oiled my chain and put in a new air filter i could've got 5 or 6 more hp but i didnt wanna ride my bike home ! lol plus my bike has 5000mi and slip on's looks like we are gonna have to make anoyher tip lol