How will our air cooled engines fare in 100° heat?

[kballowe]

I was out riding the 1400 Eldo today in 100+ degree temps, and it seemed to be happy.  Minimal amount of stop & go, though.

[Moparnut72]

The 1400's can get a bit warm in stop and go traffic, nothing like the 110 Harley I had previously. The heat comes mostly from the radiator (oil cooler) and not the cylinders. It only bothered me once on a very hot afternoon otherwise it was hardly noticeable. Your experience may vary. I really liked my Audace, wish I was still able to ride confidently. Getting older sucks sometimes.
kk

[redhawk47]

On the way home to Colorado from the 2018 Virginia MG Rally I was headed to visit a friend a bit north of Fort Worth, Texas.  I thought I was going to be on a ring road around DFW.  Maybe I was, but there were four overpasses under construction, and we were on the frontage road, at a standstill.  It took 15 or 20 minutes to get past each of the overpasses and the temperature was 100*F or more.  I probably shutting the V7II engine off when we were not moving.  No ill effects to the moto.  I use premium fuel and good quality oil with the proper ratings.

But, more important, is protecting yourself when it is that hot.  Close all of the jacket vents, zip the jack closed including the cuffs.  A wet t-shirt
or a cooling vest is a good idea; there will be some air movement to make them work.  I was watching the clock and drank water every ten minutes; I have a water bladder with hose in my tank bag - whenever I travel.

Don't worry about the bike, it will be fine.  But do some research about protecting yourself from the heat.

[Tusayan]

I remember riding through Phoenix in conjunction with visiting the national Guzzi rally in 1999.  It was 118 F (48 C) and the last thing I was worried about was my 1100 Sport, it ran well.  On the other hand, I soaked my shirt in water and it dried in about 5 miles…  It was a very hot ride, and I did almost 1000 miles that day, my longest day ever. The bike was fine 

[Wayne Orwig]

If the outdoor temp is 30 degrees higher, then the engine temp is 30 degrees high. So if the air cooled engine is normally running at 190F, it will not be 220F.
Not a big deal.
What is a big deal is stopped traffic. Even in cooler weather you can cook a motor that has no moving air.

[baxterday]

I just picked up a SPIII in Oklahoma City on Friday and rode it back to North GA.  I was in the heat for many hours the first day.  I was miserable!  Stopped often to hydrate with water and Gatorade.  The bike's transmission started acting up, and finally left me stranded about 50 miles from home.  Cannot shift it out of second gear, pedal goes up down, but no gear change. 
The first day I did OK city to Memphis, took about 9 hours with stops for fuel and water.  Second day Memphis to Ellijay, with a stop in Chattanooga, which is where I could not get it to shift out of second.  The second day was not as hot as the first as I got an earlier start.  I did rest more often on the second day, but that heat was relentless.  Won't do that again any time soon.  Now to figure out what is wrong with the tranny! 

[ScepticalScotty]

Same way my SRX600 did when it was 44 degrees C in Cowra in the 90s. OK.

[DesertPilot]

My V85TT does fine when a heat wave hits 100 F here in the Bay Area.  Me... even with mesh gear... maybe less so...

[Dirk_S]

Me... even with mesh gear... maybe less so...

That’s part of your problem—Mesh gear is actually not good in extremely hot weather. There are some good science-based articles on the type of gear that’s better than others when the temps reach past the human body’s surface temperature.

[DesertPilot]

That’s part of your problem—Mesh gear is actually not good in extremely hot weather. There are some good science-based articles on the type of gear that’s better than others when the temps reach past the human body’s surface temperature.

Good point!  Somewhere around 95 F, life seems to change from,"Ah, what a nice refreshing breeze!" to, "Bloody hell, this is like sitting in front of a giant hair drier."  I have a cooling vest waiting in the closet for days like those.

[Hasaf]

Ahhh….!
Takes me back to the “why is my bike doing this ?” thread, so it IS just air that’s adjusted via the stepper and not air/fuel to stabilise the idle ?

That happened to me yesterday. I stopped, at a traffic light, at the end of a long highway run and it was idling extremely high. I was quite worried that something was wrong. But then, after a few minutes of in-town speeds, it seemed to be running normally again.

[czakky82]

I just picked up a SPIII in Oklahoma City on Friday and rode it back to North GA.  I was in the heat for many hours the first day.  I was miserable!  Stopped often to hydrate with water and Gatorade.  The bike's transmission started acting up, and finally left me stranded about 50 miles from home.  Cannot shift it out of second gear, pedal goes up down, but no gear change. 
The first day I did OK city to Memphis, took about 9 hours with stops for fuel and water.  Second day Memphis to Ellijay, with a stop in Chattanooga, which is where I could not get it to shift out of second.  The second day was not as hot as the first as I got an earlier start.  I did rest more often on the second day, but that heat was relentless.  Won't do that again any time soon.  Now to figure out what is wrong with the tranny!

Assuming you made it home. I’d start with the linkage. Keep us posted!