Coolant temperature?

[Vibtec]

Hi, has anyone fitted an aftermarket coolant temperature gauge? I for one miss having such a thing, so, for the total cost of £18.00 For a sender unit, 18mm pipe threaded to take sender unit and a digital gauge, I fitted one to my A7 yesterday. It works a treat! I can see when the thermostat starts to open, then when it’s fully open. The bike heats up quick, which is no surprise, as there is not a lot of coolant in this engine. So all in all I’m quite happy with this…..

[Art]

Interesting stuff, Could you post a link to the kit you purchased, I'm sure others here would be interested in such a mod.

I was tempted to fit a temperature gauge too as I like to have a visual indication of the coolant temperature, especially since the SC58's temperature warning light does not come on with ignition meaning there's no way of telling if its functioning. Observation, although it probably makes little difference, you have the pipe and sender unit fitted to the return hose which means that it is not reading the engine coolant temperature when the thermostat opens diverting the coolant through the radiator.

[Vibtec]

Hi Art and thanks for your comment. It is however strange, that once the engine is started from cold. The temperature gauge instantly climbs quickly (like 1c every 2-3 seconds) then stops around 85c, it then drops as the thermostat opens, then climbs again ( bike stationary) until around 97c when the fan cuts in. I can see by your diagram that your comment looks to be correct. I just fail to see why the gauge would do this. Surely it would only show ambient temp until the thermostat opens, then show a rapid change? For whatever reason, it doesn’t do that. I chose this hose for convenience to be honest….

Anyway, it doesn’t really matter to me. I just like to know what temperature the bikes running at, and this suits me fine. I’ve not had the chance to take the bike out for a trial yet, hoping for tomorrow if the weather holds.

On another note, I never know how this bike will start from cold! Sometimes instantly, then other times it will take quite a bit of cranking to fire up. Drives me mad, as there is no Rhyme nor reason! It’s only done 28,000 miles and it doesn’t matter what the weather is or when it was last started. It has a higher rated battery fitted, so cranks over quickly. New plugs correctly gapped and new air filter. I’ve tried standard plugs and iridium plugs, there was no difference!!!! I guess it is what it is, and I’ll just have to live with it…

Here is the link to the kit, it appears to have gone up a bit, like everything else these days! Still well worth it 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124426771969?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GHPtEUmTTtu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=JiaslTPOTYu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[Gushmul]

My bike takes some work to start sometimes, I have heard of issues to do with the crankshaft position sensor, however after searching a bit on this forum I saw people mentioning issues with the side stand cutoff wiring. This past week I've been starting the bike with the kickstand up and it reliably fires up every time now. Give it a try yourself and see if you notice a difference. Not sure if it's worth actually trying to remedy.

[Vibtec]

Hi Gushmul, I’ll give it a try. Intermittent problems are a real pain! Thanks 

[Art]

I had a recent 'crank no start' issue, seemed to be an issue with the neutral switch. Under the fuel tank on the right hand side hidden in plain sight behind the thermostat housing you'll find an 8P grey connector, displace the thermostat housing, unplug the connector and check for continuity between the light green cable on the neutral switch (female) side of the connector and ground, there should only be continuity when the gear shift is in the neutral position. I had no continuity until I wiggled the gear lever, noticed that both the gear linkage pivot bolts looked a little sloppy, repacked them with grease and its been OK, touch wood, since.

[Vibtec]

I know the plug you mean Art, as when I took the hose off, of the thermostat block, this plug got drowned by the coolant. The problem was there before that happened, so I’ll take a look and check for continuity. Thanks 

[Froggymanny]

Originally Posted by Vibtec

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124426771969?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=GHPtEUmTTtu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=JiaslTPOTYu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Hi Vibtec, back to that topic 
Thanks for sharing the link, first. One thing: you can notice on the body of the sensor itself (actually the part that you introduce into the cooling circuit) that it shows an indication of the diameter for the coolant pipe: 18mm. But I'm not to sure about trusting the pictures especially if nothing is said on this in the description.
Since you bought that item can you confirm that this is the value that fits our bikes? Mine is a CBF1000F of 2014 if that matters..
Thanks!