mine definitely kicks in if i get stuck in traffic or lots of red lights, etc. like you said i think it's only easy to hear if you have the stock exhaust most of all i start to feel the hot air blowing all over me

 

Mine also kicks in when in traffic on a hot day. Don't forget, these are high compression motors that generate a lot of heat.

 

Thanks! I feel more comfortable with the bike now, hearing yours behaves the same way

 

How do you find it in traffic at those higher temperatures while riding in jeans/shorts? I've heard that Ducati produce extreme level of heat, some people got burned thighs.

 

to me it is not bad at all, i guess the fans are pulling air back against the bike so it kind of billows out around you, but no direct hot spots - my brother's buell has a fan on the rear cylinder which seems to exhaust directly on your legs and that thing is miserable!

 

Great. I've read on monsterforums that guy with 821 had to get up from the bike on traffic light because of heat, and that is even liquid cooled ducati. Glad to hear that XSR doesn't have same issue, I would ride it (for some shorter city distances) sometimes in shorts because summer temperature can get here up to 100-105F :S

 

and I used ear plugs?

Sorry for the sidetrack - This is one of the reasons I will never wear earplugs. May not hear it if your engine starts making an unusual noise.

 

I have tinnitus from not riding with earplugs. Protect your ears before it's too late! It's irreversible
It's not fun having to hear a constant TZZZZZZZS sound in your ears. ****ing sucks dude.
It's from wind noise.

 

Same here. I ride a lot around NYC and there is traffic most of the time. The fan kicks in and the temp stays around 220F. I had the same problem with my FZ-07. I put a radiator cover on the FZ-07 and the bike ride a few degrees hotter, so I removed it. I wonder if there's an oil or something else we can do to make the bike ride cooler in traffic. At least it's not air cooled like the Ducati Scrambler.

 

Ear plugs: Absolutely, wear them! Seriously, they make a huge difference in the long run, and they make it easier to concentrate on what you're doing. Don't worry about not being able to hear engine problems. Trust me, you can hear stuff like that just fine. It's actually better, because it eliminates extraneous noise - like the wind - that makes it harder to hear the things you need to hear. They feel weird at first, but once you get used to it you'll never ride without them...

Radiator fan: Not a problem. Mine's been kicking on in the heat in traffic, too.

Riding in shorts: Come on, man!

 

I always use earplugs, even when I use earphones to listen to music I can still hear the surrounding noises.


Cafe Racer NYC[\url]

 

Can't ride with jeans on 105F sunny weather

What about hearing other cars horns or something I would feel strange with ear plugs, isn't that too much isolation from traffic?

 

To me, its essentially the same noise level as being in a luxury car with no radio or ac/heat on.

 

Got mine at the tail end of the Australian summer, and yes it did get hot sitting in traffic. Radiator fan kept the engine ok, but depending on how much feathering you are doing on throttle, the transmission fluid can also get hot.

That little side cover thing on the right hand side kept me foot from feeling too hot as well.

Over all, no bike I've had likes standing still for too long in traffic, and this one is same.

On super hot days, I find full leathers with perforations keep me cooler. Deflects the sun and the bike heat. Added benefit of keeping my skin on my bones should the worst happen... ☺☺

Sent from my HTC_0P6B6 using Tapatalk

 

On super hot days, I find full leathers with perforations keep me cooler. Deflects the sun and the bike heat. Added benefit of keeping my skin on my bones should the worst happen... ☺☺

Sent from my HTC_0P6B6 using Tapatalk

I have found this too. In addition, for longer trips in high heat consider evaporation and dehydration. It seems counter intuitive, but the extra clothing slows the rate at which you lose water in the long run (dehydrate). This is why you don't see people crossing the Sahara on a camel in a tank top and a g-string (it isn't all about sunburn though that is important to think about too).

Read an article about some guys trying to cross Death Valley on some Harley's wearing t-shirts, they made it...in a ambulance. At 120 degrees with 60 mph wind you can't physically drink enough water to prevent dehydration,you have to cover up.

Around town, not an issue, wear what you want. I'm an ATGATT person myself, but if safety was first with us..this would be a Volvo board. Just keep it in mind for longer duration heat exposure.

 

Not buying it. I ride in 100°+ weather all the time. No matter what you wear, it's going to be hot. But nothing is worse than bare skin when you ride a motorcycle - even when you don't crash. I generally wear Draggin' jeans, but there are lots of options these days in textile riding gear, with zippered ventilation panels, even riding pants that have un-zippable legs that turn into shorts when you get off the bike.

On the ear plugs... You can absolutely hear car horns, sirens, screeching tires, police whistles, etc. They don't block noise, they just muffle it. It's almost like turning the treble all the way down on your stereo - sorry, kids, older reference - but trust me, it makes it so much easier to concentrate on things.

I first started using ear plugs when I was racing many years ago, and I was skeptical at first. How would I know if someone is sneaking up inside me in a corner? Turns out, it actually enhances your sense of hearing. Blocking out the high-pitched wind noise and the ear-splitting sounds coming out of a racing exhaust actually made it easier to hear everything else that you need to hear. I got to the point where if I forgot to put them in and I rushed out onto the race track, I could barely think because the noise was so distracting.

I always tell people, the absolute best performance per dollar mod that you can make is to wear ear plugs. Just try 'em!

 

I first started using ear plugs when I was racing many years ago, and I was skeptical at first. How would I know if someone is sneaking up inside me in a corner?

Yeah, that would be mine concern to, but I guess I need to try it.

About heat, can you guys compare it to another bikes and which models?

I rode GSXR k9 750, didn't have such problems as unbearable heating, even in so hated shorts

 

^ That was for XSRR. I tried to edit to make that clear, but the edit feature wasn't working...

 

I can't say I've noticed any kind of overly unpleasant heat coming from the XSR. I've had bikes in the past, such as Ducati Superbikes, that would roast your ankles to a crisp. On my 916, in traffic I would have to put my heels on the very end of the footpegs, with my toes pointing outward like a penguin to keep my ankles from burning. I've had others that would cook your inner thighs... But nothing stands out for me on the XSR.

I had a friend come over once on a hot day on her '04 R1, and I asked her if I could sit on it. I was wearing shorts, and as soon as my knee touched the right side of the frame, it actually burned my knee badly enough that I still had a red mark the next day!

I can't imagine the pain of crashing a motorcycle in shorts any time of the year, but in 100 degree weather - with the asphalt hitting, what, 130-140? OMG...:toothy3:

 

Mine is running at reasonable temps too, but when stuck in traffic fan comes on, all good.

I too started wearing ear plugs years ago and haven't looked back. If I forget to put them in I find the wind rush noise around the helmet borderline intolerable and very fatiguing. If I'm just doing a 50 km per hour run down to the shops, I might skip them because not much wind noise although my old CB1100F with the loud exhaust always causes me to wear them! Apparently the hearing degradation over the years is a major concern too. I find it easy to hear everything I want to hear - you get used to it pretty fast. And, as an observation, not a criticism, I find it interesting that somebody who is concerned, safety-wise, about not hearing threats with ear plugs in, is also not concerned, safety-wise, about wearing shorts on a ride. Remember, just an OBSERVATION man, not a criticism, everyone entitled to manage their own safety their own way. I have a tan, textile, armored air flow jacket that keeps me way cooler than no jacket as it keeps the sun off. On really hot days I put on a damp, almost wet t-shirt on under the jacket and that works great to keep me cool. Also have light coloured kevlar jeans that keep the sun off my legs. So, it can be done if one wants to but hey, we all have the right to look after our own skin in our own ways!

Ride on.

 

I went out today and started mine up, let it run till the fan kicked on and set the gauge for the motor temp.. fan came on at 223 degrees f. and shut off when the temp went down to 198 degrees Farenheit.... I'm thinking the high temp is to burn cleaner I guess... I dont know if theirs a difference between calif sold bikes( with our strict emissions laws) and other parts of the world.. California is truly a communistic state......

 

You cannot be old enough to remember this.

"You may not like or agree with California’s stand over the years, but it has consistently been a driver of progress in emissions and fuel economy, and we may all end up thanking them in the end."

1960: The smog war begins | Hemmings Daily

 

Guys I salute your decision to ride on 105F, 30mph, stop-go, short city rides, commuting, going to bank, office, job, coffee with full leather gear, but just like 99.9% scooter riders I'm aware of risk and I would go with another route sometimes. I'm sure you all have best intentions, but I'm aware of that and I wear full gear while riding planned outside city routes or even in city traffic when temperatures are below 75F but I would like now if we can focus on heat producing by this bike.

sorry for bad English

 

Oh I remember those day of smog in Los Angeles, I'm 63yrs old, and while California has done good fighting emissions they can and have taken things a bit too far.. but this was a question on heat with the xsr900,so I wont take it astray...

 

They need to have the same anti-smog laws in NYC. I can't wait until electric cars become mainstream. Hopefully Tesla can make that a reality.


Cafe Racer NYC[\url]

 

A fan switch has helped me keep temps under control here in Phoenix for many years. Whenever I know I'm going to be in a high temp producing situation I flip on the fan(s) prior to them coming on automatically. The fan on the XSR is actually pretty good and can reverse temperature trend while sitting in traffic in temps below 100f. I have yet to decide whether or not to install one on this bike as I've only had a few drops percolate out of the reservoir overflow tube. The first step in temp control here on the surface of the Sun, for me, is to run ***gulp, oh pleeeease let this not cause a derail*** Engine Ice.
Having and using a fan switch does require a bit of getting used to though. I developed the habit of switching it on when exiting the freeway and off when back underway on surface streets. For my usual riding this is the time when I'd see the largest temp spikes going from the usual ~180 on freeway to >220 in about 1 minute while waiting for a light. With the fans on temps stay below 200 during the same wait period. On super hot days (>104f) though I'll also slow my pace 1 mile before my exit to allow excess internal heat to dissipate prior to possibly getting stuck at a light.
This may seem like overkill to some but here, for me, it has served well. Just a thought.

FWIW...this is the time of year I envy all you guys not in the desert southwest. I'll be sure to tease come November though.

 

Did you had some heat issues coming from the bike towards body at those temperatures?

 

Me? Sure, I could feel the heat, but to be honest, I have also ridden an air cooled motorcycle and it felt just as hot if not hotter sitting at a red light.

 

I'm sorry I don't understand, air cooled felt hotter or XSR? If first than ok, if XSR feels hotter than air cooled bike standing at red light, than I don't like that fact at all :S

 

What I was trying to say is the air-cooled motorcycle (CB1100) felt warmer/hotter than the XSR sitting at a red light.

Honestly, I really don't think we should worry about the fan coming on at such a "high" temperature. I'm pretty sure the engineers knew what they were doing. Now, with that said, I don't think it's a terrible idea to have that setting adjusted like I mentioned was done with my FJ-09. I will also say that with that setting set lower, the fan kicked on more often and that was a bit annoying.

As a side note (and one reason I think the XSR will be fine) is when I was thinking about the CB1100, I asked some guys on a CB1100 forums about the engine and riding in rush hour traffic in Dallas during the summer. They all said they hadn't had any problems with overheating - even the folks in El Paso and Phoenix.

 

Red_Baron, you do have a point and I would be a fool to say engineers get it right all the time. For me, though, I'm not overly worried about it and maybe I should have phrased it that way.

The way I look at it, this engine is in the FZ-09 and FJ-09 and it hasn't been a problem (at least for the FJ-09 folks). I'm assuming it hasn't been a problem for the FZ-09 either, but I can't say that for certain.

With that said, one of the benefits of a popular ECU flash for the FJ-09 was to lower the temp when the fan came on. On one hand I was glad for it as I figured it couldn't hurt, but on the other hand, it felt like the fan was coming on all the time (it wasn't, but it felt that way) and it was a little annoying.

Something funny though... On my ride home this afternoon, I purposefully watched the temp and fully expected to get up to the 220*F range and the fan to kick on since it was 95*F here. The funny thing was for the first time EVER I got almost all green lights! The highest temp I saw was 210*F at the one or two red lights I actually got. The fan never kicked on

 

It's normal, keeps the engine within the correct operating temp. I'd be more concerned if it didn't come on during a warm to hot day in traffic. Being a naked bike, there is not faring to buffer some of the fan noise.

For comparison - My 2012 Ninja 650 fan would come on all the time in traffic, easy to heat and blaster the heat through the side faring - was super hot especially inTexas summers. It didn't have a temp gauge, just a dummy light...never saw that even on 105 degree days in stop and go traffic. I had a R&G radiator gaurd on it too.

 

yep in summer time here in Australia my 09 runs mostly at 100deg celcius. .fan kicks in at 105c...The smallest bit of stop start traffic sees the temp rise quickly. ..winter time is ok..The extra warmth is great..but here in summer time wen outside temp is 40+c..it's a warm ride..

 

Agree ^^^^ ATGATT and hydration.
To quantify the hydration issue and to keep it easy:
From my race track days, it was recommended 16 oz. of water per hour.

 

XSR 900 water temperature

Hi Guys, Just got my XSR 900 a few weeks ago and have also noticed mine temp gets up to about 106C and then fan kicks in and thats in England where its never that warm !! Is the general view they all run pretty hot in the town/traffic, just in the manual they say the temp goes up to 116 Degrees C !!