Cooling Fan Activation Time Interval

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Kris, it would be impossible to give you a number.  It depends on too many factors, air temp, load on the bike, riding conditions, How fast you were riding just prior to hitting a traffic jam, etc. 

Suffice to say in almost daily commuting last summer my fan came on only once.  It was after about 10 minutes of stop and go following 20 miles of 75mph in temperatures near 90 degrees F. as I waited for an accident on the South Grand Island bridge to be cleared.

[kris]

Thanks Jim. I think I'll rest easy and push her a little in the hopes of hearing the whine of a rad fan....and then I can stop whining! Let me suggest that you, me and Robert hook up for a ride sometime....we could alternate trips to our favourite diners since we are all pretty close...hopefully when this bloody weather quits. Just visited my father on Hamilton Mountain on the Kawi. Came out to find wet snow on my seat!! My first suggestion would be Hewitt's Dairy in Hagersville. It's great....25 minutes south of Hamilton.

[The Mighty Gryphon]

Sounds like a plan.  All  we need is some better weather.

[koapono]

too many variables to predict time required for fan to activate BUT:
+1 for manual fan switch if only to preserve fan-life.
i can ride for months and not have fan come on some folks have probably never had their fan come on which is the worse thing for the fan.
it's exposed to weather, grime, heat, etc, etc. it needs to be run once in a while just to prevent brush seizure or other conditions that may cause premature failure.
I make it a point to run the fan for 10 - 15 minutes on most rides. At the very least, I know it functions.
cheers

[Elipten]

Agree I rarely comes on, takes long time to come on when just warming up the engine on fast idle.

What do people think that have installed the SPAL fan?

[kris]

Koapono,
Thanks for your note. For anyone else reading this thread the fan on my bike was bench-tested and ran beautifully. I pulled the motor cover and it was clean and fresh looking. This bike had sat in an unheated garage in central Ontario since 2005. I was surprised at the good condition of all of the components on the bike. I mention this because I don't want anyone panicking about the condition their machines might be in. It will clearly vary from situation to situation and the various riding environments.

[jakgieger]

"If you want an override switch to turn on the fan when you desire, wire up a SPST switch to Pin E and ground the other side of the switch.  When riding, flip the switch and the fan will start.  Overtemp light on the dash indicates the override is in use."

FYI...Today I did the switch override on my 89 k100rs.  With key on but motor off, I was unable to get the fan to turn on taking terminal E to ground.  When the motor was running, the switch works .  All other tests in this thread performed normally with the key on and motor off :dunno2: