After Market Cooling Fan

[davidlomax]

I had a lot of trouble last summer with the bike getting a lot hotter than I would have liked when I was waiting in traffic or at stage starts. I know its common practice to fint a second radiator fan with a cockpit switch to control it. Has anyone had a go at this? If so what parts do I need andwheres best to get them?

Once again...Cheers guys!!!

Dave

[CountPacMan]

see http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74946



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Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius - William Blake

[Ian]

I had a second fan fitted to my LC4.

From what I recall it was the same fan as fitted to the LHS radiator. The plastic housing of the fan did require some cutting because of the shape of the Adventure fuel tank (that I had fitted at the time) on the LHS.

It didn't use a seperate switch, but tapped into the wiring for the standard fan. A straightforward task if you're OK with electrics.

Swampy (01752 844456) supplied and fitted the fan for me and I believe he's done the same to a few other LC4s.

Worth fitting? I doubt I'll fit one again, but comforting to have when you're up to your axles in soft sand all day.

Cheers.

[Matt Roach]

Excellent post by CountPacman on Adv Rider.

The only thing I did differently with my second fan was to retain the original fan on the left hand side of the radiator, and mount the new one on the right.

I also noticed that the new fan was a lot more powerful than the old one (2000 Adv R model), so you might even accomplish what you want just by replacing the old fan with a newer and more powerful fan.

The orange capacitator on the right hand side doesn't need to be moved - all you need to do is to loosen the screws and slightly rotate the capacitator so that it is out of the way of the new fan casing.

I know some people prefer to use a separate switch to turn on the 2nd fan, but I think that when you are riding in conditions when you actually need it (ie buried deep in the sand or battling peak hour traffic) it is far easier just to have it running off the main fan, so that both come on and go off at the same time.

cheers

[This message has been edited by Matt Roach (edited 13 February 2006).]

[davidlomax]

Ian,

I'm suprised to hear you say that you wouldnt do it again...I havnt done anywhere near as many miles as you on KTM's and mine spent most of last summer with the temp bar up near the top of the screen waiting for stage starts etc (with me flapping wondering whether to turn it off or leave it on). I'd certainly be interested to know why you wouldnt fit one and how you think these bikes cope with extended periods running towards the top of their temp scale. Is anywhere on the scale acceptable for long periods of time?

Cheers for the support.

Dave

[Ian]

Well, I don't think it would do much harm to fit an extra fan (would it put strain on the battery?).

The only time I thought the fan may have been useful was on a long hot day over in the Sahel on difficult roads when both fans were on more or less all the time.

The reason why I wouldn't fit one again is that, whilst my cooling system has been working properly, I've never seen the red temperature warning light illuminate, even with a single fan. I once rode a long piste (around 600kms) and my fans weren't even working due to an electrical fault. The red light never illuminated.

I don't know if your 03 Adv has such a light. Perhaps a survey is called for. Or just fit the fan anyway. Talk to Swampy and see what he recommends.

FWIW I saw two fans on the later 660 Rally bikes, but think of the conditions they're exposed to. They also have an oil cooler.

[davidlomax]

Hmmmmmmm.....

All good points. 600km with no fans.....I suppose you were keeping up a good speed then.....;-)? My only concern is when you're waiting around or in heavy sand going slowly. But all your arguments are good. I'll check the temp light thing and wait for some other thoughts. Although it seems I may be going without the extra fan!!!!

Cheers,

Dave

then again...could be that your warning light doesnt work......also I take it this was on one of your modified LC4's. Is there any difference?

[This message has been edited by davidlomax (edited 14 February 2006).]

[Ian]

Originally posted by davidlomax:
Hmmmmmmm.....

600km with no fans.....I suppose you were keeping up a good speed then.....;-)?
then again...could be that your warning light doesnt work......also I take it this was on one of your modified LC4's. Is there any difference?

Keeping up a 'good speed' does of course help to get some airflow.

I tested the warning light - it was OK.

This piste was on my LC4-E. But I had a similar experience on my 2000 Adv, which had the warning light, but had a different speedo unit to the 03.

I don't know if 03 640 Adventures have this warning light. Do they just have the gauge in the speedo unit instead? I don't know.

In summary I think an extra fan is, IMHO, a 'comforting' mod.

You should really talk to Swampy about getting the extra fan, as I know he's fitted them before, knows LC4s very well and was a mechanic on the Dakar rally.

One other mod I was considering for my LC4-E was the addition of a 3rd oil filter, using parts from a 625SXC and/or a rally LC4. This was in the hope of potentially extending the intervals between oil changes. But in the end I decided it wasn't worth the effort and expense.

Cheers.

[davidlomax]

Ian,

oil change.....

cant you do them in the dark standing on your head in 4 mins by now?!!!!

Nice idea tho...what about engine oil pressure issues, or were you going low pressure...

[Ian]

I was planning on changing one of the oil pumps.

The mod wasn't because of the trouble of having to do the change, more to avoid carrying oil and filters.

Of course, the oil capacity would be slightly larger with 3rd filter, which I guess would be a further advantage.

Cheers.

[Giles4060]

Hi All, has anyone tried fitting another fan to an '04 Adventure. I have just tried to see if the original LHS fits to the RHS and the SAS-Valve of the Secondry air system seems to have first call on the space and he aint budging. Absolutely no way the fan will squeeze in. Decompression cable also seems to be in the way. Any ideas?

[Matt Roach]

Giles,

I have never actually worked on the 04, but on earlier models the decompression cable ran relatively close to the frame. Therefore when fitting the second fan on the right hand side, you just had to be a little careful to mount the fan as far to the outside of the radiatior as possible, thus just leaving enough room for the cable, which would run down the left hand side of the fan.

Possibly if you trim a little plastic from the fan casing, it will completely avoid the cable?

By the way, I am still up for that when you are next in London!

Good luck
Matt

[Ian]

The plastic of the RHS fan I had fitted had to be trimmed, I believe to allow the tank to fit (it was an 02 Adventure tank on a LC4-E).

The 02 doesn't have the secondary air system.

I've heard of the secondary air system being removed, but I've no experience of doing this, and it could mean your bike will no longer be compliant with the emissions regs, possibly meaning at least a problem at MOT/test time.

[Giles4060]

I can prob work around the decompression cable like you suggest Matt. The secondry air system i think will have to be removed to get a fan in there. I dont suppose emissions will be at the top of my list (rightly or wrongly) this summer in Sudan.

Ive just spotted a smaller fan in the Sommer catalogue for the EXC which is worth investigating. Oh how i wish i paid attention in German lessons at school.

Will be in touch Matt about that !

[nomiskx]

I rode a pretty heavily loaded 03 Adventurer to Dakar and spent a lot of time in soft sand away from the main pistes. The bike never overheated and the single fan only ever came on occasionally. I was bloody hot myself though !

Oddly enough, the fan was always on in heavy traffic in London even though it was much colder but the bike didn't overheat then either.

I'm not sure that fitting a second fan would really add anything really. I guess it's not a huge job though, so why not ?


Simon
bikeless due to theiving bastards