Voyager Newbie Temp/Fan Concern

[Jase20200]

Hi there,, I've just recently acquired my 87 Voyager XII about a week ago. After 5 mins of it running at the sellers house the fan kicked in when we turned the bike off but the Temp wasn't very high. Anyway I drove her home about 15 miles and the fan seemed to kick in and the temp was half way up the gauge, no obvious signs of over heating, weather conditions were a torrential rain downpour .

Since I've had her home I've developed a little oil leak which I've sorted it was the outer gear shaft seal, I've replaced the small rad hose as it had been resting on the exhaust and had started to go brittle, so I decided to do anti freeze flush and fill. Bled the system as stated in the manual with the bleed screw on the. water pump

Now for my actual concern,, I started the bike and let her run for about 10-15 mins, any oversplill water on the rad started to steam off but didn't seem to stop until I turned the bike off. I couldn't see no obvious leak and the fan never kicked in even though the temp gauge went half way up the gauge. I let the bike cool and hadn't had any loss of water. I might be a little paranoid being a new bike to me that I'm Unfamiliar with, so I was hoping you'd be able to let me know what's right and what's maybe a cause for concern.


Ps, Where should the needle sit on the gauge when the bike is at normal working temp range, and roughly when should I expect the fan to kick in? Sorry to waffle on tried to give you as much info as poss

Thanks in advance Jase

[Tonyvdb]

Ps, Where should the needle sit on the gauge when the bike is at normal working temp range, and roughly when should I expect the fan to kick in? Sorry to waffle on tried to give you as much info as poss

Thanks in advance Jase

First, welcome aboard the AVA

The temp gauge is not the most accurate but on my bike it normally sits at the little thicker line at about 1/4 but in stop and go traffic it will rise to as much as half way. The fan usually kicks on at about 1/3 of the way up on mine.

As for the rest of your question I can only offer a bit of advice, what did you use for the new coolant? Did you mix with any water? It is possible that you have a small leak in the rad as they are old and moving them around to replace hoses can be hard on them.

Since you have an 87 make sure you look at what igniter unit your bike has as if it's the wrong one you can damage the bike when starting it as the 87 and early 88s had the wrong igniter that advanced the spark to far and would caus the starter chain to break (a very bad thing)
See here: https://amervoyassoc.org/techtipsXII.ph ... in/Igniter" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Bill O]

............
"Since you have an 87 make sure you look at what igniter unit your bike has as if it's the wrong one you can damage the bike when starting it as the 87 and early 88s had the wrong igniter that advanced the spark to far and would caus the starter chain to break (a very bad thing)"


quick clarification...... It was the 86 and early 87's that had the bad ignighters. Check the part number of the Ignighter. The early (bad) started with #11(XX) and the replacements for all remaining year Voyagers start with 12(XX). I believe the part # is 1248 if memory serves me.

Bill O

[triton28]

21119-1179 is the bad one.
21119-1248 is the good igniter.
Dave

[Jimvoyager01]

Welcome to the AVA from Minnesota ,,,,,....My temp gauge runs about 1/4 the way up,,,the fan kicks in at 1/2 the way up in traffic,,fan never kicks in while on the road,,,hope this helps

[Barry]

When I bought my 87 (12 years ago) it too behaved like yours. It isn't right. Running down the road it should be near the thicker line 2 bars up, close to the cold side of the gauge. My radiator was plugged and had to be replaced. It's time for you to talk with the master of all things VXII- Carl Leo. You can find his info on this site. He has a good selection of used & some new parts, as well as being the most helpful, fair person you will ever meet. Be sure to let us know the remedy of your heating issue.

[Relics]

I agree with Barry. I had a bad radiator that was clogged and replaced everything but the radiator because the previous owner sais HE replaced it. New water pump, hoses thermostat, radiator cap. Spent a lot of money and lost a lot of time. I also learned that you have to use the correct type of coolant and adding plain water is a definitely a no no. I was fortunate to have a parts bike and took that radiator to a radiator shop had it checked and serviced. Put in bike and ended my problem. My guage reads about a quarter way up. Fan kicks on near half way mark. Good luck.

[Jase20200]

Hi to all, Firstly sorry for the late reply ive had no Internet thanks to my highly unreliable provider but thanks for all your reply's. Really appreciated your helpful responses I have checked the ignitor and I am pleased to confirm it is the later model My temp gauge does seem ok and the fan does kick in about half way, just a little nervous I think. I took her for a nice long run the other day and she rides mint. So I'm going to treat her to a new filter and oil change any thoughts of what grade of oil or make, and I was thinking of adding some seafoam to the fuel I've seen really good write ups on it , and theres been a few mixed reviews , has anyone used it,,, cheers Jase

[Mr Jensee]

Try to have your antifreeze a 50/50 mix with water. In the summer time I find my bike kicking on the fan when in traffic when there is no air running through the radiator. My gauge always sits just below half way. This has been a particularly hot summer this year and it doesn't take much to activate the fan.

[Relics]

I had same symptoms. Read my posts. I have a 1988. Replaced water [ump, all hoses and thermostat and radiator cap. Turned out to be clogged radiator.

[SgtSlag]

SeaFoam is great stuff! Been using it for ten years: run it through the bike each month, run it through all other vehicles the same; use it to moth-ball the bike for the Winter: come Spring, it starts great, no issues. Have not had a carb issue since I had them cleaned and balanced, in 2010, when I bought it.

Shell Rotella T is what most of us use. It is 15W-40, zero friction modifiers, rated SM, for cars. Runs around $12/gallon, at Wal-Mart. Be sure to pull BOTH drain plugs. Use 3 quarts 22 oz. only, always with a new filter. Forget the site glass... It lies. Make sure to use a torque wrench on the plug bolts, and the filter bolt. You do not want to strip them...

Be careful mixing antifreeze with water, as it may be pre-mixed! Read the label carefully. Cheers!

[krasmu]

SeaFoam is great stuff! Been using it for ten years: run it through the bike each month, run it through all other vehicles the same; use it to moth-ball the bike for the Winter: come Spring, it starts great, no issues. Have not had a carb issue since I had them cleaned and balanced, in 2010, when I bought it.

Shell Rotella T is what most of us use. It is 15W-40, zero friction modifiers, rated SM, for cars. Runs around $12/gallon, at Wal-Mart. Be sure to pull BOTH drain plugs. Use 3 quarts 22 oz. only, always with a new filter. Forget the site glass... It lies. Make sure to use a torque wrench on the plug bolts, and the filter bolt. You do not want to strip them...

Be careful mixing antifreeze with water, as it may be pre-mixed! Read the label carefully. Cheers!

Yup, I agree with this post as well. My 90 loves both of these products.