just purchased bike recently, have no previous history
dont have too much knowledge, but i am trying to learn
has brand new tires and paint
changed oil/oil filter, to do list includes spark plugs, brake pads, air filter

heres the problem, when i ride the bike, whether im doing ~65-70 on the highway or 30 in town, the bike overheats. now i do live in houston, but it does this even at 2-3am in the morning when temp is around 75-80 degrees. fan does come on when temperature reaches normal, but then the gauge just continues to rise all the way to the red. i did refill the antifreeze with engine ice but did not flush the system, and i tried bleeding the system to make sure there was no air bubbles, but i may have done it incorrectly. I guess my question is if anyone can speculate as to what the problem may be. stuck thermostat? air in the system? any help is appreciated.

thanks, steven

 

posably air in the system, but is the bike stock no air box or exhaust mods sounds like it could be running lean

 

air is an easy fix but does cause issues along with a bad rad cap.

 

i believe the bike is completely stock.

how can i keep it from running lean?

how can i tell if the radiator cap is bad?
i havent had the coolant boil over yet, even when the temp gauge shows in the upwards of the red.

sorry im kind of new to all this. thanks for the input

steven

 

When you pull your rad cap, is the coolant circulating?

 

i believe its circulating. if it isnt then there would be air in the system right? i took the radiator cap off and started the bike, let it idle for about 2 minutes and then blipped the throttle a coupl of times. would that have got any air out of the system?

 

Was just curious to see if the pump was working or not.

 

not sure if it makes a difference, but the bike has a bit over 11,000 miles on it. i guess im planning on flushing the system, refill i with engine ice, and make sure theres no air in the system, make sure the thermostat is working properly and isnt stuck, but if all that fails, what should i do? when i changed the oil and oil filter, i used castrol synthetic gps 20w-50 if that makes any difference. if the bike is running lean how can i fix that?

 

What does the plugs tell you and what does the seat riding tell you? performance wise.

 

haven't pulled the plugs yet, planning on doing that this week. when i changed the oil filter, the oil was clean, but the oil filter hadn't ben changed in a while, so im sure the plugs havent either. by seat riding do you mean when im actually on the bike? if so, it feels like it should i suppose. acceleration seems normal, doesn't feel like there is any lapses. feels normal cruising too. heat on my legs from the engine doesn't seem like its excessively hot as the gauge indicates.