Hot weather will the bike handle it

[IR Rick]

We are up to 105 plus the Honda guy's left their bikes at home
I'm still riding to work I have 45 miles one way , ,, I did check the Temp, last night on the bike when i got home, about 1/2hour after i shut her down, had to use a rag to handle the dip stick
but the oil (Moblie1 syn) was only at 150

Just checking to make sure she can handle the heat. she did make some extra noise when i throttle her up

 

[kemo]

You should check the oil temp asap when you get home. I bet that it will be a lot higher than the 150.

 

[dhorne]

I ride in mostly tempatures around 100 here i venezuela and the bike doesn't mind , she gets a little warm in stop and go traffic though , using a good oil such as mobil 1 will help protect it

 

[cowboywildbill]

I seem to remeber watching a show about Harley Davidson's back in the evo years. They put the bike in a cinderblock pit that had no air movement or wind around the bike. It was in the desert and around 100 degrees f. and they ran the bike for a long time. It was some type of torture test for thier R&D I think. I don't remember the final outcome but apparently the 80 ci evo held up under that heat. I would hope the 88 twin cams would do as well if not better.

 

[Dr. Dolittle]

If you're moving most of the time the temps you mention should be no problem. Just think of our fellow riders in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Texas, etc.

The bike will let you know with pinging and severe loss of power when it's time to pull over and let it cool off for awhile.

 

[Jim B.]

We are up to 105 plus the Honda guy's left their bikes at home
I'm still riding to work I have 45 miles one way , ,, I did check the Temp, last night on the bike when i got home, about 1/2hour after i shut her down, had to use a rag to handle the dip stick
but the oil (Moblie1 syn) was only at 150

Just checking to make sure she can handle the heat. she did make some extra noise when i throttle her up

The Hondas are staying home because their riders can't take the heat, not because the bikes can't. I've ridden in 111 degree temperatures with my Goldwing and the needle never went above the usual half-way mark.

Getting back to the HD, you should be o.k. Dino oil starts to deteriorate at 250 degrees. Full synthetics like Mobil 1 V-Twin don't begin to deteriorate until 300 degrees. Since you are running Mobil 1, you are probably safe although you should measure the temperature as soon as you get home just to get an idea of the termperatures you are dealing with. Also, just to be on the safe side, you should try to keep the bike moving as much as possible. If you get stuck in heavy slow-moving traffic, then listen for pinging and watch for oil pressure loss. If you those things start to happen, then it's time to find some shade and let the motor cool off.

 

[TXMikey]

During the summer months down here, if you don't ride in 100+ temps then you don't ride after about 11:00 am. That means the commute home is usually pretty hot. I've been caught in traffic backups in those temps, and the only heat-related problems are with the rider and heat coming off the exhaust when stopped.

I've been running the Syn3 (yeah, Glider, I know....) and have seen the oil temps up over 250 on occasion. The bike has never missed a beat. Only thing I've noticed is it may be a little less responsive when I roll on the throttle with temps over 102.

In 105+, you really need to worry about yourself more than the bike. The wind from riding can increase the rate of dehydration, and heat exhaustion and/or heat stoke can set in pretty quickly.

 

[IR Rick]

The Hondas are staying home because their riders can't take the heat, not because the bikes can't. I've ridden in 111 degree temperatures with my Goldwing and the needle never went above the usual half-way mark.

Getting back to the HD, you should be o.k. Dino oil starts to deteriorate at 250 degrees. Full synthetics like Mobil 1 V-Twin don't begin to deteriorate until 300 degrees. Since you are running Mobil 1, you are probably safe although you should measure the temperature as soon as you get home just to get an idea of the termperatures you are dealing with. Also, just to be on the safe side, you should try to keep the bike moving as much as possible. If you get stuck in heavy slow-moving traffic, then listen for pinging and watch for oil pressure loss. If you those things start to happen, then it's time to find some shade and let the motor cool off.

+

I'm sure the GW can handle it. Most of us up here in Oregon if it gets over 70 we wine:31:
I did check the temp as soon as i park her it went to 249.5F so i'm OK:lero

 

[Jim B.]

+

I'm sure the GW can handle it. Most of us up here in Oregon if it gets over 70 we wine:31:
I did check the temp as soon as i park her it went to 249.5F so i'm OK:lero

If your heat wave continues, HD will have to fly in an emergency supply of oil coolers. People here in the central coast of California also whine if the temperature gets much over 70. Hope you get back to your regular weather pattern soon.

 

[joel]

There is no time the weather will be to hot to ride your harley.
Not going to ever get that hot.

I don't know about that one Smitty, I just came back from Vegas, temp was 112 deg. had a break in the afternnon and thought it would be a good time to wash the bike, the water dried as fast as I spraied it on, after getting the spots off I thought I would ride around, stopped and went in to a store and when I came back out the clutch and brake levers almost burnt my fingers, later on after midnight I got ready to go for another ride, It was only 100 degs. I changed my mind, went back into the casino and had a cold one instead