2011 thermostat setpoints

[Berkyboy]

We've had a couple of technical questions on the new thermostat found on the 2011 Gassers. At this point there is no technical data from the factory so I fired up my wife's tea pot and came up with the following "unofficial" data.

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At normal ambiant temeprature (the motor is cold) the thermsotat allows an estimated 5% bypass.

In fahrenheit degrees the thermostat does the following.

At 135 degrees (during an increase in temperature) the thermostat begins to open allowing approximately 50% of maximum flow.

At 140 degress (during an increase in temperature) the thermostat is open to its maximum.

Once the thermostat is open all of the way (at 140 degrees) is does not begin to close again until the temperature has dropped to 130 degrees where it closes down to about 50%.

At 125 degrees (again during a drop in temperature) the thermostat closes fully where it only allows the earlier estimated 5% of flow.



No I'm not an engineer....but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[Troy F collins]

Originally Posted by Berkyboy

We've had a couple of technical questions on the new thermostat found on the 2011 Gassers. At this point there is no technical data from the factory so I fired up my wife's tea pot and came up with the following "unofficial" data.

___________________

At normal ambiant temeprature (the motor is cold) the thermsotat allows an estimated 5% bypass.

In fahrenheit degrees the thermostat does the following.

At 135 degrees (during an increase in temperature) the thermostat begins to open allowing approximately 50% of maximum flow.

At 140 degress (during an increase in temperature) the thermostat is open to its maximum.

Once the thermostat is open all of the way (at 140 degrees) is does not begin to close again until the temperature has dropped to 130 degrees where it closes down to about 50%.

At 125 degrees (again during a drop in temperature) the thermostat closes fully where it only allows the earlier estimated 5% of flow.



No I'm not an engineer....but I did stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Yep that would be about right.....on my Trailtech I saw no less than 50 C(125F)on a very cool day...and max temp was 60C(145F) as it warmed up during the ride.....on a hot day one would expect to see normal temps 80-90 C

I have always been on the fence about thermostats on off road bikes......but on a very cool day its nice to know there is some heat kept in the motor

[Berkyboy]

Thats the beauty of the Trail Tech computer when it is hooked up to the motor is you can keep an eye on the motor temperature especially on colder rides or when the motor starts running hot before it does any damadge.

Orignally I was on the fence about the thermostat but now that we are doing a little winter riding agian its nice knowing the motor is running in the zone somewhere between 125 and 145 degrees.

We used to block off both radiators with cardboard and listened for knocking if we weren't getting enough cooling.

[Bobt250]

Although it's something that can fail I think it's good to keep the engine at a more uniform temperature. It's just another example of how GG sells a bike that's completely equipped. The thermostat was on my like list from the start.

I'm putting a Trail Tech on mine so no worries for me.

[Skidad]

KTM's 2 strokes have been coming with the stat for years. Almost NEVER hear of a problem failure. My 97 KTM is still working fine with the original. I may dump the overflow tank on my 07GG and chage to the stat. They work.

[Bobt250]

I don't think my 2003 KTM had one but I could be mistaken.

[Berkyboy]

Here's a question for you engineer types.

With the addition of the thermostat this year, and the deletion of the expansion tank, GasGas has gone from a 1.2 radiator cap to a 1.8, does that seem like a little extreme?

For years we got by upgrading to a 1.4 radiator cap if we wanted to eleminate the expansion tank, which was located on the steering head behind the headlight and also inhibitated the proper mounting of a WER steering damper.

If we thought that wasn't enougnh we would also add a pair of "in-line radiator coolers" to help further lower operating temperatures if a bike was prone to overheating.

The 1.4 cap was stock for the GG 4-strokes and seemed to work just fine it just seems that going to a 1.8 is making a big leap.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by Berkyboy

Here's a question for you engineer types.

With the addition of the thermostat this year, and the deletion of the expansion tank, GasGas has gone from a 1.2 radiator cap to a 1.8, does that seem like a little extreme?

For years we got by upgrading to a 1.4 radiator cap if we wanted to eleminate the expansion tank, which was located on the steering head behind the headlight and also inhibitated the proper mounting of a WER steering damper.

If we thought that wasn't enougnh we would also add a pair of "in-line radiator coolers" to help further lower operating temperatures if a bike was prone to overheating.

The 1.4 cap was stock for the GG 4-strokes and seemed to work just fine it just seems that going to a 1.8 is making a big leap.

There should be no issue with the higher pressure cap - 1.8 bar is only ~26 psi. I had a radiator from a 1.2 bar (~18psi) system repaired and Myler's pressure tested it to over 40 psi. I'm not sure what the 2010 and prior expansion bottle is rated at (at temperature) but dropping the bottle for a simple cross-over and adding the thermostat equipped hose with the higher rated cap sounds like a winner.

[Troy F collins]

I have done the math and you would need to have coolant temps over 270 deg to boil it with a 1.8 bar cap.....

I suspect GG was trying to eliminate any boil over out the overflow altogether...thus allowing them to eliminate the catch tank

the idea being coolant should never leave the system in this eco friendly world

but I am no expert

[Berkyboy]

Troy

I think you might be close with the "Eco friendly" concept.

Most likely the 1.8 threshold and the elimination of the catch tank may only be related to a new "Eco friendly" standard and nothing to due with improving the cooling system.