Radiator Thermosat

[2stroke]

I have as 2006 Gasgas EC 300 and recently put on a Trail Tech Striker with speed and water temp capabilities. What I found was that my bike would never get above 150 degrees while riding. I even tried to get it hot by slowly going around in first gear. Even stopped and idling or revving the engine it barely got to 170 before I gave up. I am considering putting in an inline thermostat in the right radiator line. I saw a 2011 with one installed, and was wondering if this was ever a stock option, or what the best aftermarket option is. I am thinking 165 or 170 should be the minimum temp the engine should be at.

[shang]

I removed my thermostat. Well, plus it melted when I burned the bike down. But my Gasser runs cooler than all my friends orange bikes. The only time I have ever boiled my bike is when I am really beating on it in the boulders using lots of clutch moving really slow. Even then, not very often.

[Neil E.]

I found the single thermostat was of little use. During casual riding there is enough flow through one rad to keep the bike cool, so the thermostat doesn't do much. If you were riding hard and abusing the clutch, then it would get hot enough to open up. I removed my thermostat.

I have the Trail Tech Voyager and set the amber warning light for 160*F. I set the red warning light to 180*F. I got stuck on a hill on a very hot day and that was the only time I've ever had the amber light come on.

If you really want your bike to maintain temperature, you would need a thermostat on both sides. The temperature recording function shows that my engine stays at 130*F for most of my riding. I mounted a large Clarke tank and don't use shrouds. I do however have the Checkpoint alloy impeller.

[2stroke]

I will continue to ride it to make sure it is a problem. 150 just seems very low to me. That's colder than most outboards run at. The thermosat kit I like the most is the thermo-bob and it has a 175 thermosat that I think is perfect. Maybe these bike are designed to run cold, but any engine I've ever seen is best off 180+, and no worries until about 220-230. Coolant shouldn't boil until 250 or so.

[savijo]

I try to keep my 2-strokes between 130-140

It should run colder than 4-stroke.

[dANbOT]

Originally Posted by savijo

I try to keep my 2-strokes between 130-140

It should run colder than 4-stroke.

Agreed, when my snowmobile hits 160 due to poor snow conditions I pull over to cool it down.
My last bike (CR250) had a Vapor and it averaged around 140 unless i was abusing it.

[2stroke]

Originally Posted by savijo

I try to keep my 2-strokes between 130-140

It should run colder than 4-stroke.

I guess a better question is why do they have to run so cold? Is that just how the tolerances of the engine are measured?

[shang]

My guess is that they run colder because of the fuel/oil mixture. Plus running richer in general compared to a 4t.

[(F5)]

50 degrees (122 of your f type degrees) is where they try to keep racing 2 strokes. Any more is losing power, but its not real relevant on a dirt bike.

In short don't lose any sleep over it and don't thrash it till it gets to at least 40.

[GGRider01]

All this talk has me wondering, if your coolant temperature is say, 150 degrees, should the outside of the jug itself read about the same?