Just about burned a hole through my leg

[Buell_Cru]

Issue:
I was riding last Sunday with a couple other Buells. It was about 90 degrees out and my bike felt like it was running really hot. I rode about 45 minutes up through the canyon with absolutely no power loss. The whole time there and back I had to keep adjusting because my leg was getting so hot. I never had ths happen before. It was my first ride with my new mesh pants so i thought maybe it was the material. So then I was riding home from work today and noticed the same thing, this time wearing jeans. I was just commuting home from work at about the same temperature. I put my hand down by my motor when I stopped and that thing was screaming hot.

What I think may be a solution:
When I did my breather re-route I ran it across the support bar on the left side of the engine down behind the primary and back up just next to the shock. I noticed an oily residue kept spilling onto my swing arm. I put 2 and 2 together and decided maybe there is liquid trapped in the belly of the line and it's not allowing the head to breathe, in turn keeping the motor extra hot. So I re-routed it up into the air box and left the drain tube down low behind the chin fairing. Hopefully that fixes it.

Question:
When I removed my air box cover and removed the filter I noticed an oily residue which appeared to be motor oil in the crevices of the velocity stack. This was after I already did the breather re-route but before I moved the breather to the new location. Any ideas how the oil got there? Is the motor somehow surging oil back up through the throttle body and splashing it into the filter area?

Any advice/recommendations would help.

Thanks,
Travis

Here are pics of the original re-route:

Here is the new location:

 

[RT Performance]

i see no way that a clogged breather can cause more heat.
the idea of the reroute it to get the oily air away from the air intake.
i would really like mine with the nos power shot power bottle.

i get about a cap full of mostiure every 100 miles now

 

[RT Performance]

looking agian that should work great.
but the heat is a product of the v twin might think of wrapping the header it helps

 

[Buell_Cru]

I was going to do ceramic coated.

 

[03Firebolt9R]

I too have noticed oil on the swingarm and I had my breather filter in the same location as yours Cru. It seems to spitting out of the filter, even though I drain the tube periodically. However, I have not noticed it to be unusually hot.

 

[Buell_Cru]

It's just something I noticed recently. Last couple rides. Now that I've re-routed we'll see if there is a difference.

I still can't explain the oil on the edges of the velocity stack though?[confused]

 

[canucklovingbrit]

My breather mod follows the exact same route as yours, with the drain down the front of the engine, and the breather filter by the shock. I had the same issue with the breather filter getting soaked in oil (didn't have the extreme heat problem though.) At the time, I was using HD Syn 3 oil, and there was a ton of condensation and emulsified oil finding its way into the drain plus the swingarm was oily from the drenched breather filter. I changed to Amsoil 20W-50, and now get almost zero condensation and absolutely zero oil! The breather filter is bone dry always, and literally after 500 kms, I may have 3 drops of water in the drain.

 

[RT Performance]

the volcity stack was likely from the rubber when you had the breather in the stock location.
some carbon backing up agianst the rear of the throttle plate is normal.but past that is abnormal

 

[dave_xb12r]

Buell Cru, moving your filter inside the airbox is defeating the purpose of the reroute. We reroute to let the "dirty air" exit instead of going back into the motor. Plus the filter is more of a cheap oil catch, otherwise, you could just run it out to no filter at all.

If you're having heat issues, maybe you should get your bike tuned. Are you running synthetic oil? Have you used the home depot thermal heat reflector for the poor mans heat shielding? It does help.

 

[Buell_Cru]

After the relearn process I did after my original re-route and TPS reset I noticed no difference. I basically will be using the filter and drain tube to contain the oily residue and allow it somewhere to drain. I have not done any heatshield.

Let me say this again:

I HAVE BEEN RIDING MY BIKE FOR OVER A YEAR WITHOUT ANY ABNORMAL HEAT ISSUES...YES THE DAMN THING GETS HOT. THE LAST TWO RIDES HAVE BEEN ABNORMALLY HOT. WOULD ANYTHING CAUSE THE SUDDEN CHANGE IN TEMP? MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT IT COULD CHANGE OVER A PERIOD OF TIME BUT THIS HAPPENED OVER NIGHT WHICH IS WHY I THOUGHT MY BREATHER LINE WAS CLOGGED AND NOT ALLOWING THE HEAD GASES TO ESCAPE, THEREFORE KEEPING THE HOT GASES IN THE HEAD AND NOT VENTING.

 

[dave_xb12r]

I dunno man. I have had rides where it's just crazy hot, then the next ride is fine. I think it's just how these beasts run. Just make sure you're oil level is good.

 

[Buell_Cru]

I'll keep checking and playin' with it.

 

[xtremelow]

Same here, I have had only a couple times my bike was hot and I mean really hot, but then a day or two later the bike ran fine.

Sorry to hear you are having problems but I would say just keep riding, and I would recommend a really hard ride on the bike which may clear out any crap causing the engine to heat up.

[confused]

 

[RT Performance]

I have to admit in the 7k i have road this summer some days are just seem like my legs burning up.
but we have had so many off days here in mich i just dismiss it best of luck

 

[Buell_Cru]

I ran an average of 80mph through this first section.

Boise to Idaho City

 

[taildraggin]

MY BREATHER LINE WAS CLOGGED AND NOT ALLOWING THE HEAD GASES TO ESCAPE, THEREFORE KEEPING THE HOT GASES IN THE HEAD AND NOT VENTING.

That couldn't be the it. The breather is there to normalize crankcase pressure, no cooling function at all. (Though, Erik could probably invent a breather cooling system...)

Your heat problem is caused by density altitude - "high" and "hot".

Higher air temps at altitude, air thins (density altitude), makes the thin air of the altitude *much* worse. Thin air reduces cooling capacity and horsepower (Buells live on torque, low in HP band, so you might not feel it too much.)

Using 4000' ground alt, your density altitude (high/hot measurement) is at least 7000'. Unless you have a turbo, you're losing at least 25-30% of your HP at that DA and the engine will have a harder time passing enough air to cool.

Density altitude problems are a *big* deal for Idaho pilots running air-cooled piston planes.

- Charlie

 

[Stevenc150]

Nice Expl. Charlie [up]

 

[Buell_Cru]

But if the gases in the head have nowhere to release wouldn't it build pressure and heat?

 

[taildraggin]

No.