Somewhat erratic coolant temperature readings

Motogiro

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And this is a reminder to always used conditioned (distilled) water in the cooling system. Never use tap water. If you can't get distilled water, then simply purchase the 50:50 cooling pre-mix.

Yes, If you're using tap water in your bike you might also save on water and just drink from your toilet...
 

Hawat

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Hello follow Yamaha riders:

Want to give you an update with my problem: I received a new radiator and found some time this weekend to work on the bike. Taking the old radiator out was pretty easy. After I mounted the new one I found that this radiator doesn't actually fit the bike. The mounts are the same and so are the connectors to the hoses. However the mount points for the radiator fan are different ! The two bottom mount points match, but on the top of the radiator the new one has 2 mount points, vs the original only has one. And the fan only has 3 mount points, not 4. I've attached some pics to make it more clear.

There are other small differences, too. The radiator cap on the original is in an angle, vs. the new one is straight. That makes it much harder to remove it under the fairings. I also think that the radius of the hose going
to the water pump is slightly different.

The eBay seller advertises this radiator as suitable for years 2004-2010, but that is clearly incorrect. From what I could find is that Yamaha actually changed the radiator (and the radiator fan) from 2006 on
from a 4 mount to a 3 mount model. Probably cost saving measures.

So this one is going back. I found another Australian seller which sells an aftermarket radiator - this time the correct one for about $ 100.-. Its not powder coated, just blank aluminum. Not quite as aesthetically pleasing as a black powder coated one, but at this stage I can live with that and just want the get the bike going.

BTW: Does somebody can tell me where and how to unplug the radiator fan ? I followed the cable but it disappears behind some rubber hoses towards the tank. Do you have to lift the tank and/or take the airbox off to unplug this ? The service manual doesn't really say.
 

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TownsendsFJR1300

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I believe the plug is under the battery tray.

I've had my radiator out (valve adjustment) and didn't un-plug the fan motor, just stuck/hung it out of the way (forgot which). To un-plug is a bigger job than the Radiator swap..

And your better off W/O powder coat. That'd just hamper cooling very slightly..
OEM is painted...
 

Motogiro

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Hello follow Yamaha riders:

Want to give you an update with my problem: I received a new radiator and found some time this weekend to work on the bike. Taking the old radiator out was pretty easy. After I mounted the new one I found that this radiator doesn't actually fit the bike. The mounts are the same and so are the connectors to the hoses. However the mount points for the radiator fan are different ! The two bottom mount points match, but on the top of the radiator the new one has 2 mount points, vs the original only has one. And the fan only has 3 mount points, not 4. I've attached some pics to make it more clear.

There are other small differences, too. The radiator cap on the original is in an angle, vs. the new one is straight. That makes it much harder to remove it under the fairings. I also think that the radius of the hose going
to the water pump is slightly different.

The eBay seller advertises this radiator as suitable for years 2004-2010, but that is clearly incorrect. From what I could find is that Yamaha actually changed the radiator (and the radiator fan) from 2006 on
from a 4 mount to a 3 mount model. Probably cost saving measures.

So this one is going back. I found another Australian seller which sells an aftermarket radiator - this time the correct one for about $ 100.-. Its not powder coated, just blank aluminum. Not quite as aesthetically pleasing as a black powder coated one, but at this stage I can live with that and just want the get the bike going.

BTW: Does somebody can tell me where and how to unplug the radiator fan ? I followed the cable but it disappears behind some rubber hoses towards the tank. Do you have to lift the tank and/or take the airbox off to unplug this ? The service manual doesn't really say.
There are some parts that are the same and some parts that are not between the S1 and S2 version of the FZ6
S1 version is 2004 to 2006
S2 version is 2007 to2009

Also keep in mind some countries list the year of the bike by the year it was registered or put into service which might not be the actual manufacture date.

Are the mounting points dimensionally the same? They look like a different amount of cooling tubes.
 
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Hawat

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Hello fellow FZ6 fans !

Another update: I received the radiator (the correct one this time) Its a more heavy duty, all-aluminum radiator. I actually like it better than the original one with its plastic parts. Installed the radiator. Had a few little snafu's when one of the mounting holes for the fan didn't line up and the connector to the reservoir overflow hose is slightly larger, but I was able to find workarounds for both issues.

Now the new radiator is in and filled with fresh coolant. I can not ride the bike currently due to ongoing rain here at the East Coast of Australia :-( , so I can't really test it to see if this fixed the problem. I let it idle in the garage and it goes up to 100 C, then the fan kicks in and comes down to about 93 C when the fan switches off; but I had this happening before so this is not really a proof that it has fixed the overheating issue. Wish me luck and an afternoon without rain.

I also changed the sparkplugs while I had the radiator out. Much easier to get to them this way. Pretty tight there on top of the engine block. Sparkplugs which came out looked o.k.. Worn (which you would expect after 85k km) but no heavy built-up.
 

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Hawat

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Update: Rain is finally over (we did need it though - more rain in the first 6 weeks of this year than all of 2019 combined !). Did a nice ride with my friend on his Honda Blackbird today. About 250 km thru the country-side, and the temperature stayed at around 85C all day even when pushed hard (took her up to 170 km/h :) ), never exceeding 90C !!! Hooray ! The new radiator fixed the problem ! Very happy now, I was a bit concerned there for a while.
Old radiator doesn't look all that bad from what I can see. Must be blocked somewhere inside. Maybe I cut it open at some point and have a look inside.

Thanks everybody for all your help and tips ! Now I can enjoy the FZ6-S2 and the best riding season in Australia is just about to start now with temperatures dropping down.
 
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