new klr guy

[topmap1]

It is that time of year where the radiator bypass is needed for cold weather riding. Stabilizing the engine temperature in the winter becomes very difficult and the bypass is the best solution to the issue that is currently available. During our design testing we found three areas that were critical to the system design. A picture of the system can be seen in the photograph section under "coolant bypass". The first was a straight through coolant flow inside the bypass. This reduced the turbulence and backpressure inside the bypass. The small size (less then 10 OZ.) and straight through design allowed us to mount the unit in front of the engine between the radiator and overflow tank. In this area the unit can be supported by the frame upright to reduce vibration which is small because of the small size. The second was to integrate the main inlet and exit fitting into the design. Our first prototype used brass fitting to reduce fabrication costs. This caused excessive turbulences and reduced flow rates inside the bypass. We figured what was the use to install a larger thermostat if we restricted the coolant flow through the bypass. Once we increased the fabrication costs with the smaller size, straight through flow, and integrated inlet/exit fitting we went through the whole unit and chamfered all the surfaces inside the bypass to reduce any area that might cause any turbulence inside the bypass. This helped reduce the bypass loss and greatly increased the coolant flow during hot weather. This was verified by the units installed this summer that saw a drop in there coolant temperature during summer day rides. The third was to raise the coolant temperature and keep the bypass lines away from the exhaust pipe and in a protected area. The system uses an automotive 195 degree Stant 13829 thermostat. This increases the temperature and flow area through the thermostat. Also any damage to any of the parts of the coolant system is a major problem and the bypass system was going to add more parts to the coolant system. We designed the system to add the least amount of addition parts in the safest area we could find. I feel the increased fabrication costs are worth the results for the overall system. It is easier to make a system that will work in cool weather when coolant flow rates, back pressure, and flow turbulences don't have a large effect. All you have to do is reduce the flow to the radiator to help stabilize the engine temperature. The real test is in hot weather when any coolant flow loss will have an effect. The complete system cost is 135 dollars which includes shipping costs for any continental, USA location. If you are interested contact me offline. Martin, Albuquerque

[Mike Peplinski]

Can you find the hidden words? Take a break and play Seekadoo! http://club.live.com/seekadoo.aspx?icid=seek_wlmailtextlink [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[topmap1]

This was Mikes message: I've ridden the last couple of winters here in Wisconsin at temps just under 20F. Not much riding, but enough. WHile it ran cooler, I was not aware that this presented any problems with the engine. Secondly, whi couldn't I just some sort of radiator blocker like the truckers do to keep the temps up in a normal range? Mike, the radiator bypass does more then raise the temperature of the engine coolant one of it's functions is to reduce thermocycling on the engine. The stock thermostat blocks the coolant flow till the temperature reaches 160 degrees then it opens. Then it opens cold coolant from the radiator cools the engine down which closes the thermostat and starts the cycle all over. When it is very cool this cycle never stops because the radiator is cooling the coolant faster then the engine is heating it up. You still get some thermocycling on the engine when it is warm outside. It just does not take long for the engine to reach operating temperatures when it is warm. Also engines like to run at 195 degrees. Covering the radiator can be difficult on a small radiator and temperature changes between morning and night. I'm planning on covering part of my radiator to help the bypass during the cool winter months. Last March when I first installed the system it stopped the thermocycling but the system had a hard time stabilizing the temperature. Martin

[Luc Legrain]

Is it available yet ? I guess we'll have to drain the coolant to install the by-pass ? Any particular mix,brand, recommended ? I looked briefly at the " coolant By-Pass" page, will the coolant pump be under more pressure that it can stand ? --- topmap1 wrote:

> This was Mikes message: > > I've ridden the last couple of winters here in > Wisconsin at temps > just under 20F. Not much riding, but enough. WHile > it ran cooler, I > was not aware that this presented any problems with > the engine. > Secondly, whi couldn't I just some sort of radiator > blocker like the > truckers do to keep the temps up in a normal range? > > Mike, the radiator bypass does more then raise the > temperature of the > engine coolant one of it's functions is to reduce > thermocycling on > the engine. The stock thermostat blocks the coolant > flow till the > temperature reaches 160 degrees then it opens. Then > it opens cold > coolant from the radiator cools the engine down > which closes the > thermostat and starts the cycle all over. When it > is very cool this > cycle never stops because the radiator is cooling > the coolant faster > then the engine is heating it up. You still get > some thermocycling > on the engine when it is warm outside. It just does > not take long > for the engine to reach operating temperatures when > it is warm. Also > engines like to run at 195 degrees. > Covering the radiator can be difficult on a small > radiator and > temperature changes between morning and night. I'm > planning on > covering part of my radiator to help the bypass > during the cool > winter months. Last March when I first installed > the system it > stopped the thermocycling but the system had a hard > time stabilizing > the temperature. > > Martin > > >

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[Blake Sobiloff]

On Sep 16, 2007, at 12:44 PM, Michael Nelson wrote:

> Anyway we've got a new member of the KLR community. I'll get him > hooked in > here soon.

Good on ya'--have a great time! -- Blake Sobiloff http://www.sobiloff.com/> San Jose, CA (USA) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]