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right leg hotter?

5K views 23 replies 18 participants last post by  invader 
#1 ·
Is it just me? Lately it seems there is an excessive amount of heat emanating from the right side of the bike. Feel it on my inside of my right knee and a bit above. Mostly when riding at freeway speeds and after about 15-20 minutes. Its gotten so bad that I can't hug the tank like I prefer (no jokes please).

I've had other bikes where you get hot spots from the exhaust. Doesn't apply to the Versys. Anybody have any thoughts on why or where the excess heat is coming from??
 
#6 ·
I echo the exhaust sentiments, but only at slow speeds.

How about your leg positioning while riding? Is your right leg tucked in closer to the bike while covering the brake lever? Or is your left foot back further on the peg while riding at constant speeds because there's no need to shift? Lots of possibilities here.
 
#8 ·
I believe what you are feeling is feed through from the radiator. When it really heats up. See if you can put some plastic or something to redirect or block the air flow blowing on your leg. Thats all this is. Follow the air flow. :thumb:
Don't block the radiator! Plug the hole its hitting your leg on the side of the bike! :thumb: :goodluck:
 
#9 · (Edited)
I believe what you are feeling is feed through from the radiator. When it really heats up.
This seems the most logical... as any exhaust is whisked rearward and away unless sitting still.
If you have a throttle lock, you should be able to reach down with an ungloved hand and kind of feel where you think the heat is coming from during different situations.
Although I haven't noticed a similar situation on mine, I will pay more attention now and see if I can duplicate what you're seeing/feeling...
(Also... Panama City has no freeways and is 50 miles away from the nearest Interstate (a fact that is worth its weight in gold) so most of my day-to-day stuff is a lot slower that what you're doing when it seems to be at its worst.)

I always wear long jeans with boots.
Same here... which may explain why I've not noticed it.
 
#11 ·
The easiest fix is to ride with your right leg on the windward side. Of course the downside is that you could end up going places you didn't want to go to - but your leg would be cooler! :D

Also, it's all relative. You should try riding my wife's Suzuki S40 air cooled thumper. It will literally roast your right leg. Hence, the right leg to windward riding style. ;)
 
#16 ·
Sum up some replies:

Not the exhaust. The way it's routed and the speed I'm going precludes that as the cuplrit.

Thought of the heat exchange thru the radiator as well, but doesn't seem to make sense. I've had bikes where the fan was on one side or the other, but on the V it's centered. I'd expect the blast to be equal.

I always ride ATGATT. That means pants or shorts with mesh kevlar riding pants and jacket, gloves, helmet & boots.

There's no difference in how I position my left & right leg. Both are the same distance from the tank/engine. Hugging my left leg right up against the tank causes no discomfort/hot spot. It's only on the right side.

And if you would read my entire post, you would know that I'm traveling at freeway speeds so all your comments/replies about how it feels going slow are pointless.

I don't have a thottle lock.

Thanks for the tip about possibly putting something there to block the heat, but I'd rather fix the issue than put a band-aid on it.

Yeah - when it's 110-120, doesn't matter if its hot in any one spot, you are roasting all over :D

Think I'll try a static test this weekend (it's supposed to near 100 by Sunday). Run the bike with an industrial fan blowing and see if I can trace the heat back.
 
#17 ·
I have noticed the same thing: hot right upper leg at freeway speeds. I believe that it IS the exhaust. My hypothesis is that when my right leg is tucked in, it induces an eddy that catches the exhaust. Sticking my knee out an inch or two spoils the eddy, and it's gone.
 
#18 ·
Well the bike get a little warm on the right side...nothing bad at all.

Ride a Buell XB for a few hours on a hot day. It's like sitting on a lit stove. Everything I tried was a wash as far as cooling went. Closest I got was a Right side cooling scoop along with the left side one. PLUS heat shielding under the sit, think space blanket type, along with rerouting the hot air off the rear cylinder out the shock opening and not the sides of the bike.

It was so bad at times I ended up traiding it in on my V. The V seems almost like it has A/C after the Buell!

BTW some of the Big Twin H-D had the same problem. One cause was running the motor so lean to get around the EPA's rule for a Cat.
 
#19 ·
There is much heated air blowing through radiator which can be felt, and there's more heat radiated onto right leg from the engine's cylinder block and head which is offset and closer to the right. There's also radiated and rising heat from muffler/catalytic converter unit down on the right.
 
#21 ·
I've noticed this on mine in recent months. I suddenly become aware that my right leg is getting alot more heat than the left. I assumed that it was airflow from the radiator because it only happens after a number of miles and the fan is running. I'm glad it's not unusual, or a symptom of a problem.
BTW - This summer in Britain has been shoite, so the temperatures you lot get in AZ etc are way out of our league.
 
#23 ·
What I have managed to determine using some big ass fans to simulate riding at decent speeds is that even at a pretty good clip the radiator fan is still activating. Seems based on the way everything is laid out under there, the hot air is shot right back into my right leg. There is no excessive heat coming from the exhaust pipe of muffler. Just a jet-like stream of hot air shoots back when the fan is on. Honestly, I find it kinda surprising that the fan can still generate additional airflow when I'm riding on the freeway, but it sure seems that is the issue. I doubt there is an issue with the temp sending unit. At some future time if I get REALLY tired of it, I may try and fab some type of deflector to push the air in a different direction.

For now, it's enough to know I've identified what the issue is.
 
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