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1992 Kawasaki dual sport KLR 250. Just in the shop for a complete tune up. I take it out for a ride today. Nothing too crazy, 20 miles or so. It's hot out, 85 ish. Anyway, I get to a stop light and the temp guage goes into the red. When I pull from the light and start cruising , the gauge goes back down, but it seems to be running hotter than normal. Then when I stop and let idle, it slowly climbs up.

The fan seems to be turning on and there is plenty of coolant. Any ideas how to fix?

How long since it was in the shop?

Is this the first time you've ridden it since the tune up, or the first time its been HOT that you've ridden since the tune up?

I ask because if what's going on is the result of the shop's work, then you really should take the bike back and tell THEM what's going on. No accusations, just ask what could be going on and have them fix it.

P

If it was Mine I would check to see if the thermostat is sticky, check the coolant/water ratio should be 50/50. If there is too much antifreeze then it will not cool well (sounds strange but it needs water for heat transfer) check the rad to see if it is plugged

I have never worked on a bike before so no clue how to check if the thermostat is "sticky". Any advice in this respect would be appreciated.

The bike had a complete tune up 3 days ago. This is the first ride over a couple of miles. In all honestly, I was running it pretty hard, red lining the tach in first and second, basically seeing how it rode. But it never jumped in the red zone before temp wise.

I am guessing it can only be a few things.

Is the klr liquid cooled?

Checking a thermostat generally means taking it out and boiling it to make sure it's opening right at the right temp.

It's probably from you going crazy revving it around. May be they didn't put the right oil in?

A complete tune-up probably included a coolant flush-and-fill. It sounds like they may have introduced an air pocket in the cooling system (improper bleed) and now you've got a hot spot or two.

In any case, get it back to the shop ASAP. If it wasn't overheating when you brought it to them then they've screwed something up.

OK, I will drag it back in, but getting a dealer to admit they did something wrong is probably not going to work

yeah, it is liquid cooled...

thanks guys !!

stargate wrote:OK, I will drag it back in, but getting a dealer to admit they did something wrong is probably not going to work

yeah, it is liquid cooled...

thanks guys !!

That's why I said don't go in all huffy and angry. You'll just get the same attitude right back. Go in saying you noticed a difference in the running temp and you're concerned. Yeah, they're busy and it is probably a simple fix, but you need them to take a look.

P