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Tourer
Posts: 411
Dallas, Texas | Just curious about something...What advantages and/or disadvantages does air/oil cooling have over water cooling for V-Twin engines? And visa versa....in other words, why aren't our Visions water cooled?
Edited by iluvink 2010-06-08 10:29 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | ...do I smell antifreeze? Nah, not from my bike... |
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Visionary
Posts: 2118
Pitt Meadows, BC Canada | 95% Styling - water cooling jackets are plain ugly
5% Weight and simplicity compared to water cooling
Now, you can adjust the percentages according to YOUR tastes....
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Visionary
Posts: 3773
Pittsburgh, PA | Every watercooled bike I have had leaked coolant at least one time. Loose hoses etc. And most of the water cooled vtwins out there are only water cooling the heads, not the entire engine. I also hated the added maintenance and weight. Very unclean lines.. and just one more thing to worry about! My last bike was water cooled and I don't miss it one bit... I've had friends with kawasakis that had thermostats fail, hole in radiator, coolant leaks, worried about what type of coolant to add, and then the routine flushing etc. I'm so glad I have one less fluid too check.. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1350
| Another thing about water bikes is they never have a nice sounding pipe setup. They sound like a sit down mower no matter what you do. |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | just to be fair, if you ask this question on the GoldWing forum, they'll have a host of positive things to say. Rarely is there a coolant issue by in large. Sure some will have the aggrevating gremlin, but overall it works very well.
Having put up with riding the Wing, on the long trips the number one concern was that the fan worked, which it did. If that ever gives out on a hot day in stop and go traffic, you'll probably lose your engine, or develop other problems. That is where the Vic rules, no fan, even on a hot day, to worry about, as long as you can take the heat, it will too.
The other thing about the watercooled engines is the breadth of it, something I have come to detest on a motorcycle, except a BossHoss. The V-Twin air-cooled is the motorcycle engine, a design that has worked very well and has improved with technology. |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | Water cooloing provides big advantages for multi cylinder engines such as IL4's & V4's. Heat in large displacement multi's is a huge concern, the 6 cylinder goldwing would never even be built if watercooling wasn't a option. Vtwins are another story, especially long stroke low revers like Victory and Harley, they are cooled adequately by air or air/ oil cooling. They just need a proper amount of finning. That being said if they were watercooled they could be tuned to make 10-20% more power. Big twins like compression, but aircooled engines and compression ratios over 10.5-1 aren't user friendly, you can't control the heat and detonation occures. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | varyder - 2010-06-08 10:39 PM
...do I smell antifreeze? Nah, not from my bike...
Yeah, it's coming from my son's Kawasaki. The waterpump is leaking. Maw Kaw says $250 for the pump, and it has to be ordered from Japan. The pump is not rebuildable. We already tried that route. He is riding my old reliable 2000 Victory (air/oil cooled) SC while waiting for the pump to show up for his Kawasaki.
Ronnie |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I hate waterpumps. as a young buck I had a hose blow on my old car. Being cheap and rather spending my cigerette money on anti-freeze I put water in there instead. Within a week my waterpump was leaking and when the boss at the gas station saw it leaking and knowing the circumstance he said "you put water in it instead of anti-freeze didn't you?" Well I learned then that anti-freeze was a lubricant of the waterpump.
Fast forward and relate that to a motorcycle, having just got my '84 Goldwing I noticed the anti-freeze was low, so I go and grab a bottle of anti-freeze off the shelf. Before I put it in though I do an internet search and find out that not any old anti-freeze will work in a motorcycle's aluminum engine and waterpump. Motorcycles must use antifreeze without silicate, the very thing that helps car waterpumps will destroy a motorcycles waterpump. So being the wiser, I flush and change out my anti-freeze using the right stuff. Most of the local Jap joints will sell the special elixer. That bike being over 20 some years old still had the original waterpump.
So, I'm just curious...but I won't ask... |
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Visionary
Posts: 2300
Georgia, west of Atlanta | Add one more thing to add to my earlier post: to me aircooled engines with their many variations and amount of finning just looks better to me. I actually think the Freedom engine is one of the better looking engines around, very heavy finning and the polished ends do look good !!! I also like the look of Vincent engines especially the new Irving Vincents from Austrailia, but that's another subject....... |
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Visionary
Posts: 1632
Jasper, MO | varyder - 2010-06-09 11:14 AM
So, I'm just curious...but I won't ask...
If you're inquiring about the Kawasaki and whatever coolant was in it, we don't know the history. My son bought the bike used.
Ronnie |
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Visionary
Posts: 8144
New Bohemia, VA | I love a mystery but never with what kind of antifreeze that is in a bike. Fortunately, after your fix, you'll know what is in there. Hope it works out well for your son. |
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Tourer
Posts: 394
Tucson, AZ | I would disagree with your opinion on the sound. I had a 2000 Honda Valkyrie with 18" glass packs and sounded real sweet. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 212
Tavares, Fl | If my memory serves me right----1977 golwing interstate, 50 some thousand miles, 1981 Goldwing aspencade, 198,000 miles, 1989 Goldwing, don't remember miles but it was high, 1991 Goldwing, 70some thousand miles, 1995 Goldwing 1500, 120,ooo miles. Never replaced a waterpump. Timing belts yes but no waterpumps..... |
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Oil/Air vs Water Cooling
