Temparature scale is divided into six segments n the fans cuts in at the 4th segment. Noticed that at any stop more than 3mins temp hits the 5th n 6th scales even with the fan blowing. Is this normal ? if no what's the scale position at normal op temps,
how do i know its not overheating ?
.

How new is the bike? Any mods ?

The first year I had my 08, it did the same thing. The longer I rode it, the more it got broken in, and the cooler it ran.

Then I put Engine Ice and a second fan on it, and now it runs 1-2 bars cooler in equal conditions compared to before the change.

Used to be the fan stayed on all the time on hot days in stop-and-go traffic. Now it comes on, runs a minute, shuts off, and if I move off, doesn't come on again.

Anyway to answer your question, the 6th bar is a bit unusual, unless you are in a really hot climate or the coolant is low or worn out. Its hard to get a ZX14 "out of tune", since the ECU computer runs the show.

* Last updated by: privateer on 2/17/2011 @ 8:33 AM *

I'm gonna have a second fan and engine Ice on my 08 as well this season, but from the research I've done I think the solution is more likey a free'er flowing exhaust and intake and removing the cat. IMO there is no mechanical reason why an engine would run cooler with just more time on the clock. If there was any rhyme or reason to that I would think it would possibly be due to valve clearances tightening and valves staying open longer and combustion not taking place like it should. But there are a lot more parameters than that to consider over time and nothing would be constant in every bike's engine over a course of years.

The best solution is to upgrade to the best full exhaust system you can afford and get your FI remapped with a PCV and of course, install a BMC or K&N air filter. All the people who will yell at you and say they never had cooling problems with their bikes so you can shut up, have already done these things, they just can't finger it out.

As far as that darn gauge.... I think it's a shame KHI put so much work into the gauges but then got cheap with the temp gauge. For some people it's fine, but for us worriers it's a bane. I'm still looking for just the right way to put my own digital in somewhere.

* Last updated by: Edgecrusher on 2/24/2011 @ 6:47 AM *

If its over 90 F air temp where you are, that doesn't sound too unusual. Hot weather owners always complain about he the the gauge going to 5 bars or even 6 bars (that is the bottom bar 1, marked C all the way through the top bar 6, which is marked H).

According to the Owners Manual, p 35-36, If the all 6 bars are displayed and flashing and there is a HIGH TEMP message in the center of the multifunction meter that alternates with an icon that looks like a thermometer in water, the coolant is too hot. Shut the bike down.

I don't ever see 6 bars on my 08. I run an OEM air filter for the street. I have a PC5 mapped for my mods and I have a very high flow full system exhaust and that does reduce the heat but I would say about 80%-85% of the heat is still there when running. The bike seems to heat up as fast as always but cools down way faster after shut down. It does seem to run a bit cooler than stock but that is more on the highway. Low speed it will climb to 5 bars at a standstill on a hot day.

3 bars (halfway up the scale) has always been normal operating temp since the bike was new. That is where it will stay on the highway in 70-80 degree weather If it is a 90 degree day, highway op temp may be 4 bars most of the time. 5 bars is just in town at a stop light on a 90 degree day. At 20 F air temp, the bike will run a consistent 2 bars on the highway and 2 to 3 bars in town.

* Last updated by: Rook on 2/24/2011 @ 7:44 AM *

install a BMC or K&N air filter

No. Per Brock himself, their dyno, dragstrip, and road course results prove the OEM filter produces the same temps and horsepower as the aftermarket filters.

Even the so-called race filters don't help a ZX14 with nothing more than exhaust and piggy, according to the data from the tests. I trust Brock more than almost anyone in the industry. He races his own stuff, and tests.

I think the hot ticket (lol a pun) is what I did. A second fan, wired in parallel to the primary, so both come on and shut off at the same time. And Engine Ice. Which by the way, its been about -5 to -10 degrees F here a few nights, and the little bit left in the plastic jug (about an inch deep) is still non-viscous (watery) and shows no hint of ever freezing. If it was gonna freeze, that little bit would have frozen by now.

The other thing that helped mine a ton is I put a carbon fiber ZX10 front fender on it using Dubious' bracket kit and a COX radiator screen to make up for it. So when I an rolling on the back roads, getting it, the temperature stays about mid-range or a little below.

I did everything the other guys did, engine ice, extra fan. Another thing to try that helped for me is oil. Get rid of whatever cheap ass oil is in it and go to full synthetic.

An oil thread post by someone:

100K miles / 25 mpg = 4000 gallons
100K miles / 27 mpg = 3704 gallons

4000-3704=296 gallons difference x $3.70 per gallon =$1095.20 (although gas prices went higher lately). My truck picked up an honest 2 mpg highway on synth. Our Ford Focus picked up 2 mpg average driving on Mobil 1 and went to 3 mpg on AMSOIL 0w-20.

100K miles / 3000 mile change interval = 33 changes x 5 quarts = 165 quarts x $3 = $495.00 conventional motor oil quarts.

100K miles / 15,000 mile change interval = 7 changes x 5 quarts = 35 quarts x $9= $315.00

That doesn't count filters and time wasted on the conventional changes and disposal. There are some full synths available for more than 30% under the $9 number used as an example. If you do a lot of commuting, a 1 year/25,000 mile change interval can make considerable difference in vehicle maintenance and fuel savings.

Just to be clear, I don't advocate greatly extended change intervals in air cooled v-twin motors but double doesn't appear to cause any problems. I don't recommend synth changes to worn engines, the synth often cleans out carbon and varnish bringing quicker attention to worn out parts. Synth will not fix a worn out engine. (Used as an example, AMSOIL 0w-30 motor oil is guaranteed to 1 year or 25,000 miles with their filter...obviously other synth manufacturers recommendations vary).

3 bars (halfway up the scale) has always been normal operating temp since the bike was new. That is where it will stay on the highway in 70-80 degree weather If it is a 90 degree day, highway op temp may be 4 bars most of the time. 5 bars is just in town at a stop light on a 90 degree day.

My new 14 is running at about the same. 5 ticks, and the fan runs much much more than the my others. I found this post specifically because I too felt like it was running awfully warm. It has been mostly in the mid 70's and low 80's this past week in Ohio, so it's not as though the ambient temp should kill it. If I have one observation to make about the bike (Not a complaint, just an observation), it would have to be the heat. I took the Mrs. out the other day and she said it felt like her shoes were going to melt. My bud from the local performance shop blames the Cat Converted exhaust, and said as soon as I get my Muzzy or Brock's on that it will displace much less heat toward the rider. I guess time will tell. Regardless, it is a small concession to make. This bike is unbelievably sweet.

I posted above. To repeat. My 08 ran like a furnace the first season. Always on the 4th bar at speed, 5th bar and even a few times 6th bar sitting at lights on humid or hot days. Fan ran all the time it seemed.

I left it alone until the winter of 2009, when I put on the second fan (wired to the first, as a slave), replaced the coolant with Engine Ice, and installed a Brock's Performance CT-Dual exhaust system that had been ceramic coated.

Immediately, the bike averaged 1 bar lower on average, and I could see a marked difference when the fans came on, they only ran for maybe 30 seconds compared to the previous season when they ran for a long time.

Shortly after, I put a carbon fiber ZX10 fender (06) on, and a COX radiator guard, and now at any speed over 20 mph the temperature comes down and stays down, around the mid-point of the gauge.

And, as she gets miles on her, she seems to be running a little cooler overall too, so she must be loosening up a little.

"comes down and stays down,around the middle part of the guage"...that's where mine stays...sometimes,one lower.No engine ice,no full exhaust,K&N rechargeable filter,91 octane,4 degree advance.Water Wetter didn't do do do for mine ...my suggestion...it's a free "mod"...when she starts gettin "up there"...ride faster!

* Last updated by: blue07 on 6/29/2011 @ 5:05 AM *

If most of my riding was 80+ mph my temp would stay at 2 bars. When I'm 80+ mph now, it does.

Even in hot weather.

Engine Ice and dual fans work.

But you will find most of my posts are from the practical perspective of someone who values street drivability and legal speed sport touring above all else. :)

* Last updated by: privateer on 6/29/2011 @ 6:27 AM *

Shortly after, I put a carbon fiber ZX10 fender (06) on, and a COX radiator guard, and now at any speed over 20 mph the temperature comes down and stays down, around the mid-point of the gauge.

... from the practical perspective of someone who values street drivability and legal speed sport touring above all else. :)

Yuck! I must have a different set of nutsportour nuts. My ass above all else is spin aroundaslap!?!?!

Here, try this throttle cable. You gotta be nuts! Tour Nuts!

The old lady and I tour a museum, we are reading every sign post up ahead. We see mom and dad rush the kids and what kind of education is that? Rush past an artist's rendering and not take it in? Stand so close you can see the pain brush lines? Stand back you want to blow the candle out in that dark pub, the painting might catch fire. No shit!

Zip the shitour is fast so you can slow down at that destination you planned. Oh, you assume you'll get a ticket. Oh, you assume you go to fast you might hurt someone is too much assuming, not enough sigh seeing!

Hub, I'm not going back to the stock front fender, I like it the way it is. Heh.

Don't know if anyone's done any experimenting with gear selection/speed/rpms....but there are certain combos that will either drive the temp bar up,or down.Sitting in traffic is not conducive to a cool running engine.

Agree Blue, about sitting in traffic.

But again, since I put the second fan and Engine Ice in, its not quite as much a problem now. When both fans kick in, you can see it drop a bar pretty fast.

I know when I'm running the mountain roads, I run the temp up pretty good. When I cruise it drops to like 2 bars.

Hub im so going to do that dance next time someone invites me to a club!LOL

Cooter I'll so dance when you post a picture of you dressed like an adult on that bike. LOL.

Hub im so going to do that dance next time someone invites me to a club!LOL

prob get yourself A lawsuit these days dancing like that.lol but then again....

I've done everything short of putting some dinky fender on and a full exhaust and the cooling hasn't changed at all. I imagine I could remove every bit of bodywork from the bike and the cooling would not change at all. As a matter of fact that would be a great subject to cover if I had a POV camera at my disposal. And temperature while moving is rather moot point to argue unless you're remaining pegged at full hot while doing 70 down the freeway and there is boiling coolant burning your legs in which case I would have to wonder why I'm allowed to ride my bike after dieing and going to Hell!

When are you people gonna admit it? It's the combination of a mature motor and aftermarket exhaust that will ever make any difference in the 'perceived' and possibly actual temp of the bike. Not like it matters one bit except to make the rider more comfortable! Your bike is not gonna suffer any ill effects if you leave it bone stock and enjoy riding it and roasting your homeboys instead of staring at your temp gauges and dreaming up how you are damaging your bike the whole time. The fans cut in at four bars because that is where the engine was designed to run safely. If you're idling long enough that fan will come on eventually and if you disconnected it the engine would most likely continue to get hot. I used to be very concerned about the heat, mainly from my comfort perspective because I spend so much time commuting but I have come to the conclusion that to think a small four cylinder engine putting out 170+HP with a radiator the 1/2 to 1/4 the size of a four cylinder car's size is not supposed to get seriously hot is just silly and unnecessary. It's just too bad they couldn't route those Foreman's away from my crotch so I wouldn't have had to think about this in the first place or at least put some measurements on the temp gauge so I know where it's really at.

Edge....methinks the foremans(ahem....knee grips)are actually routing the heated air DOWN and out the bottom portion where yer shins are at.That was the big complaint...the shins gettin toasted.I don't get ANY heat up at my knees or thighs.None.I do feel it on my shins though at certain times....so few that I really don't notice it.The Connie was HORRIBLE they said.Kawasaki "redesigned" the body work for a better flow away from the rider.You can can see the change they made in the 2010's,11's(I think 2010)...maybe not...but the 11's,yes.

Any reason you would feel heat coming up at yer...ahem...you know.Maybe something else is going on....getting under the tank there somehow?You do have all your hot wind covers on there,right?I just never get any heat anywhere around my upper body or the tank area at all.I don't think engine heat would be a good combo for the fuel tank bein right there.Got yer frame on top,heat seal across the engine there.Shouldn't be too much heat hittin the bottom of the tank?

I'm totally with ya on the "overheating" deal.There's NOTHING WRONG.You hit the nail on the head IMO sayin the fan kicks on "at four bars"...or whatever.Reliably.Consistently.Kawasaki knows what their engine needs I think.I never worry about mine.I know what to expect.

* Last updated by: blue07 on 6/30/2011 @ 11:47 AM *

Yep. It runs a lil warm, IMO. I just put on the Yoshi dual slip ons w/o the insert and it growls now. But the temp is still there...but I only have 750 miles on her and I live in Louisiana..It's been 95-101 degrees here for the last 3 weeks. And I have the second fan I ordered sitting on the table in the den.. just don't wanna snatch all that plastic off...she's still so new!!

My little darling was 2-bar'ing in 92°F heat. Stopped at a long traffic light, she rose to 5-bar without the fan running. I'm looking down at 15:1 cruising speed, with 2-bars all the way home. Is that lean or what? How can it be if 2-bar be beeping your ass is past the gas pumps. Shewheat!

Boner my stocker oh, did I tell you how it barks a note?

I have a 2006 ZX1400. These bikes do appear to run on the hot side, but not to worry because Kawasaki are on top of their game. I have the one original stock fan that came with the bike, that's all you need. If there is ay issue with a heat problem this bike will let you know by flashing a warning code on the gauge cluster. So 4 bars = (4/6, or 66.7% reading on the gauge, this is 100% normal. The bars on the temperature gauge will usually settle to the 50% mark (3/6) when on open stretches. Remember to do bike maintenance regarding flushing the cooling system, it will save you money in the long run, if you follow your bike maintenance schedule. The rad replacement on these bikes is not cheap, and when they are neglected by not serving, they loose their cooling ability.

* Last updated by: razano on 9/6/2023 @ 8:45 PM *

I also have a 06 with completely stock cooling system. 5 bars and fan on when moving slow or sitting.
3 or 4 when moving on warm days. I've never had 6 bars on this bike. As long as the fan is working, I'm not
worried. My bike has 83,000 miles on it.

Mad