I have posted here before about my 'R3 2007 Classic' getting a little hot of late and my right leg therefore being toasted, especially on hot days. The question is what can be done about it? Is it just me or does anyone else out there suffer from this problem with this mighty engine that is 2.3? I have asked around and been told that Rocket 3s run hot anyway, especially as they get older. That it's just me expecting perfection from a bike that is near on 16 years old, this may be true, or is it? My R3 starts up every-time without fail, she never blinks a warning light at me, and I assure you they are all operative and work fine. So, she is not telling me that she is over heating, the Radiator kicks in as it should and stops as it should when cooler, and the cycle continues mile after mile. So, what's my problem then, she runs just fine eh? ITS JUST HARD ON THE LEG that's my problem!
So, recently I changed the coolant and bought a very expensive one that was an alternative to that suggested by Triumph, don't worry it's fine I rang the makers to check, they assured me it would work and do the job. I Used distilled water after washing out the cooling system, I filled her up and wobbled her about a bit to get rid of the air. On a road test she ran a degree or so cooler, but NOT cool enough.. what next then? The thermostat perhaps? Hmmm? Is the thermostat sticking? Does it even open as it should? How can I know? "Let's take a look" I said to myself. So, after manufacturing a special tool to get at that awkwardly placed 2nd nut on the thermo housing, I was able to remove the thermostat. (its a bit of a fiddle but eventually easily done with the right know how) So Okay, we have the Thermostat out, and just then with it in my hands I thought... what is the point of a thermostat anyways? Supposedly its to shut off the cold coolant to the engine until the temperature is raised sufficiently to allow the thermostat to kick in at its prefigured ordained set temperature, in this case allegedly 88c. Don't argue with me, it says so on the thermo itself in stamped print! Off to the kettle to boil some water to test the thermo in, to see if it opens at the set temperature. I put the water in a pan along with the thermo and a thermometer, blow me down the thermo didn't open until the water reached 105c! I retested it with the same procedure a few times, getting the same result. Hurrah its the thermostat! Or is it?
You may agree or disagree with the following, whatever, I'd appreciate your input... The Rocket 3 engine is massive therefore its not slow getting up to temperature, mine gets there within 3 minutes from start... and so does yours, you know it too. Given this fact why would we want to restrict coolant flow to the engine for just a matter of 2 or 3 minutes? Why not let the coolant flow freely with no restrictions whatsoever? OK we are running cold for a matter of minutes and then the thermo opens and probably stays open since we aren't going below the thermo's set temperature of 88C? You may consider a small increase in fuel consumption to be a factor while the bike is running, lets say from cold, without the use of a thermostat, there is that, but not much of a point to make is it? So why not run the bike without a thermostat completely? I am not the brightest when it comes to R3 mechanics, but help me out am I missing something here? I live in Scotland it gets cold here in the winter, but even in winter my bike still reaches temperature within 2 or 3 minutes. If you live in North Canada or Greenland, or Iceland I bet your R3 would still quickly reach its operational temperature within the same time AS MINE! Am I wrong? Let me know?
Of late then I am running the bike without the thermostat in it, am I doing damage? I have put in new spark plugs just to be sure, a hell of a job too! All those cables and wiring harness's to get through to the spark plug apertures, but it had to be done. I enjoyed it though. So, I have just about considered every factor as to why my R3 is running hot, new coolant, new spark plugs (of the right type too) new oil change, new air filter. She now runs a little cooler, but NOT cool enough. Not as cool as when I first bought her some 14 years ago. WHY? You ask me am I going to replace the thermostat? Or continue to run without it? Well probably yes Ill replace it, but not with the exact same one. I have already bought one that opens at 82C, how? You ask. Well Triumph of course would advise you to replace the thermostat with theirs, YES theirs, the rightful one, but why? Coming to the point of all this, Triumph parts are a rip off, you know it, I know it, we all know it! The Triumph Motor Cycle Company, although they make wonderful bikes, do NOT always offer us the best deals for parts. They don't even manufacture their own parts, they get others to do that for them, including Thermostats. The Thermostat that is in the R3 is manufactured by a French company called "CalorStat" which makes thermo's for hundreds of cars, trucks, motorbikes etc etc.. the list goes on and on. Many of these thermostats are used in multiple vehicles and are exactly the same in many cases. The Thermostat used in the Rocket 3 is also used in many Japanese cars and many other applications. Now coming to the point... if you want to buy a replacement thermostat for your R3 you'll probably think "I'd better get the original part, (IF THERE IS SUCH A THING). Okay then, you'll be paying 4 times the price if you do that! As an example... if you put in a bit of research and a bit of home work you'll find exactly the same part under another differing vehicle, yes the same part you want for your Rocket 3 and it will have the same part number too! Check this out.... The photograph below shows 2 thermostats, both manufactured by the same company, in this case "CalorStat" the french company. The one on the left is out of my Rocket 3.. Part number V-1028/1. The physically exact same one on the right, (except its a 82c thermo, the one I now want) by the same company is not the same part number, but basically the same thermostat, which is V 2306. Here is where the research comes in... Differing part numbers do NOT necessarily mean a different part, they are different because the part numbers are allocated according a particular vehicle that may apply to it, and for search purposes for that particular car or truck. All you have to do is look to see if there is YOUR R3 part number listed as an 'alternative equivalent' to the part you may be looking at, on some site or other Ebay for example.
Now the Thermostat on the Left is from my Rocket 3 and from Triumph you will pay £45.00 not including £9.00 shipping. Total £54.00. Do you really want to pay that? The thermostat on the right is made by the exact same company and as you can see from the box the supplier is QH a very well known supplier. The cost for this was £8.50 including shipping! The Point is stop paying exorbitant Triumph prices for parts that they don't even manufacture anyway! In many ways there is NO... Original Manufactured Part, when it comes to Triumph parts, they just say they manufacture them, THEY DON'T! When I put in the new thermostat (which I payed only £8.50 for) I am not expecting my R3 to run much cooler, but since its gonna kick in and open at 82c, instead of the 88c which Triumph suggests, well the new one will probably help a little. But somehow I don't have my hopes up. Next on the list is the radiator... how do I get it to turn on at a lower temperature? Or do I wire in a switch to manually turn it on when I need to? Any advice on that and how to do it I would be grateful indeed. Until then My Rocket 111 Classic is still running and she is not giving me trouble at all except for the heat and toasting my right leg! HELP!