LC8 Adventure Second Fan Install

Nice thread. Just installed my aux fan too. Super easy. Onlything I wanna modify on it would be to add a piece of rubber weather stripping around the perimiter of the fan bracket and have a fan cap for the right side too. But im anal about that kinda stuff. The fan definitly stays on a lot less so it does work.

Whys your coolant green? I thought it was supposed to be purple.

"Just today..." How is BDCW the source when they don't even offer a 2nd fan kit? There are other entrepreneurs out there...

Ken at ADVMachines already sussed it out http://www.advmachines.com/category_s/93.htm been through all the beta tests and had feedback from the customers in installation & use, well covered in this thread . He'll also call you back and talk freely & answer any questions at length. Great guy (and his girlfriend rides ADV too!)

He's a one-man-business and a friend of ADVRider as well.

Buy the lower-temp fan switch while you're at it helps alot

Thanks again for my kit Ken

I'm with Britt. Ken was a great help when I purchased and installed his jet kit. I just ordered my fan kit a few minutes ago and I'm sure I'll be pleased when I receive it. If I have any questions on the install he'll be a phone call away, eager to help.

+1
Well said. Ken has some real good things going.

I am eager to see the BDCW design as there is always different ways to solve a similar problem. From what I have been told, they have been working on it for some time now, I am sure that it will be a quality part too.

I have over three thousand miles on my fan kit from Ken with ZERO problems or issues. I live in one of the hottest parts of the country and routinely run my machine in 100+ degrees. After the install of the fan and lower thermometer I noticed only one thing...It has yet to climb over four bars. Just returned from a warm trip to Moab and spent the majority of it in the Needles district with a lot of slow going. I am absolutely pleased with the fit finish and performance of this kit

I,m all so pleased with my kit from Ken and I live in the same neighborhood as scottyman. it gets hot here 4 bars is nice, looks like you guys had a good time on your ride, I just back from a 5 day ride in Death Valley.

see ya
Rick

apologies if I flamed anyone at BDCW- I was looking out for the little guy.

I'm prepping my bike for a solo run to the top of Alaska & have the bike down to bits.

I noticed the rubber flaps for the original heat deflecting shroud are attached with small rubber tits which are pulled through holes in the shroud "frame'. Mine were installed so the open ends of the flaps were directed towards the center of the bike. I decided I would rather the heat went towards the "duct" created by the fairing/fuel tank and as there were holes there already, I swapped them around.

There must be a reason KTM put the holes there so they can be installed the other way. Anyone want to weigh in?

I also took the radiator down and washed it out, and washed the last Alaska trips' crud out of the fins by directing water back to front. I am going to use the stock rubber front guard and put a piece of screen in between it & the radiator itself. Have always used nylon in the past, but might do aluminum this time. These are fine radiators & I'd hate to hole one with the small rocks that abound out there

I also have the fan kit from Ken. It works perfectly in the heavy traffic of Istanbul.. I can only recommend it.

The installation was easy. But in my case it was easier to install the fan cable from the left side.

Heh, 28 degrees celsius and my fan starts to run pretty much constantly in traffic. The aux fan setup must be good if you really don't get more than 4 bars. Too bad it's expensive and it pretty much doesn't matter if the OEM fan runs constantly, as long as it runs. Irritating sound, that's all.

The issue is that at slow speed above something like 35-40 deg some bikes overheat to the point of shutdown with the OEM fan running constantly. (Read the first post) Its possible some of those guys had other cooling system issues too...who knows, but Cyborg (the OP) at least has been around the block a time or two, and would know if this was a necessity under those conditions. I have the second fan ready to install when I do my next valve service but mine runs cooler since ditching the cats for a 2-1 setup. Yet to ride slow in very hot weather this year to really see how much has changed.

I dont think its that expensive a mod either - under $50 for the bracket and my fan was about $40 (60 from advmachines). Seems like pretty cheap insurance to me, especially when you effectively have a backup cooling system in the event of a fan failure in the middle of nowhere.

¿Did anyone try the 200F temp sensor without install the right fan?
¿This 200F water temp sensor is the same found in the auto-stores, I used to have a LS1 wit a 160F thermostat for better performance.

The 990 Open thermostat
The thermostat opens at 75° C. or 167°F
The fan switches on at 102° C. or 215.6°F
KTM source.

I will like to test a 160°F temp sensor but could make any harm and were to find this one maybe a auto-stores have a similar one.

As 167f is the lower temp most tuners aim for in oil/coolant systems it seems as though 160f would be counter-productive (too cool).

As for the 200f vs the 220f switch (w/2nd fan) the bike seems very stable now- before it would heat up until you could feel the heat coming up around you, now even in the slow stuff I hardly notice it.

I thought the 2nd fan would make a lot of noise, but I can't really tell it's there, and the bike QUICKLY returns to its lower temp, so I'd say it's a winner.

If I lived closer to the equator or somewhere with REALLY punishing heat I'd go for the 5.2" fan- but for now I'm happy and everything fits as though it came with the bike

Good Job Ken!

I believe that running lower engine temperatures than the OEM 75C may not have the intended effect, at least not the same that would result from 160F in a LS1 (Corvette engine, stock ECU and no chip?).... With the LS1, which probably came with a 180 or 195F thermostat, installing a 160F thermostat will effectively trick the ECU into thinking that its still in cold startup mode and therefore will deliver more fuel than it would if it was at "full temp 195".

The thermo switch, that turns on the fans, in the KTM's case, will allow the radiator to get to ~215F before turning on.... so... ~15 degrees sooner is good enough in my opinion. The cycle times get really quick with the Rally Fan kitted bikes and it will only get more rapid if running a lower temp thermo switch. I do not believe that increasing the cycle frequency by lowering the on/off temps below 200F will result in better cooling efficiency or effective heat transfer, nor do I believe that a lower engine temperature will result in much either. Again, this my opinion, not based in testing and fact finding.

A year later of use and I've been quite pleased with the second fan and the 200F sensor setup. I recently ran my 990 through the same conditions I did last year that overheated and shut the bike down with the OEM setup; long term idling and low speed crawling in heavy traffic at 100+F temps, dusty, no wind. This year, same scenario and temps, the bike never came close to overheating. The dual fans came on more frequently of course, but also shut down fairly quickly, which meant they were keeping up. Great job Ken!

As a side note.... running HIGHER internal engine temperatures CAN lead to HIGHER EFFICIENCY, the problem is managing the coolant because water (as I am sure we all know) boils at 212F @ sea level pressures..... We manage some of this problem by raising the system pressure to 10-14 PSI. We also add "anti-freeze" components too, which can also raise the boil point of the coolant mixture.....

The really big "However" is that not all the of the cooling system is nice about staying below this magical boil point, which leads to micro boil points usually in the head and/or near the exhaust port/valve...... soooooo.... drop the overall temperature holds this problem at bay, HOWEVER () it then also drops the overall efficiency of the engine because we are now pulling more heat (the result of combustion and friction) from the engine rather than converting it into linear/rotational motion we dump it into the air through the cooling system.

Ultimately its a balancing act of compromises based upon the limits of the components and systems deployed as a whole.

In the case of the LC8-990/950 engine, it is easier to maintain the regulated engine temperatures (controlled by a thermo-valve commonly referred to as a thermostat) and then increase the heat transfer rate of the exchanger (radiator) by moving more heat transfer medium (air) though the exchanger. Since the exchanger (radiator) is slightly on the small side, in some cases it does not have enough head room/reserve transfer rate or thermo mass to manage the potential heat generated by the engine when the transfer medium (air) is beyond 80F with the OEM fan configuration.....

The solution that I have come upon is to increase the forced air flow, and if necessary, do so sooner to get ahead of any running away....

The 160F Stat in the ls1 is for use wit the mod ecu ls1edit to say one of then and the intent is for advance the timing more and avoid pre-detonations then the ecu is mod to start the fan at 160F too and avoid high temp at idle or traffic.the need to the engine to run at 200F is by much for the environmental purpose, cat MPG etc.

Since the 990 come wit the 160F stat and wit the 220F sensor if the 990 is cruising at 60 MPH maybe the fan never start but the Stat will open at 160F and the engine is supposed to run like this from factory and dont make any harm to the engine then when the 990 stop or in traffic the temp in the radiator will go to 220F to make the sensor start the fan at this temp, if we low the sensor to 160F to start the fan sooner this will be like the 990 is still cruising and maybe this will help the jerkiness preset when the engine is hot, this will be nice to run the 990 without get the legs burned or our lady ass melted
BTW I dont pretend to hick-jack your product I think is the best solution for our 990 Thanks.
PD your setup works wit the 5.2" fan too?

No, the 5.2" fan will not fit the bracket... and for that matter the 5.2" is a VERY TIGHT FIT if at all on the right side, especially the 990 because of the EFI plug on the frame rail.


I'm not sure that running the fans almost 100% of the time is really necessary, which is most likely going to be the result of having a 160F thermo switch. Keep in mind that typically thermo switches have a ON temp (200) and a OFF temp that is ~20 degrees below the ON latch temp. So, if installing a "160F" switch, that means the radiator coolant temps would need to be at or below ~140F before it would unlatch and turn OFF the fans.... IMO, not optimal.