Overheating Kawasaki VN700 Trike - Thanks all

[Herby01]

Are you loosing any water? Another sign of a Duff gasket is excessive water vapour from your exhaust

[hightower]

Fan switches are usually bulletproof! How is it wired - switching 12v or switching earth?

I'm not sure how its was wired cuz a mate did it. It is now - from fuse box to toggle switch to rad fan. the rad switch is now an earth. I'm going to fit a relay between the fuse box and toggle switch

[hightower]

If you are over heating @70 mph its more than a fan switch your fan shouldn't come on doing 70 or over heat i would say it your rad is knackered or head gasket . have you any oil in your water or other way around although that's not always the case if it was a collapsed hose your hose would feel soft also check your rad for bubbles when it's running

I suspected the head gasket so I put gasket seal in the rad but no different. Theres no water in oil or other way round or blue smoke out of exhaust. There is a bottom rad hose that feels a bit soft tho. Theres no bubble is the water when its running

[hightower]

Have you done a cylinder compression test, engine cold then warm. also if you have access to one do a rad pressure test again cold then warm

Thanks again
I'll ask around and if anyone has any testers

[terryt]

Have you done a cylinder compression test, engine cold then warm. also if you have access to one do a rad pressure test again cold then warm

Thanks again
I'll ask around and if anyone has any testers

What area are you from?

[1130cc]

Oh and the over flow bottle is next to the right hand side panel but a bit lower

This rings alarm bells, to me, given your answer to all the other questions.

Are you sure that you do not have an airlock?
I would defo try and get this higher than any water channel, at least temporarily.

[Kawazuki]

Oh and the over flow bottle is next to the right hand side panel but a bit lower

This rings alarm bells, to me, given your answer to all the other questions.

Are you sure that you do not have an airlock?
I would defo try and get this higher than any water channel, at least temporarily.

If the rad / thermostat housing has a spring cap then the expansion bottle can be anywhere - its not critical. As water expands out of the rad it flows to the bottle under the level in the bottle - any trapped air bubbles off & bottle level rises. As water cools with engine off it contracts and 'sucks' water back from bottle to engine. Its not a sealed system but is fairly well self regulating.

[hightower]

Hi
Thanks for that. According to the manual its where its supposed to be. Also I'm not sure where else I can put it. I've managed to get some great advise from you guys. Many thanks

[hightower]

Have you done a cylinder compression test, engine cold then warm. also if you have access to one do a rad pressure test again cold then warm

Thanks again
I'll ask around and if anyone has any testers

What area are you from?

I'm from Redditch (near Brum)

[hightower]

Are you loosing any water? Another sign of a Duff gasket is excessive water vapour from your exhaust

I'm losing some but not loads. I put it down to water getting very hot