At the second push of the starter button she came alive, a little hesitant, but alive. There was, however, an awkward sound coming from behind the radiator. Mind you, I had everything apart previously and looked over the mechanical fan many, many times to make sure there were no cracks. Well, it took the few minutes of running time for the fan to start causing trouble. I guess a thirty year old plastic is not up to the job anymore.
So, after taking the radiator off again, I discovered some play in the fan. Using the front axle (spindle) as a pulley, the fan came off. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a series of small cracks in the plastic, right around the aluminum collar. This called for a modification.
Searching the net, I found that many owners replaced their mechanical fans with electric fans, mostly off a Ducati. Having no Ducati fan around, I searched through my parts bins for whatever I might have that would work, and I came up with a good use fan off my spare KLR250 (one of the few parts I had left). Some quick checking, and I came up with a suitable location to mount the fan so it would allow for radiator reinstallation, and not interfere with anything in the way. There is not a whole lot of open space between the radiator and the engine.
I started drilling in the radiator mounts to attach some brackets that would hold the fan. As i was doing that, I thought it would be a good idea to use an aluminum plate behind the area to prevent damage to the core. Thought, however, travel faster than my hands, so by the time I finish the thought, the drill bit grabbed the bracket and pulled it out of my hand, landing a nice, 6mm hole in my core.
To repair or not to repair: Unfortunately, in my area, there are no radiator shops left, so i tried soldering it myself. Armed with a handheld torch, flux, and silver solder (actually, a plumbing solder, but they call it silver for some reason), I set to work. Everything went well, until I pressure tested the core, only to find a leak in the repaired area. I needed more heat, but I was hesitant so I would not sweat (and loosened) the surrounding joints.
As I mulled the next step over, I happened to talk to a guy who not only had a spare radiator, but was willing to sell it to me. He is becoming my savior with this project, as he sold me a pair of ignition coils previously. (mine had a ripped wire)
With the new-to-me radiator in hand, I decided not to repeat my past mistake, and I brought the radiator and the brackets to a welder who lives just down the road from me. Five minutes later the brackets were on and I could proceed with the electric fan installation.
Here is the fan attached to the radiator. This is the only suitable location due to the fan's depth, especially the electric motor part. When mounted here, the motor fits next to the shaft into the cavity on right (facing forward) since the right cylinder is farther back, whereas the left cylinder is more forward.
Wiring was straight forward at this point; since the fan on the KLR also pulls air, there was no need to change polarity. I used a couple of water resistant connectors, with the ground attached to one of the mounting bolts. The hot wire, for now, remains unconnected, as I have yet to decide whether to bother with a thermo switch, or just use a toggle switch mounted on the radiator cover.
And, in this crappy pic, I attempted to show how the fan sits next to the shaft which powered the mechanical fan. There is plenty of clearance.
After all this, I filled the radiator with some distilled water with a little bit of vinegar, and started the bike again. Oh my, so this is what this engine sounds like. No more nasty sounds coming from behind the radiator. Now the bike makes all the right noises.
I also checked my charging system and it holds nice and steady at 14.3 V. Things are looking good.
1 comment:
That's a slick fix Henry. You need a video of it running!
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