i hope i haven't overlooked this already being ask prior to this time but, has anyone here removed the thermostat or substituted another one of lower opening temp to see what affect it has on the high temp issue with the 14? it seems to me that if the radiator is of sufficient size to cool the engine, and the waterpump flows the correct volume of coolant, then the thermostat would be the next thing to look at. ?????????????????????? i know that on my 14 the temp guage goes up to 4 bars going down the road at 50mph in hot weather. so the fan wouldn't be running anyway. (i hope).

* Last updated by: smokemifugotem on 10/17/2009 @ 5:12 PM *

living in Arizona I wasn't too worried about cold weather running. Took out the t-stat and removed the center part of it. Not really a whole lot of difference except it takes about 1 second more to warm up. Installed a second fan and a fan on/off switch. that worked for me when going from light to light or just cruising around town.

Dunno if removing the thermostat is such a great idea. I think the dual fan setup is better for the life of the motor. Someone mentioned a kit you can buy. Does this fit good? Does it work? Who makes it?

https://www.zx14.net/shop/product_info.php?cPath=178_185&products_id=480&osCsid=00ekvtlppn8jbm3o888kemfkq2

i don't know if a dual fan setup is the answer. my 14 runs very warm in hot weather even at speeds that would at least in theory, move more air through the radiator than 2 fans would. and the fans are only effective at very low speeds. seems like the front fender is designed to block as much wind from the radiator as possible. and i have to wonder if kawasaki's engineers were so involved in making the bike aerodinamically invisible that they forgot the radiator needs to catch some air to cool the engine. on some bikes like the honda superhawk, the side fairing is designed to create a low pressure area where the side openings are so when the bike is at speed it will suck air out of the engine compartment and pull air through the radiator and not have to rely totally on frontal wind force.

* Last updated by: smokemifugotem on 10/22/2009 @ 5:47 AM *

+Just what I was thinking.It's gotta move at the right speed to dissipate the heat correctly.IMO-I don't think the 14 HAS an overheating problem.Almost everyone "assumes" it's running too hot.But is it?Haven't heard yet of one time one boiled over or vaporlocked.ALL of them that I've heard of get to upwards of 4,5 bars stopped in traffic-even mine goes to at least 4 bars.But it stops always short of going to the top(after the fan kicks in).Little forward movement,and she's back down to about even.I don't blip the throttle while I'm idling either.Maybe some guys do-perhaps that could cause an overheat problem?

* Last updated by: blue07 on 11/1/2009 @ 12:05 AM *

Removing the thermostat on some cars can cause cavitation in the waterpump; some setups require a little bit of back pressure that the thermostat provides. I don't know if that applies to the 14 or not. I tried taking out the thermostat on my old Suzuki Water Buffalo and it ran hotter, believe it or not. And that thing was always waiting for a chance to scald you.

And +1 on not thinking that the 14 runs too hot other than being a big, high performance motor. I feel like KHI could put a lot of minds to rest by having the indicator show a broader range. People see it run all the way up and get nervous. Even in bad traffic on the hottest days I've never felt like it was about to blow and after break in it ran cooler all of the time.

Just add the second fan and ceramic coat the header. Makes a world of difference. We have a few weeks of 90+ temps with high humidity during the summer in NY. Mine never goes above 3 bars, which is when the fans come on.

I just turned 30k on my 08 ZX-14. I have found that I need to clean my radiator of dirt and other crap often. While the bike is still warm, I spray a strong de-greaser on the core and rinse with a warm water garden hose. We must make sure that the cooling process is not hampered by plugged cooling finns. If your fan is running just before you shut down, just hit the kill switch and the fan will continue to run until shut down of the t-stat.

Now THAT's a new one here.Never heard of doing that! And Welcome!

* Last updated by: blue07 on 11/11/2009 @ 1:59 AM *

Years ago, I was stationed in Cali. and drove down to Palm Springs. We no sooner got into town and my 1991 CBR1000 started pouring out coolant due to overheating. To resolve this issue, I wired the fan thermostate parallel with the on/off switch on the right handlebar. This allowed me to turn the fan on early while in stop and go traffic.