Motorcycle Repair: 1995 Honda 1100 ACE, electric cooling fan, coolant level

Question

1995 1100 ACE Mike,
I just purchased a 1995 Honda 1100 ACE from an individual who lives about 180 miles from me.The bike only had 10,000 miles on it and it looked and ran like it just came off of the show room floor however after riding it the 180 miles home I noticed that the black plastic cover for the radiator and the reflector that is on it melted down on my ride home.The exhaust side is the side that melted so I am sure it is related to the exhaust temp (this is a liquid cooled bike and the coolant level is good and the electric cooling fan is cycling off and on with temp) Just thought you might have an idea of what could cause the exhaust to heat up enough to allow this to happen. The bike is 100% stock mechanically however it does have floor boards instead of factory foot pegs and I am wondering if that could be a contributing factor by not allowing the exhaust to receive air from below to assist with cooling
Do you feel that if I replaced the Plastic cover with a aftermarket chrome steel one that I would be doing a good thing or would I just be covering up a problem that needs to be addressed?
Thanks,
David

Answer
It's very unlikely the floorboards are affecting the airflow over the exhaust headers, especially since they sit lower than the damaged area of the rad cover. If the pipes got hot enough to melt the rad, I suspect something is not right in the cooling system.

If the bike is stock as you say (no exhaust modifications in particular), the headers should not get hot enough to melt the rad cover. Unless your 180 mile trek home was done at low speed in heavy stop and go traffic, the cooling system should prevent this from happening. Check for obstructions between the radiator fins and anything that would prevent proper airflow through the radiator.

If a steel replacement aftermarket cover exists for this bike, though, perhaps this is a known issue that was dealt with in later model years. Check with the Honda Shadow Owners Group in the tech section of their forum to see if anyone else has experienced this problem: http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/index.php