Motorcycle Safety & Driveability: Engine Overheating, cylinder bikes, riding bikes

Question
hi ,
     im from india, i have two bikes both from the same company, bajaj pulsar, however one is  a 150cc air cooled bike,the other is a 200cc oil cooled bike.both the bikes i have noticed while riding the engine gets heated a lot...to a degree where i can feel the heat through my jeans!!....could u shed some light on this....could it be coz the way i ride the bike....these are single head cylinder bikes....i have been riding bikes for the past 5years....dont consider myself as a very good rider but would like to learn more,any suggestions would be appreciated, thank you.
                                         Kris.

Answer
Hi Kris

This is not a make of motorcycle I am familiar with, but I've just been looking at their website:

http://www.bajajauto.com/pulsar/

The bikes are air-cooled, with the larger one having an additional oil cooler. Both these means of cooling require that a reasonable amount of air is passing over the fins of the engine and/or the oil cooler to keep the engine temperature down.

Unlike larger water-cooled engines, there is no fan to draw air through a radiator and cool water in a jacket around the cylinder head.

This means that in a hot country like India, you will get limited cooling if the bike is moving slowly in traffic or confined in an underpass, tunnel or between buildings etc. The more still and more hot the ambient air, the less cooling going on for the engine.

Good news is that manufacturers are aware of the conditions in which the bikes will be operating and thousands of small motorcycles operate daily in hot countries without any major problems at all. Even though the engine temperature will rise in the conditions I've described and you will feel the heat on your legs, don't worry about it unless there is an obvious engine problem. Is there any difference in the exhaust colour? Is the engine sound any different from usual?

You can help your bike stay cooler by not using excessive revs in traffic; maintaining your bike according to the manufacturer's recommendations and using good quality oil in the engine. Check the bike daily for signs of oil leakage and make sure the engine oil level is correct - not too little or too much.

On improving your riding, there is a lot of useful information available in my website at:

www.alecgore.com

including free PowerPoint presentations to download.

Regards

Alec