12 miles. 3 times overheated

[Starxz]

So just got my RC390 this morning. I'm a new rider and have only putzed around with a buddies R6 for a few minutes. So when I say I was jacked to get this, I mean I could have wet myself with excitement.

Onto to my problem. I drove it around the neighborhood after trailering in it home (100 mile journey to the nearest street KTM dealer here in MI) and everything seemed fine. At 6 miles rode my over temp warning showed up and when I stopped at the corner it shut down. Pushed over and sat to let it cool. (No fan....) thought it was odd and tried to make it home after it cooled (4 bars under the "hot line", about 20 minutes) again at 10 miles (no fan this whole time) it over heated and I had to let it cool again. Checked the fuses when I finally made it back home and everything was good on those.

I'm to the conclusion that I got a lemon and the fan doesn't work at all. I've seen a few posts about fans going bad, but I literally picked it up today! Has anyone else had fan problems on here? Saw one post where it seized up, but I know little to nothing about bikes and can't get anyone to service it till Monday. Killed my whole weekend of riding (or so I thought it was going to be a weekend of riding)

Anything else I can check to see what may be wrong?

 

[yo69xl]

Sorry to hear that dude, this seems obvious but double check that the fan harness is connected properly ( things happen ) ... if your fan still doesnt come up at all it must be definitely dead , dont run your bike , take it to the dealer and the fan will be replaced under warranty ... sadly they will probably replace it with a similar fan that may or may not fail in the future , if you wanna be proactive and make sure this wont happen again get yourself a Spal fan which most people in your case are doing . I'll probably do this myself if my fan ever fails but so far so good with mine .

 

[Muckabucka]

I would check your coolant level too....

 

[Starxz]

@yo69: what is a Spal fan? (Totally new at this)

@muck: coolant was just under max when I started. I was definitely boiling it when I stopped the first time. I wasn't expecting it to overheat so I really wasn't paying too close of attention. It is definitely just above the Min now (about 4 hours of no riding sitting in a garage of about 85-90 F)

 

[ArkansasDave]

I would check your coolant level too....

This

Before doing too much I would just take it right back to the dealer and demand that they cover travel fees since they sold you a non functioning bike.

 

[yo69xl]

I would check your coolant level too....

Regardless of coolant level low or not the fan should kick in and out . and he said he never heard the fan working.

 

[OldVet]

You might try replaceing the fuse that controls the fan I've see fuses that look ok but aren't...

 

[Willasan]

Check your radiator cap also.

 

[Starxz]

The radiator cap? I'll go check it but I have to assume it was put on right.

And thats correct yo69. No fan at all during the ride/stopped/parked whatever.

coolant was almost max when I started. When I first stopped it was definitely boiling in the reservoir. Wasn't really paying attention to the temp as it was a new bike...

when in I parked it and about 4 hours of sitting the coolant is fairly low. Still above min. But definitely lower than before.

pulled every fuse. All look good.

 

[yo69xl]

You probably lost some coolant when the bike overheated , the coolant boils up and finds its way out this is normal , it happens because there is no fan to pull the heat outta the radiator and the air coming from the road is not enough to cool down these engines .

I would say that this is another case of fan failure ( which happens a lot with this 2015 bikes ) ...... or ........ a faulty Temperature Sensor not telling the fan when to work .

In any case you should give your dealer a call and work it out, replacing the fan is fairly easy and quick to do.

I know how you feel right now , bad weather has ruined my weekend of riding too Good luck and keep us posted on the issue .

 

[Diploman]

Hi Starx, This is Diploman, from the Duke forum. Your scenario is unfortunately too familiar - there have been numerous instances of fan failure on new Dukes - and RC's - in the North American market. In several cases the fans have failed even before the owner could get the new bike home from the showroom: you are not alone. For 2015, Bajaj commissioned a "Redesigned" fan assembly which includes a bizarre "heat deflector" fan shroud, the purpose of which is to redirect hot radiator exhaust away from the bare or lightly clothed legs and feet of riders in India and other hot-weather markets. This shroud presents a significant impediment to airflow through the radiator, and causes the fan to work overtime. Worse yet, a worrisome percentage of the new fans have a "self-disassembling" feature, in which the fan disc disconnects from the motor shaft and then moves forward until it is blocked by the radiator fins. At this point the motor shaft turns against the blocked fan disc and emits a loud screeching noise. This scenario has repeatedly occurred in new Dukes and RC's in the NA market. Fortunately, an easy fix is available. Rather than wait for the dealer to obtain a replacement OE fan - which is equally likely to fail and is festooned with the problematic heat deflector shroud - many Duke and RC owners are now installing a SPAL fan which has the advantage of being far more reliable, moves more air, allows for much better airflow and is vastly quieter than the OE fan. Relatively inexpensive, easy to install. Keep your dealer's replacement fan as a spare. In addition, we have found that replacing the OE coolant with Engine Ice is a worthwhile upgrade that transfers heat more readily. Highly recommended upgrade package.

 

[Starxz]

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm definitely going to be calling my dealer first thing Monday morning. Seemed like a great little bike when I was able to ride it. Disappointed it's got this problem already...

Any other things I should know about that are standard fare problems that people run into?

 

[JKBC]

Hi Starx, This is Diploman, from the Duke forum. Your scenario is unfortunately too familiar - there have been numerous instances of fan failure on new Dukes - and RC's - in the North American market. In several cases the fans have failed even before the owner could get the new bike home from the showroom: you are not alone. For 2015, Bajaj commissioned a "Redesigned" fan assembly which includes a bizarre "heat deflector" fan shroud, the purpose of which is to redirect hot radiator exhaust away from the bare or lightly clothed legs and feet of riders in India and other hot-weather markets. This shroud presents a significant impediment to airflow through the radiator, and causes the fan to work overtime. Worse yet, a worrisome percentage of the new fans have a "self-disassembling" feature, in which the fan disc disconnects from the motor shaft and then moves forward until it is blocked by the radiator fins. At this point the motor shaft turns against the blocked fan disc and emits a loud screeching noise. This scenario has repeatedly occurred in new Dukes and RC's in the NA market. Fortunately, an easy fix is available. Rather than wait for the dealer to obtain a replacement OE fan - which is equally likely to fail and is festooned with the problematic heat deflector shroud - many Duke and RC owners are now installing a SPAL fan which has the advantage of being far more reliable, moves more air, allows for much better airflow and is vastly quieter than the OE fan. Relatively inexpensive, easy to install. Keep your dealer's replacement fan as a spare. In addition, we have found that replacing the OE coolant with Engine Ice is a worthwhile upgrade that transfers heat more readily. Highly recommended upgrade package.

I can see the heat deflector fan shroud addition on the naked Duke's for the hot weather Asian markets these bikes were largely aimed at but with the full fairing-like additional bodywork of the RC's you'd think they wouldn't have included it on them...but did?
So what model of SPAL fan is the easy replacement? > https://webstore.spalusa.com/en-us/...high-performance/fans+-+high+performance.aspx
Anybody have a picture of the offending fan shroud?
BTW I've not had this problem and the fan switches on and off by itself when-ever the way it should.

 

[yo69xl]

I can see the heat deflector fan shroud addition on the naked Duke's for the hot weather Asian markets these bikes were largely aimed at but with the full fairing-like additional bodywork of the RC's you'd think they wouldn't have included it on them...but did?
So what model of SPAL fan is the easy replacement? > https://webstore.spalusa.com/en-us/...high-performance/fans+-+high+performance.aspx
Anybody have a picture of the offending fan shroud?
BTW I've not had this problem and the fan switches on and off by itself when-ever the way it should.

This is the one Spal 30103011 5.2" puller fan

Here you will find everything you need to know about the SPAL Fan , including a step by step replacement tutorial .Spal Fan Instal How To - KTM Duke 390 Forum

 

[JKBC]

This is the one Spal 30103011 5.2" puller fan

Here you will find everything you need to know about the SPAL Fan , including a step by step replacement tutorial .Spal Fan Instal How To - KTM Duke 390 Forum

Hey thanks. That's a really well done tutorial with excellent pictures.
Since it requires removing the radiator and mine is working fine (so far) I don't think I'll be doing it anytime soon. Would be a good time to switch to custom orange rad hoses.
Check out the claims of this KTM RC 390 2013 > 2015 6 Piece Thermostatic Bypass / Race Samco Silicone Radiator Hose Kit

 

[yo69xl]

Check out the claims of this KTM RC 390 2013 > 2015 6 Piece Thermostatic Bypass / Race Samco Silicone Radiator Hose Kit

I've been looking at these hoses for a while now, but I'd like to get feedback from someone that actually has used them before I pull the trigger on them .
I think that the Spal fan, engine ice, and samco hoses is the perfect combo to prevent overheating issues .

Oh and there was a guy on the Duke's forum that replaced the fan without removing the radiator .

 

[Muckabucka]

Removing the thermostat will be fine if you're in warmer climates. If you're in an area that gets cooler, you'll need the thermostat in place to regulate the engine temp until it gets to operational temp.
For my race bike, I've removed fan, shrouds, and will be removing thermostat as soon as my hoses come in. If it won't come up to temp in cooler weather at the track, you just block a portion of the radiator with duct tape until it does.

I've been looking at these hoses for a while now, but I'd like to get feedback from someone that actually has used them before I pull the trigger on them .
I think that the Spal fan, engine ice, and samco hoses is the perfect combo to prevent overheating issues .

Oh and there was a guy on the Duke's forum that replaced the fan without removing the radiator .

 

[psych0hans]

Report it to the dealership immediately... Make any changes to the bike's electricals and it's goodbye warranty... Good luck!

 

[JKBC]

. Oh and there was a guy on the Duke's forum that replaced the fan without removing the radiator .

That's better. Thanks for the info and the links. I suppose the 'heat deflector fan shroud' mentioned earlier is the black plastic thing you see on top of the fan when the radiator is removed and with the fan still on picture in the tutorial?

 

[JKBC]

Removing the thermostat will be fine if you're in warmer climates. If you're in an area that gets cooler, you'll need the thermostat in place to regulate the engine temp until it gets to operational temp.
For my race bike, I've removed fan, shrouds, and will be removing thermostat as soon as my hoses come in. If it won't come up to temp in cooler weather at the track, you just block a portion of the radiator with duct tape until it does.

Hey thanks I wondered about that. I can see riding it here on Vancouver Island in December-February since I'm used to Southern Ontario winters where it's like Siberia in those months.