| Author | Message | ||
     Buellerxt |
is the right side hot even with the kit installed correctly? I bought my 2008XT in late Oct. and the Comfort Kit was installed by the dealer at delivery. With the cold weather I hadn't noticed any heat on the right side and assumed that with the Comfort Kit I wouldn't notice heat, even in the summer. However, I've ridden three times this week with an ambient temperature of about 72 degrees, not hot at all, and I definitely feel heat on my right thigh and knee. My frame of reference is my Sportster and 2000 Electra Glide and I have never felt heat on them, in the middle of the summer, like I have felt this week. Granted, I'm riding with my legs against the frame while on the other two bikes my legs are further out. The heat in the knee area gets intense. When I remove the seat and look at the installation, without knowing details, it looks like pictures of the installation that I believe Court and others have shown. Could the dealer have messed something up or do I need to just adapt? The right side of the frame does NOT seem hotter than the left side when I stop and my seat doesn't seem hot. However I notice that the even with the short pipe cover from the Comfort Kit, some of the pipe is exposed right in the knee area. Any thoughts? Thanks. | ||
| Froggy |
My thoughts? Take that kit off and learn to suffer, you spoiled post-comfortkit-release-bueller.  | ||
| Squidbuzz |
Bare leg, pants, riding gear? | ||
| Ratbuell |
It's an internal combustion engine between your legs, and the exhaust pipes are on the right hand side. Yes, it makes heat. It's also a LOT different than your XL or FL. The XB frame surrounds the top section of the engine; the HDs have wide open spaces and plenty of airflow. Ever see the rear rockerbox on your Uly? How about on the XL or FL? See the difference?  Does the comfort kit help? Absolutely. It made a huge difference on my '06. I never had a problem riding it before the kit, but since I put the kit on it is much more COMFORTable. But, still that pesky internal combustion engine in there. Want an experiment? Pull the outer RSS off, and the heat shield. Then go for a ride. Compare. You'll see the difference. Keep your knee off the frame. I wear armor so I don't notice one way or another, but if I get stuck in traffic I rotate my foot on the peg so my toes are out. That pulls my knee away from the frame. Also - and this goes without saying on a Buell - don't get stuck in traffic in the first place. Go play on back roads | ||
| Buellerxt |
I hear you, Froggy! lol I know, I know, I didn't have to suffer through riding a 'furnace' but help me out here, Man. Does it sound like a poor 'kit' installation or just a post kit whiney Bueller who needs to adjust because some heat will always be there on that right side, especially with legs against the frame? Squidbuzz, I always wear a Kevlar riding suit by CyclePort. It is great gear. It is a Kevlar mesh. Yesterday I wore the liner under it and felt the heat and today, without the liner, it was a bit stronger. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Thanks Ratbuell. I agree on the differences in the bikes and I appreciate your taking the time to post your thoughts. Since I don't have 'pre-kit' experience I can't compare the before and after. I thought that the heat I feel might be normal even with the kit but because it is fairly intense at only 72 degrees I thought I'd ask. I kind of like riding on the front of the seat with my legs against the frame. Maybe I need to move back a bit and get my legs out a bit. This summer I will probably be forced to! lol Do most Uly riders NOT keep legs against the frame? Thanks. ps: with both sides of the frame feeling the same when I stop, and the seat not being hot, does that sound like the kit was installed properly? Anything I can check to be sure? Thanks. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Sounds right. There's not a lot to do "wrong" when installing it. Do you have a right side scoop? Do you have a heat shield? Can you see the rear shock and fan when you take the seat off? If your answers are yes, yes, no...it's on right. There's no middle ground, it's pretty straightforward stuff. If your R and L frame sides are similar temps...it's right. Pre-kit, my L frame stayed MUCH cooler than R. Now, my R is down with the L. Sit back on the seat and hold on with your hands, not your knees. If you're hanging off in turns that's one thing, but around town...sit on it, don't clench it. | ||
| Ratbuell |
....and if you REALLY want heat, sit on an S1W in traffic. Protection from the rear header? BAH! | ||
| Etennuly |
I can affirm.....legs out for air flow between legs and tank/frame, unless the temperatures are below 50F. The right side of the tank on a ninety + degree day, stuck in traffic with no air movement, can have you thinking about getting off the bike, no matter what gear you have on. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Much appreciated, Ratbuell. MUCH appreciated! Yes, I have the right side scoop. I have the heat shield and no I can't see the rear shock or fan under the seat. I guess it's installed correctly and that's cool. I'll adjust! lol I recently installed Memphis lowers that come down 'almost', but not quite to the top of the two scoops. I've wondered if they are having an effect on air flow into the scoops and I'll eventually test that by taking them off for a couple of longer rides. I hope they aren't effecting the scoops because I like the lack of head bobbing with them on. Thanks a bunch guys. | ||
| Xbimmer |
This is hot. July, 114 degrees, wind for 100 miles through the Mojave blowing in from the left onto my Levi'd right leg:  I found it amusing, less of problem to me than banging my shins into my airhead's barrels. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Do you have the Comfort Kit, Etennuly? Were your comments meant to apply to Comfort Kit equipped bikes as well? I will definitely start adjusting my riding style and get those legs out away from the frame. I got spoiled with cold riding and thinking, 'hey, the Comfort Kit' removes ALL heat problems'! I can imagine how that engine heat is trapped inside the frame, though the fan works hard, as do the scoops, to move it out. Hey, I'm still a newby! | ||
| Etennuly |
Those Memphis lowers can cause a disturbance in the air flow into the scoops. You could just pop them off for a test run. Like most things, they can be modified. Maybe cut them a bit or move them up some if they seem to be the problem. | ||
| Buellerxt |
Amusing! lol You're tough, Xbimmer! Speaking of the Mojave, I ride with some folks that ride Route 66 each year and I had no problem doing it with my other two bikes. I plan to ride the Uly this year and was thinking of that on today's ride at 72 degrees with a hot right knee! lol I'm sure that all will be good if I move my legs off the frame. I did that today and my leg was fine but I kept thinking that with the Comfort Kit I shouldn't have to do that! | ||
| Buellerxt |
Man, I'll tell ya', though you folks already know it, this Buell family is something else. Here I am with a great bike and a group of folks with knowledge and a willingness to help fellow Buellers. I can't thank you guys enough. Your help is really appreciated. Yeah, even Froggy's quip! lol | ||
| Paralegalpete |
You guys are discussing heat issues in January and |'m hoping the temp here reaches 33F so I can get out for a ride.  (Message edited by paralegalpete on January 23, 2010) | ||
| Gamdh |
Do you have extra lights? Here's why I ask. Prior installing the comfort kit, I never had any issues with heat on right leg. I have always had extra lights, fork mounted right in front of the scoops. I always suspected they might disturb the airflow... but never really worried about it. I have ridden to work when it was 20 degrees... the fan would run during the ride and a little after turning off the bike. I installed the comfort kit (with the lights still in place).. suddenly I was getting lots of heat on the inside of my right leg. Now I knew what everyone was complaining about!! This was during the cooler weather and I did not expect that to be the case. The fan was still running like before just not quite as much. After about 2 weeks of that, I pulled those lights off. The heat on the right side went away. I've been riding to work in temps from 15 to 60 since... I don't think the fan has run at all and the heat on my right leg is gone. So, in my case the fork mounted lights were a very significant factor. | ||
| Hughlysses |
The one thing that you can do to improve the heat situation after a comfort kit install is to ensure there are no gaps between the lower edges of the seat and the top of the right side frame rail just aft of the "gas tank"/air box cover. The right side scoop forces air into the area between the sides and the frame and the rear cylinder head. If there's a gap between the top of the right side frame rail and the bottom of the seat, the hottest air will blow out of the gap right onto your thigh. Once the fan comes on (pulling the air out of the area between the frames) the problem is less noticeable, but you can go a long time without the fan coming on. If you remove your seat, you'll see there are large openings in the top of the frame in this area. This may be what you're feeling. I've noticed that on some bikes the seat fits tighter to the frame than on others. My bike had pretty big gaps in this area and the heat on my inner right thigh was initially worse after the comfort kit install than before. I installed a piece of weather stripping to the top of the frame on each side which provides an air-tight seal when the seat is in place. It's an easy fix, ~$5 for the weather stripping and ~10 minutes to do. Check your bike closely; I'll bet you'll find this is your problem. | ||
| Jphish |
One final thought - I think you mentioned mesh 'panties'. They may protect from road rash, but on the XB frame, they WONT protect from heat. It's actually cooler to wear solid pants with vents on these beasts - at least thats my experience. | ||
| Trevd |
The comfort kit isn't a cure-all. I was a bit disappointed after I installed mine when my right thigh still felt tender after longer rides. Both sides of the frame felt the same, so I suspect that much of the tenderness was from a right thigh that looked similar to Xbimmer's thigh pictured above earlier in the season. But I also suspect that even though the frame feels the same on both sides, there is more heat on the right, just because the exhaust and the header is right there. When I wear my mesh pants (which are solid on the inner thigh), I'm mostly good. Like has been suggested, I would test with and without the memphis shades lowers... | ||
| Beemer |
Buellerxt, Had the same problem with my XT wanted complete relief from the heat after the kit was installed didn't get it. I made a heat shield to cover the gap between the seat and frame, no more problem. Any auto parts store sells a variety of materials to shroud against heat on car wires,hoses etc and they are very easy to cut to size.Hope this helps. Ride safe | ||
| Buellerxt |
Great feedback guys. Thank you. Now I know my kit is installed correctly and that I need to check out the right side frame/seat gaps, maybe keep my legs out away from the frame, etc. Beemer, did you install the homemade 'heat shield permanently to the frame? Does it move if the seat is removed? Hughlysses, Thank you. I think you nailed it. I have a 1/2" gap at the point the seat meets the air box and it decreases 'slowly' to 1/4"! I need to address that. This is with the 'tall' seat. Maybe my XT seat fits better, I'll check. Jphish, I wondered about the mesh pants on the Uly. Good point. I'm NOT riding without this gear so I'll find a way to adapt. Trevd, I will be removing the 'Shades' in time to test that out. I'll start experimenting with one change at a time. So maybe this kit should have been called, 'A little less agony kit', or 'getting closer to comfortable kit', instead of 'Comfort Kit'? Ah, the powers of persuasion! Thanks again guys. (Message edited by buellerxt on January 23, 2010) | ||
| Gamdh |
Now that I'm awake an paying attention. I think removing the lowers will help. What I was pointing out was that anything that disturbs the normal airflow into the scoops seems to cause odd effects. In my case the fork mounted lights ... in yours the lowers. Hopefully you'll be plesantly suprised by removing the lowers. | ||
| Ratbuell |
The aux light cure is CR mirrors. I put 'em on my UlyX and mounted my aux lights to the turn signal mounts. No airflow issues. I haven't heard my fan in weeks (of course, our daily highs are around 33 right now). | ||
| Gamdh |
Rat, same here no fan at all with those lights gone, actually I think it was more the lumalink fork mounts than the lights. Last winter with the lights/mounts .. fan ran a lot even if it was 20 outside. I always thought my fan ran a lot compared to others...(always had the lights/mounts). Now I think it is back to normal. Comfort hit is working as intended now that the air flow is not disrupted. As for lights I mounted LED driving lights to the fork protector mounts.. so they are much lower an out of air flow. | ||
| Beemer |
Buellerxt, First of all I could be wrong but the air thats hitting your leg basicly shows the right scoop from the comfort kit is Not blocked at all, it's doing it's job, drawing more air in.When you take off the seat you can see where the back cyl is right there. As the air passes over it thats what is hitting you in the leg causing discomfort. I used a piece of material thats to insulate AC hoses on cars about $6 at any auto parts store. If you take off the air box cover there's a rubber spacer it fits up against the shield can slide under and at the back just past the hole in the frame a small piece of believe it or not duct tape works great! Be sure to cut part of the material to fit inside the frame. Sounds like a pain but very simple,works great and everything fits back on very well.When the seat is back on you don't see anything and I know with a mesh jacket and jeans I'm comfortable in the midwest summer heat! | ||
| Ourdee |
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| Ourdee |
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| Stoneageman |
Not really off topic, nobody asked Buellerxt if the ECM flash had been installed. Also, how about the rest of you folks who have installed the comfort kit ALSO installed the ECM flash that is "part of the kit!"? It's my understanding that the ECM flash changes the fans so that they're on all of the time. If that's NOT been done, that's not really following the directions in the comfort kit install. It says "flash ECM", pretty straight-out, not "maybe" or "recommended", just "flash". So, Buellerxt, did your dealer flash the ECM? :-). If the fan still comes on when you switch the engine off, they didn't (or they've changed the comfort kit over time?). Now this is a bit off-topic, but I'm thinking that having the fan on at a slower speed all the time (the ECM flash) may be a good thing for having a nice minimum flow at all times. Having the fan running might be, to some degree, a limiting factor in the max amount of air that can go throught. I don't think it will limit the max flow to what the same minimum that it pulls through. It seems that at every red light, or slow down, having minimum flow always going is good :-). | ||
| Blk_uly |
Ourdee nailed it! I live in one of the hottest places any one can live and the duct tape trick has been the best cure to the right thigh heat problem so far. I used aluminum duct tape to cover those holes in the frame, plus some tape on the bottom side of the seat just for good measure. I don't have the comfort kit installed but I do have the comfort flash these two things have done the trick for me |
