R
O.K. title says most of it. I have a stack of parts coming and wondering best way to plumb it all. I am a big boy at around 270, I am hooked on this snowbike thing, the CR is the only way to go for me, partially because I love Cr500 and have many of them and partially because with my size this is the only thing I feel keeps me in the game with guys half my weight on 450's.
Spring hits in the Sierras and my bike is getting hot, my current answer is a router collection groove in my skid plate, stop and throw snow, collect water in bottle, refill radiator, keep eye on overflow steam pipe....not a great solution.
Parts I have coming, tunnel cooler, larger radiator, 2 avid thermostats.
original plan was run 1 radiator, route one coolant line off head to upper radiator inlet like stock with shutoff valve, run other line through thermostat to tunnel cooler then back into lower inlet of radiator, use bypass for carb heat off thermostat. problem with this set up would be if I ever open valve to radiator its just going to take that path of least resistance so really I don't need that valve I just need to plug that side permanent, then I wonder if one head pipe is enough flow to get the heat out of the head on hard springtime uphill pulls.
This led me to the second design. run both radiators, run both head outlets through 2 avid thermostats, T them together to the tunnel cooler which has a larger diameter of close to 1" run through the cooler back to another T back into the top of the radiators, tie both bypass portions to 1 and use for carb heat. Issues I see with this are running too cold when it's deep, handle that by blocking off radiators and run some kind of a jacket on the motor, which I also haven't figured out what you use that the pipe doesn't just burn the hell out of.
3rd design would be same as the last with 2 thermostats but only one radiator pipe the coolant out of the cooler into a single radiator, cap off one of the inlets.
4th design would be one radiator, use one thermostat going off the head to the upper radiator return second thermostat of other head pipe going to cooler, cooler return line back to lower radiator inlet that is originally the crossover pipe.
Man somebody help me here I am sure I am over thinking it, but I have looked at so many designs that I don't know what works for people. As I said I am a big boy, I have been riding 500's since 1988 and this is my first year in the snow. I would probably be considered an aggressive rider. We rarely get below 20 degrees here and this thing with bone stock radiators and no thermostat was running pretty good until this spring stuff hit. We get the Sierra cement going in the spring that is wet and heavy but if my bike would stay cool I think really fun. In this sprin stuff I can boil my bike out in probably 2 minutes pulling one big hill and I don't feel like walking so I would prefer to not blow her up.
The short version is I am worried with a tunnel cooler that I will run too cold when it is deep and when it is hot I am putting more stress to a 500 than I have put on one ever....makes dune pulls in 100 degree heat seam like nothing and I ride a 500 on single track barely moving and have never seen one steam out like what I have done with this snow bike.
Spring hits in the Sierras and my bike is getting hot, my current answer is a router collection groove in my skid plate, stop and throw snow, collect water in bottle, refill radiator, keep eye on overflow steam pipe....not a great solution.
Parts I have coming, tunnel cooler, larger radiator, 2 avid thermostats.
original plan was run 1 radiator, route one coolant line off head to upper radiator inlet like stock with shutoff valve, run other line through thermostat to tunnel cooler then back into lower inlet of radiator, use bypass for carb heat off thermostat. problem with this set up would be if I ever open valve to radiator its just going to take that path of least resistance so really I don't need that valve I just need to plug that side permanent, then I wonder if one head pipe is enough flow to get the heat out of the head on hard springtime uphill pulls.
This led me to the second design. run both radiators, run both head outlets through 2 avid thermostats, T them together to the tunnel cooler which has a larger diameter of close to 1" run through the cooler back to another T back into the top of the radiators, tie both bypass portions to 1 and use for carb heat. Issues I see with this are running too cold when it's deep, handle that by blocking off radiators and run some kind of a jacket on the motor, which I also haven't figured out what you use that the pipe doesn't just burn the hell out of.
3rd design would be same as the last with 2 thermostats but only one radiator pipe the coolant out of the cooler into a single radiator, cap off one of the inlets.
4th design would be one radiator, use one thermostat going off the head to the upper radiator return second thermostat of other head pipe going to cooler, cooler return line back to lower radiator inlet that is originally the crossover pipe.
Man somebody help me here I am sure I am over thinking it, but I have looked at so many designs that I don't know what works for people. As I said I am a big boy, I have been riding 500's since 1988 and this is my first year in the snow. I would probably be considered an aggressive rider. We rarely get below 20 degrees here and this thing with bone stock radiators and no thermostat was running pretty good until this spring stuff hit. We get the Sierra cement going in the spring that is wet and heavy but if my bike would stay cool I think really fun. In this sprin stuff I can boil my bike out in probably 2 minutes pulling one big hill and I don't feel like walking so I would prefer to not blow her up.
The short version is I am worried with a tunnel cooler that I will run too cold when it is deep and when it is hot I am putting more stress to a 500 than I have put on one ever....makes dune pulls in 100 degree heat seam like nothing and I ride a 500 on single track barely moving and have never seen one steam out like what I have done with this snow bike.
