Overheating?

[jiver06]

So this is the second time I've been out on my kat and it has overheated and I've had to stop and let the engine cool and then everything was fine. The oil in the engine is pretty black and old and I know I'm an idiot for not changing it yet. BUT, the question is....could the oil being old be causing the over heating since the bike is oil/air cooled or would it be something else? Thanks for any info you con give.

[teleskier97]

Could you define what you mean by overheating, there aren't temperature gauges on these so I'm wondering what your symptoms are. Aside from that I'd say change the oil as a matter of course as it can't hurt. If your oil's black and old it is NOT protecting your engine well and will absolutely cause premature wear and possibly engine failure. Personally I'm someone who's anal-retentive about oil+filter changes as I change every 2,000 miles or whenever I'm bored on my bike, 3,000 on my cars like clockwork.

[1990gsx 600]

yeah change the oil with some fully synthetic rotella oil

[GregS]

You MUST fix what is known to be defective before further diagnosis.
CHANGE YOUR DAMN OIL. It is the life blood of these engines.
And don't be an idiot by not changing the filter at the same time.

[jiver06]

I know I have to change the oil I've been beating myself up about that. When I "overheat" I can feal that the bike wants to die...if I pull on the clutch lever the bike will immediately fall on its face and not start back up. If I let her sit a little like 10-15mins I can fire the bike right back up which is leading me to believe it is a temp issue. When I feel the temp coming from the engine it is very hot. Can't really come up with what else it could be.

[jiver06]

So I think I answered my own question. Just for ****s and giggles I pulled the carbs today to make sure they were open. When I pulled the bowls there was a fair amount of rust. I knew there was a little rust in the tank and had put in-line fuel filters on to stop this from happening but I guess there is more rust then I had thought. Not sure if that was the whole problem but I'm sure its not helping. I cleaned them and need to get Kreem tank cleaner and glaze. Thanks for posting.

[1990gsx 600]

do not use kreem it turns to slush in your tank and cloggs sh!t up!!!!!!!!!!!

[chris216]

You MUST fix what is known to be defective before further diagnosis.
CHANGE YOUR DAMN OIL. It is the life blood of these engines.
And don't be an idiot by not changing the filter at the same time.

[DClark]

yeah change the oil with some fully synthetic rotella oil

The stuff sold as "Rotella 5-40 Full Synthetic" is not synthetic, it is hydrocracked dino oil. Get a real synthetic oil.

[cugine]

do not use kreem it turns to slush in your tank and cloggs sh!t up!!!!!!!!!!!

I disagree I have kreemed several tanks including my 88. kat with out a problem. Be patient and follow directions to the letter you will get excellent results. My tank was severely rusted, going on a year after kreem and its holding up like a champ.

[DClark]

Kreem was popular in the '80s, but I have read a lot of people having problems with it and don't be surprised if you do too down the road.
My theory comes from how you remove the stuff from your tank. There are a number solvents that can be used to dissolve it, most popular is acetone. Acetone is commonly found in fuel additives, maybe even in pump gas, but I am sure it would have a bad effect on a KREEM tank. I don't know if KREEM can hold up to Xylene or Toulene, which can also be found in pump gas.I don't even know if the stuff can withstand ethanol (Kreem can about before E10 gas).What's more, the price of a KBS kit, delivered to my door, was less than a KREEM kit from the dealer. Obviously, KREEM doesn't have a compelling reason in its favor.
Google "Kreem problems" and you will get an endless number of hits. Google "KBS problems" or "POR problems" and you get nothing.
The other thing I'd like to add for the OP is that filters won't help with rust as that stuff (at least on my bike) was so fine that it made past the filters.
I have not used the POR kit, but I have used their other stuff and it is good. I used KBS on my tank mainly because it was cheaper than POR. Go over to their website and check it out. Even if you are deadset on getting a POR kit, it is worth checking out KBS as they have some excellent how to videos you can watch on line for free that will give you an idea of what it takes to fix your tank.

[jiver06]

Thank you all for your help and the info on the tank prep