Today was my first 95deg weather ride on my '15 RGS (4" RCX slipons, stage1, pm supergas). As bad luck would have it, i got stuck in <5mph to standstill traffic...for about 5miles (I'm guessing). I have moco's oem heat shields as well. I wear thick logger jeans and moto-specific boots that wrap around my calves.

THIS THING RAN HOT HOT HOT in slow traffic and idling at a standstill...so much so that the radiant heat near my right knee/calf was stinging and excruciatingly painful and uncomfortable...uncomfortable enough for me to put the jiffy down hop off when traffic wasnt moving.

Would decatting or running say fuelmoto's jackpot 2-1-2 w/oem heat shields and a pv2 make most of that heat and pain go away in the same situation?

 

My friend told me that to solve the heat problem on the SGS - you have to downgrade to a BMW...

 

I'd recommend letting the EITMS do its thing. At ambient Air Temperatures over 80*F it'll run on just the front cylinder. (80*F + In Gear + Clutch Disengaged, Under 1-2 MPH, Less than 1,200 RPM, etc., etc.) It makes a really BIG difference on my 2015 Limited. On my 2010 Softail the EITMS was based on Engine Temperature, not the ambient Air Temperature. By the time it'd kick in on my 2010 my leg would already be Toast. Fixed the 2010 with TTS reprogramming of the ECM, Cams, Exhaust and A/C. That said, I'm actually surprised at how well the logic of the system works on the 2015. When it kicks in, the temperature on my right leg drops noticeably within 15-30 seconds. It sounds a little funky, but it does the job and as soon as I crack the Throttle the Rear Cylinder comes to life seamlessly.

 

You will get a lot of different opinions on this but for me on my 2014 road King removing the cat and putting on rush big Louie mufflers made a huge difference with the heat. It still gets hot ,it's a big air cooled engine under you but it is bearable now. Before the de cat I actually got a blister on my right calf from the radiant heat while wearing jeans. Tuner ,no tuner ? You decide my runs fine without one.

 

Removing the cat will help a lot but the rear pipe still is real close to your leg and of course is hot. ETMS makes the rear pipe noticeably cooler. Sitting in traffic not moving will always be noticeably hot with the rear cylinder firing.

 

Losing the cat will help reduce felt heat and I would get rid of it as fast as you can, but the number one thing that will help you out in that situation is a set of Wards FCS fans. Period. You also say "stage 1", which I assume means a dealer download. If so, that is still a pretty lean tune.

 

You can make it run somewhat cooler by using a catless pipe, tuner, etc.

But the bottom line is, your sitting on an air cooled internal combustion engine with your leg inches away from an exhaust pipe.

At temps over 90°F, comfort level on these bikes while sitting stopped in traffic is never going to be good.

 

These bike are running hotter and hotter on each engine redesign due to larger cubic inches and more thanks to the damn EPA and on the other hand we are not as tough as our ancestors were. Think soon most of the bikes are going to Twin cool and I notice huge difference when I compare my 15 Limited to my old air cooled bike.

 

I've ridden mine above 110F.

No issues...

What are you running for a tuner?

 

You have a twin cooled motor. The water cooled heads on the Limited's helps a lot.