Happened to me yesterday . Temps were in the upper 80's and lots of sun. Sitting at a light I couldn't rest my knee against the ac as it was so hot. Three buds I was riding with all had same issues. Guess it's normal . swamp a$$ was the biggest problem. While in Vermont last week ran in to a fellow who had biker beads on his seat and said they work great . Gonna look into them.

 

Please update us when you figure this out. One reason I never bought a newer bike, than my '03, is the heat issue. If the M8 turns out to be reliable, that may be my next bike. If you solve this problem, I would consider a 96.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. Air filter is clean - just cleaned it when I put on the FM Tuner. The temperature was mid 90's. It would cool down while riding but heated up pretty quick at a stop light.

I will check with some of my riding buds to see if they have the same issues. Maybe this is normal and just different from the 88.

 

Just got back from apple picking today with the wife. The football was a bit warm but not overly hot when we got home. My guess is it could be the blowby venting causing the excessive heat.

 

I vented to the ground so I don't believe it has anything to do with the heat.

 

Will have to check mine sometime but it has to be radiant heat from the cylinders and lack of movement that is being absorbed by the football cover. Parade fan or wards on left side directing to right too?

 

This is the OP - I think the above is correct. Finally got the chance to really get some time on the bike yesterday. Not bad at all when riding. After sitting at a long light for example it got really hot. I guess this is just normal for the bigger engine (per my original post I have only ridden on an 88). It just was surprising there was that much of a difference.

So all is well in my little world. Thanks for all the advice.

 

....i think its a problem on the 103's prior to 2014. the wet heads on the 14, 15, and 16 remedy that to some degree. i was talking to the dealer yesterday, who had gone on an extended ride on the new M8 and he said there was little to no heat coming off these motors. granted, he's a dealer and his job is to sell bikes but he's a pretty straight shooter.
The cpt itch crotch coolers help out quite a bit but it still gets hot.

 

===========================

FYI,THERE IS IN FACT A LOT YOU CAN DO ABOUT REDUCING THE OVERALL HEAT YOUR FEELING FROM YOUR AIR COOLED HD
@ HERE'S HOW I DI IT.

I have a stock 09 / 96" motor with no cat in head pipes and it still had excessive heat from motor and exhaust on right side esp in summer heat @ stoplights & or in slow moving traffic.

I greatly reduced heat from motor etc in summer heat by installing an ultracool oil cooler with twin cooling fans along with Wards cooling fans both @ the same time for max cooling!

Doing that reduced oil temp a " 50deg f " in summer heat and remember it's also parts of the oils job to remove heat from an air cooled bike motor so the motors overall temp was reduced @ the same too.

That resulted in multiple improvements in engine performance & overall riding comfort right off the bat.(SEE BELOW FOR DETAILS)

Due to bike having stock very lean fuel calibration I recently installed Night rider Xieds (set @ 50% enrichment) that not only improved / smoothed the idle a bit but also took care of the slight lean surge it had while cruising at low load part throttle along with making overall throttle response a bit crisper too.

The slight fuel enrichment the xieds did on my bike didnt seem to make any diff in oil temp but might have made a slight diff / reduction in the amount of heat in general i feel from the engine & exhaust.

But again,in my bikes case it wasn't a big noticeable reduction in temp i felt off ex & motor post installing xied's now set to 50% enrichment that i found was best enrichment setting for my bike post testing all possible settings.

The slight fuel enrichment reduced overall fuel mileage by approx 1.25-1.5mpg on avg so bike now avg's approx 41-41.5mpg in mixed driving cond riding 2up & bags loaded in country @ 45-60mph range never hitting 6th gear,have yet to get over road mileage in 6th gear with xied's.

But if you do all the above like i did it will not only significantly reduce oil/engine & ex temp will also greatly improve overall engine perf and rider comfort too.

IN SUMMER HEAT WITH ABOVE MENTIONED COOLING MODS REDUCING OIL TEMP 50DEG-F;

* MOTOR STOPPED DETONATING IN SUMMER HEAT DUE TO OIL & ENGINE RUNNING COOLER.

* MOTOR MAINTAINS 10-12PSI HIGHER OIL PRESSURE DUE TO LESS THINNED 50 DEG F COOLER OIL.

* VALVES/LIFTERS REMAIN QUIET DUE TO OIL BEING LESS SHEERED/THINNED RUNNING 50DEG F COOLER IN SUMMER HEAT ALONG WITH INCREASED OIL PRESSURE THE COOLER LESS THINNED OIL PROVIDES.

* MOTOR RETAINS MOST OF THE PWR/TRQ/THROTTLE RESPONSE IT ALWAYS LOST IN SUMMER HEAT PRIOR TO REDUCING OIL (50 DEG-F) & ENGINE TEMP X-AMOUNT @ THE SAME TOO.

* HOT RE-STARTS LIKE POST FUELING UP ARE EASIER/FASTER DUE TO STARTER/BATTERY/MOTOR BEING LESS HEAT SOAKED.

* BIKE IS NOW MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE & ENJOYABLE TO RIDE,ESP IN SUMMER HEAT BECAUSE THE MOTOR NOW RETAINS MOST OF IT'S PWR & TRQ WHICH HELPS FUN FACTOR ALONG WITH NOW LESS OVERALL HEAT BEING GIVEN OFF THE MOTOR & EX PIPES TOO.

HAPPY MOTORING!

SCOTT

UPEDATE, Forgot to say i also installed DK's aftermarket external crankcase breather to remove all the hot overheated oil mist laden crankcase gases from entering the air cleaner assembly and engine intake too which may have also reduced engine temp a bit & helped with stopping detonation too which is a good thing to do for the motor.

Scott

 

What's hot is somewhat relative, here in July/August I sometimes crank up the bike, and put a couple beers on the floor board for a quick cool down.