went for a ride today (200miles)
ended up at Kemah boardwalk. the traffic was BAD stop and go. the motor did get hot enough for it to engage the "drop cyl mode" but this went on for about 7mins of stop and go (never or 5mph). at one point the motor shut off. but it did start right up. then a minute latter i felt it get ready to die again and i twistted the trottle just a hair to keep it running. i quickly found a place to park the other 5 bikes with me.my ? is if the motor gets hot enough will it just shut of to keep it from hurting itself?

 

I think I read something about this and that it does shut off. I had some heat coming from the back cylinder (read red hot header). after an engine rebuild and new power commander it's pretty good now

 

the power commander five really rocks. i was wondering how the cylinder cut out thing worked. it's an air cooled motor after all, and it requires x amount of air to cool it. you're using synthetic oil i assume,and it's broken in? they run hot when brand new.

 

In Phase 1, if the ECM sees engine temperature above 300 degrees F., while the bike is either moving, or standing still, it will reduce idle speed. Theory being that a lower idle has less sparks, producing less heat. In Phase 2, if the ECM sees an engine temperature that is still climbing from Phase 1, it will richen up the AFR. Richer mixture has a cooling affect. In Phase 3, if the ECM sees that the temperature is still going up, and the bike is sitting still, it will go ahead and skip-pulse the injectors, not delivering fuel on each intake stroke. Again limiting combustion and producing less heat. Phase 3 is only active when the bike is sitting still. These 3 Phases pass from one to another without pause, and you may not even feel or notice it.

The bike will not "shut" itself off due to extreme temperatures but it will certainly be running like crap and wanting to die out on its own. You did the right thing by parking your bike for a while and letting it cool significantly.

7 minutes of stop-n-go traffic should not have induced the heat management system to kick in however. I also live in the Houston area and as you know we all get into high traffic areas at times but it sounds like your bike reacted too fast. I had an '06 Ultra that would go into heat management if I didn't make a light in temps anywhere above 90. Mine was so bad that I once rode from Sugar Land to Chimney Rock on Hwy 59 at 10 pm, exited and when I came to Westhiemer I had to sit for two light cycles and my bike was already in heat management. I took it to the dealer and they adjusted the system and it never went into heat management again.