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Hi guys new to the forum, ive recently bought a l3 zxr400 its done 28,000 miles. Due to waiting to do my test ive not driven it yet but when i had it running this morning on idle the temp gauge showed more than half without even being ridden. I looked through some past work done on the bike and it says that it had a head cover gasket replacement 2,000 miles ago. I only had the bike on idle for about 15 mins and the fan did not kick in even though the temp was above half. Could somebody please tell me how to wire the fan to a switch please, any suggestions on the problem ? and was also wondering if the bike should smoke fr4m the exhaust after being on idle, thanks,

Ross

Bikes aren't generally meant to idle for 15 mins on a side stand mate.

Overheating:

Dirty spark plugs
Air filter dirty or not seated properly
Engine oil too high
Engine oil too low (more likely)
Water temperature gague broken/sensor broken (we know it isn't)
Coolant level too low or deterioated
Radiator clogged
Thermostat trouble; fan relay broken, fan motor broken
Water pump not turning/impeller damaged

Many possible causes of overheating.

Running a bike on a side stand for 15 mins, might just be 99% of your issue.

Try riding it and see if it overheats again.

Head gaskets only need doing every 20k or so.

Assuming they are done properly, they often aren't.

lol cheers for info,should i still put fan on a switch though?

just bridge the wires to the fan to test the fan actually works, it'll probably come on about 3/4 high on the gauge, have you checked the coolant is sufficient mixture?

my zxr4 fan came on at around 3/4 up the dial, if your not moveing then the bike will get hot because its cooled down by cold air passing though the radiator and oil cooler.

So no movement = no air passing though = getting hot....

Woudent worry about it myself. If it still dos it while your riding then you've got a problem

sorry to bring up an old thread.. but mine doesnt overheat, sits just above half on the temp guage but the fan is on whenever it stops. thats with it being ridden "quite slowly" by a mechanic mate of mine. anything to worry about?

i'm sure all fan switched will probably vary some being more sensitive than others, i'd rather a fan came on early than too late and the engine boils.i wouldn't worry.

rite guys im sorry to bring this back up but had bike on idle for about 1 min and due to licence situation cant ride it at the mo, after 1 min on idle the temp gauage said the bike was still cold but there was steam coming from the right side of the bike and the coolant pipes are stupidly hot after a minute :S wot u guys recon?

could be an airlock? but after a minute the engine shouldn't be that hot, i'm assuming as you say steam coming from the engine that you have coolant in there? wrong plugs could cause a engine to get hot, but it don't sound too good, i would drain the coolant and refill, make sure there's no leaks from anywhere, when you refill the coolant take the rad cap off and start the bike and watch the bubbles appear, squeeze the pipes as its warming up (dont burn yaself i wont be held responsible) this will help circulate the coolant and get rid of any air trapped in the system.

Took it to my local kawasaki dealer today and they recon its headgasket