Check your fan!

[soul2coal]

Wife and I were checking out a new resturant, and got lost. We were stuck in some traffic for a while, and when it finally broke free, I pulled into a gas station to get directions. When I came out and started the bike, the temp was flashing 243 (as per manual), and the coolant light was on. Well, it only took a minute for the temp to go down, and the bike fired up. But what really got my curiosity was I noticed the fan wasn't on, even though the computer was saying the bike was hot. The next morning I check the fuse and it was OK. Next I tried to turn the fan by hand and it seemed "notchy." So I went to the local dealership and while they were trying to spin the fan, a small pebble flew out. The service manager looked at me, and I looked at him, and I think we were both thinking the same thing...Who's responsible for picking up the tab for this one? Not my fault, and at the same time it's not yamahas fault. So, long story short, Yamaha paid for it in full. Moral of the story...check your fan occasionally. MATT

BTW, dinner was good...One of those mid-evil type resturants

 

[Sir Choice]

lol well thats a pretty funny story

 

[Sawblade]

It does bring up an interesting question. Why did yamaha not think a screen covering the back of the fan was necessary?

 

[soul2coal]

That's sorta my position. I don't think I should have to check that every time I go down the road. But I'm not complaining. At least they were cool enough to cover the full cost. When I picked it up, he said they had 2 1/2-3 hrs in it. Not sure on the price of the fan. Maybe saved enough to justify ext. warranty?

 

[tolgatt]

little rock stuck on the fan,,causing the fan to stop,overheating and i beleive once burnt out the fan motor...this has become one common problem for the fz6,,,i have read 3-4 incidents prior to this thread....everytime i see the temp going up at the traffic stops i cant help thinking about this problem,,if i ever see my temp light flashing i sure know where to look first :Flash:

 

[ant_mb]

Here's my story

http://www.600riders.com/forum/main-lobby-new-member-section/5284-im-bikeless.html

 

[ant_mb]

A couple more

http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-mods/6289-different-radiator-fan-design.html

http://www.600riders.com/forum/garage-mechanical-help/6245-fz6-overheats-tiny-pebble-blame-radiator-fan-toast.html

 

[Discofrank]

It does bring up an interesting question. Why did yamaha not think a screen covering the back of the fan was necessary?

well it would be rather strange for a rock to get up into the fan....

yes it has happened to a few ppl but think about how many fz6's are on the road....
im not worried about

if you guys are pull the fan off and make up a guard with some flyscreen or something

 

[ant_mb]

well it would be rather strange for a rock to get up into the fan....

I'm guessing you'll change your mind once you have to fork out a couple hundred bucks to have it replaced. I'm thinking at last count we were up to 5-6 confirmed fan failures due to rocks. Is that not a problem? That's only for this forum, how many others are out there?

 

[Raid The Revenge]

Let's see how important this is:

BLOWER ASSEMBLY (Fan) - $311.19 US

Right. How the HELL does YAMAHA justify a price like that? Yeah...I guess checking the fan every now and again is a good idea. Thank you, Soul2coal.

 

[Botch]

Damn Pebbles!

 

[Data]

I noticed the fan on my 07 not working two months ago and discovered the pebble problem. It seems to have ruined the fan motor and if they cost $300, I'll be riding without the aid of the fan. It gets a bit dicey in stop-and-go traffic- this must be a weak point on the FZ6.

Interesting to hear that several others have had the same problem . . . .

 

[xj750_Pete]

I've seen this episode before...

 

[wolfc70]

I have had the fan/pebble issue too. I am now in the habit of checking the fan after riding on a road that has an abnormal amount of gravel. I have had stones/pebbles fall out every time after riding on a debris littered road. Campgrounds seem to be the biggest culprit, slow speeds and lots of small stones that bounce off the headers.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

It seems like that the pebble issue stuck in the fan is more of an issue for the newer bikes, '07 and above. I say that because there is a greater displacement of where the radiator and the fan is located vs the older model.

As soon as I read about how small pebbles have gotten stuck in the fan, I looked at my fan, and it appears it would be real tough for anything to get stuck in there. But again, I realized that there has been some significant changes as far as the placement of the fan and radiator on the newer bikes.

I suspect it's more of a design flaw for the new bikes.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but all of the pebbles getting stuck in the fan has been on bikes from '07 on correct?

 

[Discofrank]

I'm guessing you'll change your mind once you have to fork out a couple hundred bucks to have it replaced. I'm thinking at last count we were up to 5-6 confirmed fan failures due to rocks. Is that not a problem? That's only for this forum, how many others are out there?

yes ok it has happened but out of how many bikes???
4000+ odd members
so say 2000 are active and post or read
even at 10 members with pebles thats 0.5% of bikes with this drama
hell i doubt yammy will call that a problem

**** going to buy a yammy one brand new
any davies craig fan that size will work and be alot less than that

hell to a car wrecker and buy a fan from a FWd car they be small as.

hell go to any motorcycle wreckers i bet u find 1 from almost any bike will fit

 

[ant_mb]

yes ok it has happened but out of how many bikes???
4000+ odd members
so say 2000 are active and post or read
even at 10 members with pebles thats 0.5% of bikes with this drama
hell i doubt yammy will call that a problem

**** going to buy a yammy one brand new
any davies craig fan that size will work and be alot less than that

hell to a car wrecker and buy a fan from a FWd car they be small as.

hell go to any motorcycle wreckers i bet u find 1 from almost any bike will fit

Let's check you math here. Of those 4,000 members how many are active and actually post on a regular basis? My guess if far less than half! Of those half how many own the 2007 model? I'm guessing far less than that!

Like it or not is IS a real problem on the FZ6.

Who in there right mind would put a car fan on a bike? You do realize that we have a VERY limited number of watts to play with right?

 

[Raid The Revenge]

Hmmmm....I wonder if a CPU fan could be used instead...

I mean, how different are the electrical connections? A CPU fan, even a large one, would be WAY CHEAPER than the stock one. It would probably work better too.

 

[Norm]

Besides getting my engine hot enough for the fan to come on, is there some way to make the fan come on to check if it is still working? You've got me thinking about this now. My fan rotates fine but since I've been reading this thread I'd like to check and make sure it's working.

 

[Fred]

Hmmmm....I wonder if a CPU fan could be used instead...

Well, CPU fans are generally 12 volts DC, so they'd work on a bike's electrical system.

They're much smaller, you'd need a lot of them.

And the big problem is that they're not designed to get wet. They'd not appreciate it when you rode in the rain.

I find myself wondering how the rock got into the fan. My best guess is that it was thrown up by the front tire, bounced off of the engine or header, and then wound up inside the fan. It's a bankshot.

If that's the case, it might be possible to make some sort of shield. Maybe something mounted to the back of the radiator, or possibly just an extension to the front fender.