I have a 2005 Sportsman 400- It has been dry here all summer & everytime we ride this bike is overheating due to dust, & mud that keeps getting clogged in the radiator fins. I flush the fins on the radiator clean after each ride to help but this thing seems to get clogged up very quickly.

I know if we stay out of the mud or don't ride dusty trails that this will help but that is what trail riding is all about.

Is anyone else having this problem on there 2005 & newer sportsmans?

 

Hey,
They all get plugged but you have to <U>remove the rad from the bike and then clean it.</U> It is the only way to clean properly.
It takes about 2 hours to do and you will realize that there is about 10% that you are accutally cleaning when you are spraying it off after a ride.
There is also a product out there to make your bike run cooler that you put in the rad ICE COOL or something.
That will help as well.
GL and GIVVER.
ps. you are also cranking some heavy wheels there too.Extra heat.!!

 

Remove it and wash it out with pressure.....and take your time doing it too. And remember when using pressure to spray strait at the fins, as to not bend them over.


The stuff that makes them run cooler is engine ice, or red line watter wetter...........

 

Soon as you pull the shroud off will see the mud caked on. Had to take my rad off also to clean it even after I thought that I had got it totally clean. Seems that this is a all too common problem with the sportsmans. Would be nice if a machine this good at mudding would have some better cooling. If anyone has modded their machine to help here would sure like to know.

 

Just take the front box,the fan and the shroud off and you can get to it with a garden hose and get all the mud out.I do this after a couple rides in the slop.
For those of you that think this is not enough,I can put light behind the rad.and see clear thru.
Just don't bang the rad.

 

Ohh,
You can modify the rad alright!!
The boys mount the rad on the front rack then it wont get too muddy.There will be someone who knows of their site ive seen the mod on their pics and it looks good.

 

I find that removing the front rack and front 'hood' to be enough to clean it really good, prolly not as good as removing it good, but good enough for me.

SLG

 

Hey I also forgot spray the rad down after cleaning with a non stick cooking oil like PAM. I like the olive oil stuff it smells good and when your rad is not clean you wont be able to smell the cooking oil yopu will smell the swamp smell then you clean and reapply it.IT works