The worst thing would be a total engine seizure. Big $$$. There is no way to prevent it other than to ride in the cooler part of the day or run the engine a little on the rich side & there goes the performance.

Any liquid/radiator cooled engine is not as likely to overheat but the all can do it if conditions are right such as hard riding on a hot day.

Your Hawkeye is passively cooled, meaning that it is cooled by the forward movement of your bike and air passing over large cooling fins. Fan & liquid cooled engines are called dynamically cooled as they are cooled by mechanical means.

In short, on a hot day, don't let the bike idle for a couple of minutes. When it is a hot day it is better to ride at a moderate (not high or slow) speed to keep it as cool as possible.

 

ya, i know wat u mean. i have the gas rc cars as a hobby and they act the same way. so because it is so sensitive and i REALLY dont want to total my engine, what kind of engine temp reader should i get? oil or cylinder head?

 

Don't even consider oil temp. Its way to slow to react to changes.

 

k, could u give me a link for a cylinder head temp gauge that would work on the hawkeye?

 

Nope, we did this before and links were posted then. Please re read the previous posts.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Mongrol




Check the manual, cause I think you're near the max outside air temp for the machine.</end quote></div>


Huh??? I've never seen that in the manual. Not saying it's not there but I've never read that. I have always been concerned about the apparent add on oil cooler where the oil filter is. Seems it can get alittle hot under all that bodywork. One more good reason to mount up the aux. oil cooler. After I ride in warm temps, I will remove the seat and side panels to allow the heat to escape. No use letting it sit and bake in it's own heat. And heatsoak is another concern.

I had mine out last summer in 90+* weather all day and rode it hard, didn't abuse it but ran hard for 3-4 hours with zero problems. THAT is why I think a 0/50 motor oil is way too thin for an air cooled engine. There is no way an air cooled engine can have real tight tolorances because of the extreme expansion/contraction of the aluminum parts. I have ran Mobil1 15/50 in mine since the second oil change.

I haven't worried about it, but if I couldn't ride because it was 90* or above, and had to wait until evening to ride what's the point of owning the dang thing. Surely Polaris did their homework better than that.

 

so, that mobil1 15/50 oil makes it run cooler or what? and so u think it would be a good or bad idea to buy the oil cooler?

 

Damn, I had a good reply to your post but lost it. Summing it up, I agree with most you said but was suggesting caution as it is his first machine and would hate to see him cook it.

 

Hey Hawkman if I were you and its really running like a dog I would take it to the dealer and have them do the service bulletin for the jetting issues. I know it's tough for you to get it there but it may be worth it. I traded my Hawkeye in before they had it running right but I talked to the tech from a different shop that knows what he's talking about unlike the ones from where I bought mine and he said the ones he did the bulletin to were like night and day after he found the right setup with drilling the holes and what not. I myself wouldn't want a bunch of holes in my airbox but if you cant get it running right than maybe thats the route for you. Or you could save up a little and try and find a mechanic not a dealer to have your bike fitted with a k&n and jetted properly. Let him know about the service bulletin so he has a little background. You never know the k&n might do the trick and wake er up a bit but I think its gonna take more than that. I dont have any stats. but I do know on other atvs that jetting, filter, and pipe makes a big difference so dont let some of these guys discourage you, I know your young and having fun and some of these guys forgot what its like to be your age!

 

ya, i wanna do every precaution i can to keep it in good condition cuz its like the "family" atv kinda thing cuz im only 15.

and its running awesome. it tops out around 50-55 and hasnt let me down at all so far. one thing is whenever it shut off on me i was just tappin the gas slowly crawling over these weeds and vines and stuff on a steep hill. would that make it shut off maybe, like from the gas being at an angle and not reaching the engine? and when it does get hot, isnt it more likely to cut out from just general things like suddenly releasing the gas and stuff?