while riding along today i notice that my left leg gets noticeable hotter than my right leg when you open the vents on the fairing it reduces the temperature
after a bit of a look i notice that the radiator cowl has a vent on the right side and this lets air flow straight through to the slots in the knee pad helping to reduce the heat
has any one ever thought of or has installed extra vents in radiator cowl
i am thinking about making the right side bigger and cutting one into the left side about 150mm x40mm using 25mm x10mm stainless expanded mesh
are there any problems anyone can think of that i might encounter if i do this
bike already has all the covers and rubber thingys in the right places already
have not seen this idea in any of the other threads on heat problems i looked at
thanks
col

col just maybe an observation

there are air dams/separators in place along the path from the radiator area to the knee guards one in particular near the plenum .

but i like the idea of getting more cooler air in there from a vent in the left hand side of the radiator cowl

isnt the right hand vent the air intake to the airbox and filter ?

i think cafe racer has cut a hole in his radiator cowl left side (for his fuel cooler ) i wonder if he has additional information on the mod

You`re correct about the air intake at right side of the radiator cowl, Charlie.

The air intakes in the fairing that Col mentions was from the -90 models on.

But removed again when the electric elevated screen was introduced, and the additional instruments moved down to the knee pads (K11).

Inge K.

your right charlie their is a air dam / seperator
i think i will do mod as it will increase airflow and push more air through the lower fairng which in turn should take heat with it

Couple of weeks time Col you'll be plugging those puppies up and hugging the engine again.
RT

raining again today , bored cant go for a ride(i could just didnt want to ride in the rain) so i decided that i would put in the vents
so here is some pics s

nice work col ......

better give us a report when you can huh ?

Col, you should have waited till Sunday to do that job, after all it is a holy day.

only thing worshipped in this house is beer and it is praised every day

I'm hearing you Col. My life is just one long complicated beer drinking game.

off to sydney in the morning i be back sunday/monday
i will report back on vents and see if my idea works

have fun col ....!!!

Should be interesting to hear from Col again, he went to Sydney and they had over 100mil of rain same day. Those holes would have been handy to let the water out .
RT

I wonder about the benefit as the openings would allow air flow to bypass the radiator instead of being forced through, but I hope it does some good.

Has anyone heard from Col lately, with all that river water heading down the Riverina way? I have to ride to Mildura, Victoria in two weeks' time for work. Dunno yet which highway to take down from Queensland. I imagine there'll be plenty of rain-induced craters in the tarmac no matter which way I go.

"If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break. If it keeps on rainin', levee's goin' to break. When the levee breaks, I'll have no place to stay"
~Led Zeppelin

Guest, get Col to ride in front of you...he can do a Moses and part the part the water. My daughter lives in Wagga, the roads all around that area are damaged and some may be shut for some time.

rode to sydney and back missed all the rain in sydney what good luck
extra vents worked ok when travelling at highway speeds 80 to 100 but did nothing at less than 80
if it made the engine run hotter or colder dont know dont have a temperature gauge
it was just an idea and i thought i would give it a go nothing tried equals nothing learned would i recommend others try what i did, not gain much really so no

Shouldn't necessarily run hotter as long as the thermostat can still control the temperature. Your issues might appear on a hot day, when the thermostat is fully engaged (Radiator open/bypass closed) and you can't cool the engine enough. Difficult to see if you don't have a temp gauge.