Fan retrofit for high elevation riding

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funmachines
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#1 Post by funmachines »

Thought I'd show some pictures of a fan retrofit for a dirt bike. I used a big radiator and made a new guard for it and added a removable fan mount. The big rad gave just enough room to
mount a 4 in spal fan. This is the same fan that comes in the trailtech KTM digital fan kit which is on my Husaberg. I got the fan from Amazon for $46. The fan is controlled by the ECU
using the ATV hex code (Thanks for the instruction on how to do it from Dave -AKA Boomer). It was a bit tricky figuring out where to add the connections to the ECU connector. Very
worthwhile mod -not trivial but worked well. We went riding on single track and rocky 4wd roads in the Sierras and the fan came on a lot and but never had a boilover (same as the
Husaberg 570). My 6'1" son rode the Dale and I rode my Husaberg. My son dropped the Dale once in the rocks and without a guard the rad would have been dented or destroyed.
I put in a picture that shows a lake we rode up to at 9500 ft on an old rocky mining road.
If anyone wants more info let me know.

kdeal
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#2 Post by kdeal »

What a cool idea! Good work.

polyesterpig
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#3 Post by polyesterpig »

Thanks for sharing. That is on my list of things to do. Others are put the coolant inlet and outlet on opposite sides of the radiator & build a factory looking overflow tank.

funmachines
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#4 Post by funmachines »

The 4 in fan made a big difference. Electrical is pretty easy - there are only 2 pins to add to one of the ECU connectors, one + power wire and then load the ATV hex code and put your bike map back in. The bike maps have the fan control settings in them. The fan stays on for a while if it's hot after you turn off the power (until the ECU shuts down). Mechanical packaging is more difficult. There is not much room and smaller fans don't move as much air. The 4 in fan just barely fit with the bigger radiator. There are a few fans available from Digikey that are smaller and water/dust proof but they are not cheap with the waterproof rating.

The inlet and outlet on separate sides would be good to get more uniform flow. Let me know if you need any info.

dunnbandit1
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#5 Post by dunnbandit1 »

Where did you get the over size radiator?

funmachines
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#6 Post by funmachines »

The big radiators came on the 2003s. You can try Dave and see if he has any left or put a wanted ad up. I would not use one without fabricating a guard for it
though - they are wider and get dented/smashed on the sides very easily without protection.

promod
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#7 Post by promod »

Brian,

Just wanted to say great job on the radiator guard you made and installing a fan and it looks great!, Have several of the Aluminum guards that were for the 13" radiators on a couple of my bikes, Have thought of a fan install but just never done it as never really had a overheating problem where I am located so just kinda put on the back burner!

And actually like the guard you made better than the ones that I have that was made by someone (Getting CRS syndrome in my getting old age and forgot! LOL!) years ago as had them a long, long time!

Maybe you could make a few bucks by making some for both the 13" and 15" radiators used on the bikes as seen a post several months ago where someone was looking for one, and who knows I might be interested in another myself!

Ciao my Friend! Mike W. in KY

fig
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#8 Post by fig »

I would be interested in one also (15").


funmachines
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#9 Post by funmachines »

I'd like to help out, but it takes too much time for me to fab them ( I cut, bent and TIG welded everything myself). I also drilled all the holes - better to CNC those!
I can help make some drawings and take some pictures so you can get them made though.

funmachines
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#10 Post by funmachines »

Another high altitude picture near Sonora pass at about 9400 ft. Me on the Husa and my son on the E440. We rode some nasty 4wd roads with bowling ball size rocks and ugly ruts. The E440 was actually more stable for that than my FE570. The E440 seems good for high speed or rocky nasty stuff where stability is your friend - even today. Still runs great too. I also added one picture of a cool little lake where we caught lots of brookies. Anyone else have some Bike pictures somewhere fun?

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