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Freeride 350 running hot?

20K views 19 replies 8 participants last post by  Guillermo Crane 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

First of all let me say hello as a new member and ktm owner. I recently bought a new freeride 350 and am must say I am very happy generally with the bike. Lovely to ride.
The only thing I find strange and wanted to ask if anyone has experienced this is that it seems to run very hot, even in this current uk weather. So hot you can feel the heat in the left leg and when opening the tank the petrol inside is literally boiling. I find that a bit strange. The bike has coolant and been serviced after 1 hour etc.

Anyone can confirm they have the same on their bikes.

Cheers
 
#6 ·
Cheers guys, I can see by the other thread my one is not the only one running hot :), that's a relief.
I am thinking of removing the cats as suggested by my only question is do I need re-mapping or removing the cats alone is fine? Didn't want to spend any money at the moment.

Cheers
 
#7 ·
She will need a re-map mate.....was a good thread on it on adv-rider.

Funny not had mine over-heating as such. My 950 did with the cats on. but the freeride has been faultless. she gets warm but not cooking. And I have done alot of low speed, high rev, clutching etc. Are you sure your petty is boiling/hot?? not just vibrating if the engines on (not taking the pisch) honestly not had that problem yet coming up to 40 hrs I think.

Would be tempted to confirm coolant and oil is of right quality and quantity......is it possible a thermostat to the radiator is not actuating early enough or something......perhaps bleed your cooling system i.e. trapped air? Dont know but seems strange - keep us posted on it

Cheers
 
#9 ·
Hi, yes I am sure it's boiling, eg yesterday took it along the a16 (high speed, no low revs etc) got to the petrol station 2 miles later stopped engine opened tank to fill it and could see the petrol bubbling and steaming. When it came from new I took it for the one hour service and the gasket for coolant was badly sit from factory and leaking so they fitted a new one and refilled coolant etc. also changed oil and the rest of the service done. I thought the over heating was because of that gasket and loosing coolant but still does it. Fan kicks in and is running even after switching off for a bit, so it seems to work although not sure if at right temp etc.
guarding the re-map, do I need to take it to a dealer after taking cats off to do it or there's a way to DIY? If so could someone help with how to?
I am worried that it will reduce bike life by running so hot, but a bit short on cash at the moment. Damn recession ;) .
Also any tips on bleeding cooling system? Sorry I'm not the greatest of mechanics... Yet :). I can ride, just about, but that's it.
Many thanks for all the help guys, really appreciated.

Cheers
 
#10 ·
IMO find the fault and sort the problem before modding the bike....like fazer has done, their must be a cause. Also probably less likely to get any support from dealer/ktm if you mod the bike then still have problems and need a solution.

Im basing all this on the fact that mine has not been bad like yours so im guessing something is not right with your Freeride to start with.
 
#11 ·
I think you're spot on. I'll try to work out why it runs so hot first.
On that note does anyone know how to check if water pump is working, how can I tell?
I know there's coolant ,fan seems to be on most of the time so first thought is if water pump is actually circulating water around.
I just checked online and nearest dealer is about 60 miles away. I have no trailer and quite far to ride so any tips on troubleshot roadmap for this problem? Just wanted to avoid having to hire a van to get to the dealer.
Sorry for all the questions guys but am in a really tight budget at the moment and trying to avoid a lot of expense with transport and dealer costs etc.

Cheers
 
#12 ·
Im very basic with this stuff but am guessing the pump runs all the time when engine is running (but others might be able to tell you otherwise).....when a certain engine temp is reached the thermostat would open flow through the radiator for additional cooling.

Think your right to check the pump though and if thats good then find out if the thermostat is working which I would have thought it should be if the fan is running. But maybe its not opening correctly or something.......Is the actual radiator boiling up as well?? Thats what my 950 used to do and spill out the overflow. If the rad is not boiling up I would suspect why not since the engine is so fookin hot i.e. coolant not flowing through to rad properly.

One tip for certain would be crack the coolant bleed nut until coolant flows out (when cold) ....if you hear some burbling and spluttering you will have had air in the coolant system which causes overheating. General rule to do this after every refill or top up, the dealer may have skipped it?? Also monitor the level of the coolant i.e. is it full and staying full. Engine Ice is a good product that appeared to help keep my 950 cooler so I now use it in my 350 as well.

sorry cant give you more specific answers but hopefully give you ideas to move forward with.
 
#14 ·
I would take a look at mine but im away working mate.......however heres a pic of my old 450 with the bleed screw (number 4) Note its located at lowest point of coolant i.e. below hose entry.



heres a snip from my 450 repair manual as well.....im yet to get one for the freeride. If you can get your hands on a 350 exc-f repair manual it will be nearly identical.



It might help to up the teeth on your front sprocket as well so the engine revs less to hold a speed. besides the 11 tooth standard one makes 1st gear useless really. Chuck a 12 or 13 on there and the bike will cruise alot lower in the revs if you are doing road work around 50mph or above. I have a 12 on and I think I will go up one tooth because its still plenty of lug for slow technical work in the lanes.
 
#16 ·
Hi guys, just a quick update. I ordered the ice coolant and it finally arrived. So today I got all coolant out and then filled with the ice coolant. Couldn't find a bleeding screw so followed another ktm manual and after filling it I tilted the bike so the front was 75cm higher, when for a quick run and topped up.
Then went for the same ride as before and what a difference. It's still not ice cold but the fuel tank which before was very hot to touch and boiled the fuel was now not even luke warm. I also didn't feel the previous hot air coming from the left side which really heated my leg at knee high. I am very impressed. Not sure if its just the coolant or if any air was trapped from when the dealer replaced coolant but I can say its like a different bike.
Next step remove the pre-filter and remap ecu to match and get a 12 front sprocket to tackle the A16 a bit more comfy :).
Many thanks for all the help.

Cheers
 
#19 ·
I also used engine ice in my Freeride and it helped a bit. I am convinced you had air in your cooling system and thats now gone. My fan was on almost all the time, even in cold weather. Removing the cats didnt change anything but opening the cans made a massive difference (as Tool already suggested). I removed the screens (spark arrestors?) and opened the cans and drilled 8mm holes in obe of the tubes so that the gas can go straight through. This did help a lot....
 
#17 ·
good to know bud........worth watching this welsh fella called badboynofear on youtube hes got some valid tips in a couple of his freeride vids. Main one for me was that the radiator mount grommets vibrate through over time (mine is just about to go) resulting in worn or punctured rad and a leak. So reckon he saved me a breakdown with that tip.
 
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