Triumphrat

max_ax · 12-26-2005

I'm planning to take some trips this late spring and summer in the desert southwest of the US, and I'm wondering how my Bonnie will perform in hot weather. I expect to be driving for several hours at a time, with temperatures in the 90's F or even hotter.

I haven't driven for extended amounts of time with my Bonnie in hot weather and so wanted to ask others what their experience has been riding in these conditions. Will my Bonnie handle the heat OK or should I be worrying?

Thanks in advance for any insight you can share!

meatwagon · 12-26-2005

Should be no problem;I've ridden in 100F+ many times,it's worse on the rider than the bike.Drink lots of water and limit skin exposure to the sun.Know when enough's enough.

tba-golfer · 12-26-2005

This "hot" weather you speak of- I am unfamiliar with this conept!

vitabrew · 12-26-2005

Never had a problem wiith the Bonnie going all day in 90-100 degree weather. She handles those temps better than I do. Be carefull not to overheat yourself, and have plenty of water, gatoriad, etc...

Ruthwell · 12-26-2005

I rode all summer in the 90+ and humidity here in the DC/MD/VA area with no problems whatsoever--she seems to like it hot. Nice and dry in the Mojave/Sonora heat sounds good to me!

bennybmn · 12-26-2005

May not be a bad idea to get an oil temp gauge just in case.... If it gets too hot, may be a good excuse to have a water break.

wnt2rd · 12-26-2005

The only problem with over heating I have is in the city on extremely hot days. For example; if I'm looking for parking on a very hot day and I stop and go a lot in a short amount of time, the clutch starts to stick a bit and the bike struggles a bit on acceleration. I use 10W40 partial synthetic oil. I've never had a problem with over heating at speeds over 25 m.p.h.

ssjones · 12-26-2005

"JJ" on the BonnevilleAmerica.com forum just rode to Las Vegas and back in less than a week on his America. Rode through Death Valley during the trip. He didn't have any trouble, but carries extra gas.

HiVel · 12-26-2005

Get the oil temp guage from Brent-and for Goodness sake use the Full synthetic 20W-50 Mobil Motorcyclce oil for the hot trip. you will be glad you did. That should keep your bike tip top in the heat. I would be more worried about me than the bike in that heat. I live in Alabama and it do get hot here-no problems with the Full Syn
20W-50 oil which you can buy at most Wal-marts for less than $8.00 a qt. It is called Mobil V-Twin oil and works great in my Bonnie. It is made for air cooled twins.

dazco · 12-26-2005

I'm in California and bought mine in the heat of summer. No problems, but then i won't ride when it gets so hot that it's very uncomfortable. But i rode up close to 100 degree days with no ill effects as far as reliability. As for the ride tho, the bike doesn't run nearly as good when it's reaal hot out as it does on a regular day. loses power and feels lathargic.