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While I still have a significant post to put together regarding the recent "Mega Trip" my wife and I took on our 400's, I wanted to share an issue we ran across. I will significantly shorten the whole story simply to note that apparently due to a low-speed drop, the left-hand plastic fan shroud piece dislodged from where it tabs into the inside fender, with its leading edge moving to the inside of said fender piece. This allowed contact between the shroud and the fan blade. Sometime after doing so, when the fan came into play it worked but caused enough friction that when it later shut down, the fan and subject shroud fused together. Thereafter, whenever the fan tried to kick on, the fuse would blow. Since our riding at the time was cold or cool start-up followed by higher speed riding where there was enough air movement through the radiator that the fan was not needed, the problem did not crop up until slowing back down such as to get gas. If the engine was fully warm, it could be only a matter of blocks or two hundred miles when, while slowing down to turn or stop it would die...never while at speed.
Before I knew exactly what was wrong but, had a general idea (cooling fan short or jamb), I first took off the bottom plastic and found the fan to be frozen. When I took the side shroud off to look for something like an offending stick, what I took to be the usual "snap" of removing plastic turned out to be the breaking of the bond. Thinking I knew what had taken place (the fan was now fully free, there were marks on the inside of the shroud at the contact point) I put things back together what looked to be the correct way (with the shroud edge on the OUTSIDE of the fender edge) and we have now gone about another 600 miles and many stops with nary a problem! :cheers:
Before I knew exactly what was wrong but, had a general idea (cooling fan short or jamb), I first took off the bottom plastic and found the fan to be frozen. When I took the side shroud off to look for something like an offending stick, what I took to be the usual "snap" of removing plastic turned out to be the breaking of the bond. Thinking I knew what had taken place (the fan was now fully free, there were marks on the inside of the shroud at the contact point) I put things back together what looked to be the correct way (with the shroud edge on the OUTSIDE of the fender edge) and we have now gone about another 600 miles and many stops with nary a problem! :cheers:
