Temp warning light comes on at stoplights

Hello,  noob here....sorry if noob question.
I just bought a 2009 wr250x today , 1150 miles.
Did a test run of 100 miles.  
The red temp warning light is coming on when waiting for long red lights....
when you get moving it goes off.
It never comes on when riding just at idle after about 90 seconds.
Is this normal?  Should I be concerned?
What temp does light come on at?
Any fan mods that help out?
thanks,  Doug

When you are at a long stop with the engine running, the light comes on.
When you get moving and have air passing through the radiator, the light goes out.

Does the radiator fan come on and spin at all?

If you live in a place like Phoenix it might be normal in August. (Where do you live?)

My bike does not do that, and I live in stop light hell.

You might want to check, or just change the radiator fluid and make sure you have the proper ratio of antifreeze to water.

Knowing if your fan is running or not before that light comes on, or even after that light comes on is important.
Do you know?

Do you have any kind of aftermarket radiator protector?
Is your radiator cap stock or aftermarket?

Bike is bone stock, showroom new, factory fill coolant
YES, radiator fan is coming on.

UPDATE- There is a silly allen set screw on cap is reason I did not check coolant level.
I removed that and radiator is pretty low.
I am going to check tightness of hose clamps but where else should I check for leaks?
Dealership says " we completelely checked over bike" yeah right.

dougfromindy wrote:

UPDATE-  There is a silly allen set screw on cap is reason I did not check coolant level.
I removed that and radiator is pretty low.
I am going to check tightness of hose clamps but where else should I check for leaks?
Dealership says " we completelely checked over bike" yeah right.

I want to leave that allen screw out of the cap for good, you guys do that?

If you feel confident you won't loose the cap from not having it installed correctly or trust that no passers-by will mess with your cap.

It's a safety/security thing, so I left mine on there.
It works so well, even owner's can't get it off. ;)

YZEtc wrote:

It works so well, even owner's can't get it off.  ;)

 

Looks like you found the problem. I was under the impression that adding coolant/oil/partial assembly was done by the dealer upon delivery. Perhaps the guy putting it together didn't bleed the system; he saw it come to the top and capped it thinking it was good.

For the record, I'm in Tucson, AZ where it's plenty hot and I have yet to see my temp light come on. Ever.

I am a high-temperature rider too, living in Palm Springs.  You seem to have found that your low radiator level was causing the overheating at stoplights.  You refilled it and the problem went away.

There should never be a low radiator level on the WR unless your coolant recovery tank (behind the left shroud) runs empty.  The cooling system uses the recovery tank in two ways.  

1. When you start the bike from cold and run it, as the bike gets hot, the coolant expands and a small amount of the fluid moves from the radiator into the coolant recovery tank.  

2. When the bike cools down, it sucks fluid from this tank back into the radiator, so there should never be an air gap inside of the radiator.  

I suggest checking your radiator level again after the bike has completely cooled.  If the fluid is right up to the top, all is OK and forget about it.  If there is a gap, then you probably have a poor seal somewhere between the radiator and the coolant recovery tank.  Usually the culprit is the upper seal on the radiator cap itself (or sometimes just crud), but any tiny leak will allow the radiator to suck in air rather than coolant as it cools.  If there is a poor seal and the WR gets really hot, this air gap will increase in size, and your overheating may return.  

When all is working as it should, you really only need to verify the coolant level in the recovery tank.  I would suggest that after your next few rides, you do an actual radiator check the next day, when the bike is completely cool, to ensure that #2 above is working as it should.

I pulled some panels off this weekend to wire up a GPS.
The overflow tank was empty.
I have topped both tank and radiator and will continue to moniter.
PS- I used Honda coolant in the blue bottle so this should make the bike go faster.

You need to verify that your cooling fan is ok and that it is working.

Bike is fine after many miles. No issues.
Dealership not so great imo.