I have recently inherited a 2006 that had just over 30 hours of time on it. After my father-in-law originally purchased it, it got very little ride time and ended up in storage for years.

One thing I've noticed is that it is almost impossible to ride without boots and jeans otherwise it feels as if it's burning the skin off my right calf. After a long ride the plastic body panels also seem to start pushing apart, almost as if they are starting to melt. Is there any type of heat shielding I can easily put in place that will help to minimize the excessive heat coming off the engine/exhaust?

 

We had exhaust update kits on the 500 and 700(can't remember if there were ones for the 800?) which was extended exhaust shielding and more asbestos type insulation for the plastic. Plus we reflashed ones that customers complained about overheating because of the lean running condition. A lot of pipes would just glow! You might check with a dealer on reflashing (dont know if kits are still available for the 700 and 800 models),plus others can give you solutions they have come up with. This wasn't a recall,but should have been on the 800. We just got a "tech bulletin" not a service bulletin if I remember correctly that applied to the ones that complained about excessive heat. I believe also a lot of people started wrapping exhausts also to help with heat dissipation. OPT
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think that popo heats up- ride a can-am! I had an 06 sportsman 800 that got pretty hot-
nice in the winter but brutal in the summer!

putting snorkel's on helps keep it cool- but I'm against snorkels- I hate them.

 

Talked with local dealer and they have ordered heat shield and said they can reflash to help with hot running conditions.

This past weekend kids took it out riding and got it real muddy and didn't notice the HOT warning light until it had started leaking coolant. I haven't had a chance to take it apart to find where it is leaking. Added more coolant and ran it for 15 minutes before it started to leak again, then shortly after the HOT warning light came back on. Fan comes on and works fine.

I think the radiator got clogged up with mud and it overheated and something in the coolant line busted under pressure. Now I need to figure out where the leak is occurring. Any suggestions on how to proceed or where to look first? I've never taken off the body panels on this machine so I'm not sure what to undo first!

 

After you clean it up (if really muddy may have to take the radiator off to clean thoroughly,especially around the backside by the fan for any packed mud) fill it with water and leave the radiator cap off to purge any air while you check for leaks. Check first around the water pump cover gasket and at the bottom at the weep hole in case the water pump seal is leaking.Check all hoses and clamps. Also check for any seepage around the head gasket and see if you notice any antifreeze smell through the exhaust or any white smoking. If nothing is found after it runs a while and the fan cycles on and off,replace the cap and see if the surge tank overflows usually indicating a bad radiator cap. OPT

 

Installed the heat shield and had it reflashed. Seems to not run quite so hot, but still can get seriously hot on the right leg if you are wearing shorts. I'd like to look into wrapping the exhaust pipes to see if that gives me any additional help. I've read posts that you can buy a heat wrap tape at an autoparts store. Do I then just wrap the exhaust with the tape? I've never seen or done anything like that before with exhaust pipes.

Also, I pulled the radiator, cleaned both sides real good (back side still had a good bit of mud) and filled the system as you suggested. No longer had any problems with it overheating or leaking. Thanks for your help!

 

wrapping an exhaust pipe will cause the engine to run hotter- you could actually damage your engine by wrapping the pipes.

shields on the plastic is fine but I wouldn't wrap a pipe.

they all heat up- I just deal with it. my outty 800 cvt cover gets so hot on the side that the sticker melts off and I have to ride with my foot on the outside of the foot well when riding at slower speeds.

 

Look at this: Color Motorcycle Exhaust Wrap | Heatshield Products OPT

 

I was always taught / told buy the guys at the track that wrapping the headers will decrease the exhaust systems ability to shed heat, wicking it away from the heads.

all that heat that normally dissipates through the pipe, is now being insulated into the pipe and forces the heat to remain in the pipe longer, thus heating it up more-

same principal with visco fuse- firework manufacturers wrap the fuse in foil to speed up the burn rate 50% more.

 

Had a lot of enduro and cross country riders use it,but admittedly they do usually travel a lot faster than most atvs and exhausts were more open to the air Think it's really up to the owners though if they just can't stand the heat anymore on their legs and tired of melted plastic. Have had several 700 and 800 owners do this and loved it. Kinda sorta the same principle as the old XS650 Yamaha pipes which were double walled and Hard Krome brand pipes for the newer bikes. Mainly the exhaust was shielded to keep exhaust pipes from bluing for appearance reasons,but helps also to cut down on the heat transfer to the rider. OPT