The smell of hot rubber.

[Snapper]

Recently, I've begun to notice a fairly strong smell of hot rubber once I've finished riding my (2012) 650 'Strom. Knowing that it had nothing to do with my cornering skills  (and therefore my tyres), I realised that it must have something to do with the engine.

At first, it seemed to be coming out of the exhaust pipe, but now I am starting to think that the radiator hoses may be the source of the odour  . What I have also noticed is that the engine temp gauge always runs on three bars, once the motor is warmed up, but after stopping and switching the engine off, it quickly goes up to six bars  ! Is this normal? Should the electric fan be cutting in when the bike is stationary (even after the engine is switched off)?

Of course, it may just be that six bars is the default setting once the ignition is switched off then on again (with the engine is not running) - maybe that's what I'm seeing  !?

I wonder if anyone else here notices a 'hot rubber' smell from their bike and if it is something that I should be concerned about. I plan to check the coolant level and the fuse for the radiator fan when I next go out to work on the bike (it's under it's winter blanket at the moment  ), but I wanted to get some feedback first, in case there is anything else that I should be looking at.

Thanks, in advance, for any input  .

[grumps]

Pal of mine had the same with his Tiger 1050.

He checked everything and couldn't pin it down. It eventually went away but only after about 100 miles

Answers will be interesting. Thanks

[Rusty Nuts]

Happens when riding in rain. All my water cooled bikes have done this. Used to worry me.

[Snapper]

(Removed unnecessary quote)

Really? Why in rain  - I'm missing the point, I think  ?

[grumps]

Rusty

I have had many many water cooled bikes and never smelt burning rubber. I do smell the drying rain/splash etc on the exhaust and engine but that also happens on air cooled.

You could be on the right lines with water cooled, but why? Hoses drying rain??

Thanks

[greywolf]

You're turning off the engine with the kill switch. That causes the display to register a CHEC meaning a safety switch is in the wrong position to start the engine. A CHEC is displayed if the kill switch is not in the run position or the side stand is down with the transmission in gear. When a CHEC is displayed, all the temperature bars fill to call attention to the display. It is not an actual temperature reading. The overheat icon is not displayed along with the bars.

[Snapper]

(Unneccessary quote removed)

Yes, that make sense. I must admit, it was only after my last ride (a couple of weeks ago) that I first looked at the temp gauge and noticed that all the blocks were displayed. It made me think that maybe the fan was supposed to be on when the bike was stationary  . A bad assumption  !

Perhaps there's nothing to worry about after all  .

[grumps]

....but the hot rubber smell?

[greywolf]

I wonder if it might be small amounts of tyre wear mixing with the water that gets thrown back onto the exhaust. I too have noticed an odour following rain rides.

[Snapper]

I don't know. My bike has a plastic shield in front of the exhaust, a mudguard extender and a radiator grille, so it should be less prone to road spray than most  . That said, I don't remember smelling anything before I fitted the (R&G) rad grille - maybe there are some rubber mountings that are getting hot.

Will have to wait until I've ridden the bike some more before I can narrow it down further.