In heavy traffic on a very hot day with lots of stop starting,how long can an air cooled Harley idle safely. is it better to keep switching engine off and on or let it idle?

I shut my off sometimes, but with the new bikes they will shut one cylinder off and switch Back and forth to keep it cool.

Thanx bud but mine is a1998 dynaglide

I've been there - my bike started to make some weird knocking at idle like bad gas - thats when they are over - heating. I'd pull over for a few minutes and let it cool down. If you're just stuck at a light and it's going to change in a minute no sense of shutting it down and risking a non-start... I never shut down in traffic just in case it doesn't re-start, sometimes a hot bike gets cranky... if you're going slow as long as some air is flowing you should be ok unless its is very hot - over 90 F. Those temps are best for a siesta...
You can always add extra cooling in the way of an oil cooler - Using a thicker oil in hot temps is a must - 20w50,

Thanx road king,20/50 oil sounds good. Hope you are well, rod.

Hey Rod,
How did you make out with your idle situation? Although it is not a good thing to let your engine over heat you will start to notice that it is not running right when it starts to get too hot. It could ping and do other weird things letting you know it is having a problem. If you are stuck in traffic and at long lights you could turn your engine off. If it starts to get too hot you may want to pull over to the side of the road and let it cool off for a while and let traffic lighten. In some instances you may not have that option and traffic will continue to be heavy. Unless you have a newer model it will be a judgement call.

Ride safe and hope you are having a great summer across the pond!

Lenny

Hey Rod,
doing well - thanks.
hows your bike running?