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RamAir Cooling System For the FL-350
By Ramjet

s it worth the trip? 
A recurring problem with the FL-350 is overheating on long rides during the summer months. This is because the 350 engines sits happily behind the cockpit seat out of the air flow of the machine.

Many creative ideas have been presented to solve this problem, and the majority of efforts are aimed at a water cooled system. I went in the opposite direction; air cooled. I did this for three reasons.

One; It had to help cool the engine.
Two; It had to be cheap.
Three; I had the parts laying around.

There wasn't any point in building this thing if it didn't cool. I owned a Honda V-65 and had a spare12V fan from it. I went into my shop and pulled some aluminum channel to see if I could make a frame that would bolt to the air box and rear support bar behind the 350 seat. Unfortunately, I didn't write down all the dimensions as I did this. It was more of a bang and fit design.

The V-65 fan had a stamped, sheet metal frame and the fan motor itself is removable. I took both "L" channel and flat bar aluminum and formed a frame to hold the V-65 in place.


A few aircraft rivets and some welding with a special material that welds aluminum with a propane torch and "wa 'la", I had a working model of the RamAir.

The next task was to make some type of guard to keep your fingers from getting sawed off by the fan. Mulling over this problem, I discovered that Radio Shack carried an eight inch speaker grill that mated perfectly above the V-65 fan blades. It also sucked a lot of air without issue.

 








 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The speaker screen would also keep most of the elements from pounding the fan. Water didn't appear to be an issue since the fan motor is sealed. I installed two pieces of rubber material under the frame ears where it bolts to the existing air box bolts. The idea was to keep the seal integrity of the air box.

The motor was also easy to remove if it went south on me. I wasn't sure how it was going to perform in the field. The V-65 fan is a very common part and I believe is crosses over to many Honda products.

Complete and painted a cool, rust resistant satin black, I'm ready to install it on my 350. I have no reason not to believe that this will aid in cooling. It couldn't hurt (unless I stick my fingers under it).


Well, it may not work but it's got really slick graphics.


Installation is a breeze. A simple clamp on the rear crossbar behind your seat and the two bolt downs on you airbox and you're all set. If you ever need to remove it, it's just three bolts.

I first tested it at Hatfield McCoy when it was horrible hot outside. I had wired it in way that when you turned the key, the fan kicked on. It was cool to here it wine up behind your head before you started the engine.

It performed well and push a lot of air over the engine. It didn't suck down much dust onto the engine, which was one of my concerns. Does it cool enough to make a difference? I really don't know. I never overheated running with it. I didn't own the 350 long after I installed this to test it properly. Sure, It's not water cooled but it is a cheap and effective way around it. There's something uneasy about having a tank full of hot water sloshing behind your head.

According to the photo record, I built the Ramair in 2002?