There's nothing unusual about a glowing front header. That's perfectly normal.
Where I ride, 2 bars is normal, three at a long light. I've seen four bars a few times where it's really hot and I'm idling or working a difficult off road section. I've never seen five bars, that'd be bad. I'm not certain there's anything wrong with your bike. Now, if you'd told me it won't rise above a single bar in normal riding, I'd say you should be concerned.
If you think the temp gauge is confounding, wait till you notice how the fuel gauge works. With a full tank, the first bar disappears after about 90 miles of gas, the second bar after 50miles, The third at after 30 miles and the fourth after 20. That last bar starts blinking after another 10 miles and both bar and fuel indicator start blinking another 10 miles later. Of course, YMMV.
Where I ride, 2 bars is normal, three at a long light. I've seen four bars a few times where it's really hot and I'm idling or working a difficult off road section. I've never seen five bars, that'd be bad. I'm not certain there's anything wrong with your bike. Now, if you'd told me it won't rise above a single bar in normal riding, I'd say you should be concerned.
If you think the temp gauge is confounding, wait till you notice how the fuel gauge works. With a full tank, the first bar disappears after about 90 miles of gas, the second bar after 50miles, The third at after 30 miles and the fourth after 20. That last bar starts blinking after another 10 miles and both bar and fuel indicator start blinking another 10 miles later. Of course, YMMV.