[Marcat]

Harley is advertising new parts and accessories, and one of these is an oil cooler. Has anyone installed one of these yet ? Is it worth it ?
I have been reading a lot of articles about Synthetic oils, temperature, wear, etc, etc. Surely this cooler would also help ?
Any ideas.

Cheers

[AFNurse]

I am certainly NOT a pro when it comes to this (and I am sure that others with much more knowledge will chime in soon!). Here is MY understanding of this... 1. There is such thing as too hot...you burn up the motor faster.
2. there IS such thing as not getting up to safe operating temperature (this is why you warm up longer in the winter then summer and such)
3. Synthetic oil does seem to lower the running temp a few degrees (for me, was seat of the pants eval....not a clue on HOW MANY degrees).
4. Oil coolers will help you run cooler....but keep this in mind... you must have moving air in order for it do cool more oil....Being stuck in traffic means that instead of 3-4 quarts of oil that are overheating, you have MORE oil over heating! I am not aware of any oil coolers for HD that include a fan to FORCE air over the cooler. Again, per MY understanding, if you run in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico or other WAY TO HOT type of states, you may consider adding an oil cooler to help prolong your bike life.....if you live further north, not as important, OR you can try to have a shut off so in cooler weather you don't cool your oil too much (kinda like putting cardboard on the radiator on your car in the winter!)

Hope someone else with more knowledge chips in!!! Good luck!!

[AZroaddust]

Oh for sure use an oil cooler in AZ! I was out yesterday and I don't think we had hit 100 deg. F yet and my oil temp was 200 deg. F WITH a Stage I Oil Cooler! It will be interesting to see what happens when we start hitting 110 -120 again! I may not ride it then. My thighs were HOT when I stopped at lights or in sluggish traffic. As long as it's moving there IS a big difference.

Not to be picky AFNurse, but I would suggest a bypass valve for use in the winter to re-route the oil before going into the cooler. Not a shut off valve.

Also, here's a tip on coolers: Motorcycle tech tips

[AFNurse]

Originally Posted by AZroaddust

Not to be picky AFNurse, but I would suggest a bypass valve for use in the winter to re-route the oil before going into the cooler. Not a shut off valve.

Also, here's a tip on coolers: Motorcycle tech tips

Not to worry...KNEW that someone would have a better way of wording things or doing things that I was thinking of!! I don't have one on my bike yet.....run synthetic, have no clue as to how hot my oil gets..... should think about it being in Texas, BUT, I move around every 3-4 years, so my next location might be snow bound!!!

[skull2007]

i have one on my 06 hertiage. i'm not sure how well it works, but doubt it will hurt anything on some hot days in PA. The big thing is. . . . . . .it sure looks good, oh don't forget they offer a "kit" this way you get the thermo bypass and chrome cover

[chucktx]

markat, an oil cooler will help with engine cooling, but, it depends where your living/riding. if your in the far north, an oil cooler would probably be a waste of money, as the temps dont get that hot....but in the south, i definatly recomend one. i put one on my 06 electra glide, but didnt go to harley to do it. went to the parts store and got a cooler for a powersteering pump. in the winter i have a leather cover i put over it. i know it works as i also installed an oil temp gauge from the parts house. i rode the bike for a few months without the cooler, then with. the temps are about 10/20 degrees cooler.........hope this helps a bit.

[kenfuzed]

I too suggest using a thermal bypass valve to aid in proper warm up. That way oil is only passing through the cooler once it reaches a designated temperature. Surface area is important when selecting a cooler. Those chrome dual tube type coolers that are designed to align with each down tube look nice but IMO do little to reduce heat. The larger coolers may not look as nice but are much more efficient. Also be sure to keep your idle speed up to allow for proper circulation and heat transfer. The biggest cooler in the world won't do any good if oil isn't circulating through it.

[skull2007]

be careful . . . the olde steeler still has 06 kits in stock which don't come with the chrome cover. make sure they don't try to give you one of them like they did me. they run around 300.00. oh and the 07 cover won't fit the 06. they are no covers for the 06. so . . . make sure you get a 07

[Crisco]

I'm moving to Vegas from Wyoming in a month and was going to start a thread about oil coolers, til I saw this one.

My plan is to first, switch to synthetic. Then I'm think I'm going to go with an offset oil filter adapter for oil coolers, that has the built in themostat set at 180F. Probably go with a Jaggs oil cooler.

The only thing that has me thinking is the automatic thermostat. How will I know if it's working correctly, or more importantly, how will I know if it fails. Obviously, I'll keep an eye on the temp with a temperature dipstick, but it still has me worried. I see that Jaggs makes a manual by-pass valve, wonder if that would be the way to go?

Any thoughts? Anybody have this set-up or something similar?

[Crisco]

bump

[chucktx]

i dont know anything about the jags....i have always built and installed my own coolers, and kept a leather to put over them in the wintertime. just my old school i guess. i do use a temp gauge tho...and monitor it.

[hotroadking]

Adding an oil cooler doesn't add a lot of oil, unless you build one of those engine guard coolers, with the HD and other units you won't need to add oil to keep it up, it takes out maybe 1/8th of a qt if that.

Running synthetic like mobil1 Vtwin or HD Syn3, etc etc will help keep the motor cool, along with a cooler.

HD's kits come with thermostats so the coolers are disengaged until the oil is up to temp.

One thing about them a lot talk about how they don't do anything in stopped traffic, that is true, however once you start moving the cooler will bring the temps down faster than if you don't have one.

Running down in FL I have one on my motor seems to make a difference as I had it off during the time HD swapped my old unit out for a new one and the motor was much warmer.

[skull2007]

When i got mine i did alot of searching and pricing. i found that HD's kit was the best buy. in my opinion though i believe if you are serious about keeping the engine temp down you would be best to do as chuck does and make your own

[HDManic]

Save your money..I run Royal Purple 20/50 and on a hot summer day even in traffic at 100 degrees my oil never goes over 175 degrees..

Geo

[chucktx]

which r/p do you run?.....air cooled or water cooled oil?? they have 2 types. the automotive wont stand the temps created by an aircooled engine, there oil for air cooled engines does what it says....pricey, but it does work