Overheating

I was told that twin cams run a lot hotter than the Evos, so I installed a fan (goes where the stock horn goes - left side under the tank). I also replaced the air temperature gauge with an oil temperature gauge. The other day, while stuck in bumper to bumper Boston traffic, not getting out of first gear for about a half hour, my oil temperature was up in the 280 degree range. My thighs were starting to melt!! I never felt this much heat on my '96 Electra Glide. A few questions ..... Does synthetic oil run cooler than non-synthetic? Would an oil cooler make much of a difference in traffic? If so, is there a setup that works with a dresser equipped with a display stand? Any other suggestions most welcome.

05Ultra

I have a 98 Electra Glide classic running synthetic oil. I was stuck in traffic for 45 minutes in Philly traffic. My dresser uses synthetic blend and the temp did not exceed 185 degrees. Note: Outside temps were about 60 degrees. I believe synthetic blend does run cooler.

Ultra, remember that you got to have air moving over the cooler for it to work. So you would still get hot settin in traffic unless you could put that fan on it somehow.
Johnny O.

I agree with all of the replies above, You need air circulation going across the cooler for it to work, I to believe that synth oil runs cooler but when you get the oil to 280 it can, over time cause some damage to the motor. The main destroyer of the V-twin is heat. I suggest when ever a person gets stuck in tracffic that may cause the motor to get to 280, they pull over (if possible) and let the motor cool down. The hotter the oil, whether synth or otherwise, the faster the oil breaks down. Since you have the added fan blowing across the motor there is really nothing more you can do to keep the motor oil cool, but to pull over if ya can to let it cool down. Ride Safe, David.

That # seems high to me. Scary high. TC88 should be running about 230 tops. 250+ and I would be concerned. Are you sure it is that hot? Personally I don’t trust the dipstick gauges. that is if that is what it is, you didn't say what kind it was. Maybe you could swap it out with a friends bike that isn’t hot or put two in a pan of water on the stove and check them against a cooking thermometer. If it is hot their has to be a reason. Could be running lean. Pull the plugs, if they are white it is running lean, that could cause it to run hot. Just don’t let the Ol lady see you using her pots to put that oily dipstick in…….o~`o

gotta watch when watching for plugs

FYI don't forget "gas" these days is designed to burn cleaner..(I try to stick with only 100% gasolinefrom Shell or Sunoco AND NO BP FOR ME!!!)anyways..you may not see much residue on the plug as you may expect in the past (miles on the plug too)..the one thing you do not wanna see is black spots....that is actual pieces of your bike's internals(piston) melting down sticking to the plug... which means way toooooooo lean for a little toooo long!!!!!
If you don't know plugs.... let someone who knows mess with it... unknown tinkering can and has led to unecessary damage.

Hey voodoo, what is wrong with BP? What do you know that I don’t about that gas?
On the plugs, I have managed to get my bike running pretty good doing some basic plug reads and adjusting the fuel with the DFO. I know riders that do it all the time to help dial in their PCIII USB. it's cheaper than but not better than useing a dino. And hey, I’m not arguing with you I’m just learning, ok.
Johnny O.

What? Another oil thread?

I have a 2000 RK down here in Tucson and in the summer sitting in traffic is not fun. Still, I have not had any ill effects from oil temps or obvious break down. My jugs are not fried and I never have smelled any "burned" oil like you do on a toasted engine.

I do not run an oil cooler. I run Semi synthetic Bel Ray and will switch to RevTech 3-1 full synth in all holes before the Bike Talk ride.

Can I benefit from a cooler? Surely from the view point of cooler oil and more oil in the system. But, have I ever found that I needed one? Not really. I have run the hell out of a bunch of EVO's and a Twinkie and have not experienced a single oil related problem.

Do I use a temp gauge? I don't for two reasons. First, for the most part they are about as accurate as using a BBQ thermometer to get a babies temp. Second, the readings are taken in the oil bag and are only really giving a rough approximation of how hot it really is.

Okay, now the other viewpoint. Air cooled aircraft engines almost always have cylinder head temp and oil temp gauges. These are calibrated and installed at points to give the most representative information. Why do they have them? Because most aircraft have cowl flaps that you open or close to regulate the cylinder head temps and the oil temps. You use these two gauges as references to open or close the cowl flaps. You also alter cylinder head temps by leaning or enriching the fuel mixture. You usually control this via one of two ways. If you have an EGT (Exhaust Gas Temp) gauge you can peak the EGT and then add some fuel to bring it back down. For aircraft without EGT gauges you lean out until you get a little stumble then go back until it smooths out and add a tick. Running the oil and head temps too hot in this case is telling you that you are not getting needed air across the cylinders and will reduce the life of the engine needlessly.

I figure by now you are wondering WTF are you really saying here?
The ability of oil to lubricate, carry off deposits, cool (air cooled engines) etc stays stable over a very wide temperature range. If you think about it, oils have been known to live at over 300º without degradation and a lot of oils have flash point of over 400º.

Shovels, Knucks, Pans all ran hot as all get out and oil coolers were rare. Proper maintenance and paying attention to your bike is more important to me. If you are stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, not moving and you believe it is getting too hot, pull over and let it cool down or change your route to get some airflow.

Oil will and does start to break dow at about 220 degrees F.
I would suggest an oil change ASAP.
I beleive in the synthetics after the engine has been broken in properly.
5000 miles usually qualifies as broke in.
In stop and go traffic I also reccomend an oil cooler. As an old shovelhead rider I can honestly say they make one heck of a difference.
You may also want to consider a parade fan. You will see thease on bikes that are in parades, because of the slow speeds they encounter, the "PARADE FANS'
keep air moving over the jugs.
Your spark plugs will tell you a lot about what is happening inside the combustion chamber. If they are a light tan color then you are running lean.(have someone who understands this color thing look at them).
If an engine is running lean then the problem must be corrected. If their is a intake leak then you will run very hot. If this is the case then it's like taking a blow torch to your pistons.
Sorry to be so long winded but this sounds like a problem you should get to the bottom of or sever engine damage could occour.
Good luck!!

yabba dabba

do ...CD said it all...I do not think to much about them gauges except the fuel one... been stuck in heat and traffic many times!!!we shut em off as felt necessary but I knew I had changed the oil before I left for the trip other than that....I made up my mind lomg time ago... I did consider though about one this year when headed for AZ..(in laws live in Safford AZ.) but thought and read and asked others again and again..and again and decided to go with out it... heck they think of these things beofre they build them a little bit....I hope
Not sure how ya' took the last post there JonO but I was just pointing out that something that maybe 05Ultra did not know...no biggie...and AS far as BP I have had bad luck with BP stations over the years my bikes have popped,my cars, truck, lawn mower,the weed eater, kids toyairplane,mini bike,quad runner,dirtbikes,all have ran like dog doo-doo was in there instead... I swear I can tell the difference between the Shell or Sunoco93/94 oct vs BP highgrade in about everything I own...but it could just be the four or five stastions around me...so that was kind of an inside dig on BP from me!!!! I DO stay away from the Meths.as well.. as reccomended but then again I have had/seen engines torn down and some fellas can almost guess your oil and gas types based on the valves...etc...so I just use what 7 out of 9 lifetime-do for a good living Mechanics use....not sure what their choice of tooth paste is though..Does HD make a toothpaste? later All!! seriously... no harm intended Jon O

Didn’t mean to sound like I was offended there voodoo, and I’m not a BP fan, I was just wondering. take care.

Danger hot oil.

I'm switching to peanut oil, 'cause I can fry that at 350 all day long.

A couple of notes.
Petroleum based oil begins to break down immediately. The only magical number I have ever come across is that the base stock and additive packages will burn off faster the closer to the flash point. Since the flash point of petroleum Oil is between 375º to 450º severe damage is usually not going to happen at 220º. Think of it this way, most oil sites recommend that oil is brought up to a minimum of 195º or higher for a period of time to burn off contaminants caused as a by product of combustion. Water does not boil until 220º and water is one by product and when combined with sulfur dioxide forms an acid. The acid is far more harmful to your engine than running the oil at 220º is IMHO. It is a toss up in a way. You need to get it hot enough to boil off the bad stuff and yet not get overly hot. Synthetic can be added at any time and does run cooler to the tune of 20º+.

A lean condition will cause higher cylinder head / combustion chamber / piston top temps like you say and an intake leak is pretty common. There are easy tests to determine if there is one. Plug color is where a lot of us older knuckle busters need to relearn a thing or three. Since there is no Tetraethyl Lead in gaslone anymore we cannot get the nice tan we used to shoot for. Tan / light chocolate looking plugs are running a tick rich. We now want to see a barely off white like a Navajo white. I say if it is not quite scary white is pretty close. You want to see color on the flame front side. If you do not see any color at all, you are lean city.

If you feel that you are really running too hot and want to ease your mind, add a high quality cooler and thermostat. That way, your oil will get at least to 180º before running through the cooler.

Talk about liking gas....My RK hates Texaco, now Shell premium and my '04 Mach1 loved it. The RK rattled like a brand new baby rattle and the Mach1 felt like it gained power....Go figure.

Heat=Oil failure

Well, I read all the previous,, and here is my two cents. First cent, the advantage to an oil cooler, is that you have more oil volume; the more you have the cooler your oil is going to be, and even cooler if your rolling. Secondly cent, I did not here of anybody SPLITTING-LANES. I don’t know about the laws in your state, but, if it was my four thousand dollar motor,(or more) , I would roll on down the road. I don’t like to break the law, but if it was my motor; or a $50.00 ticket; I choose a ticket.

I still stand by what I said about the Petrolium oil Beggining to break down at about 220 Degrees. This is at a level where the components of the oil break down at a molecular level.
I also stand behind spark plugs telling you very much about your engine.
No disrespect intended CD. You do have mountains more experience than myself.

Hey, no harm, it is all good.
Re plugs we are in agreement as I was trying to give more information.

Re oil break down at 220º I agree that some break down is going on but according to everything I have read on the subject including aviation articles, 220º is not a critical temperature.

This is sort of like the same legend that we cannot go beyond 3k oil changes (in cars) and all of a sudden the automotive manufacturers are increasing the intervals and now, Mobil1 can go a lot further? Hmm, me thinks it could have gone a lot further all along.

I would liketo see an independent lab test oils from a-z and give out the information. We could make better decisions that way.

Why we change oil

The reason we change our oil every....so often, is to get all the burned residue and other stuff that occurs in a internal combustion engine. I guess what I'm trying to say is,"Even if you run with synthetic oil you still should change it at the perscribed intervals. This is to remove all the crud that builds up like as in what the filter captures. This crud builds up as a normal byproduct of the gasoline engine. It builds up just as fast in a syn running engine as it does in a fossil oil. The reason many say we could go longer between intervals is due to the fact that fossil oil breaks down with the temps the engine experiences but the syn's do not, at least in comparison.
I'm done....thanks for listening!!