I got a 2008 Nightster and ride in BC, Canada. It doesn't get terribly hot here, but then 90% of my riding is mostly in town for short commutes.

I want to give my bike the very best and was wondering if anyone's had experience with the HD or after market oil coolers? Is there any difference between them and which would you recommend?

Also, has anyone with an oil temp gauge noticed the difference in oil temp before and after installing an oil cooler, especially with just short commutes booting around town where not a lot of air circulates around the engine.

Thanks for any advice,
Raz

 

I don't think you need one, particularly if you're running synthetic oil, which seems to run 10-20F cooler than dinojuice. I'm south of you, ride on hot days (we had 105F last month) and my oil temp never went over 205F, even blasting up the hill where I live (a 500' climb in a mile).
I like synthetic because while the oil tank temp may only be 205, I'm sure the head is a lot hotter, and oil sitting there is no doubt warmer than 205.
Cheers,
Mac

 

I have a side mounted after market Jagg oil cooler installed on one Sportster and I have the HD SE side mounted oil cooler installed on another Sportster. Both of those Sportsters have the temperature gauge in the top of the oil dip stick. Both of those Sportsters have a lower displayed temperature now than before when they did not have the oil coolers installed on them. Both of the oil coolers seem to work well and do their job. I really have no preference between the two units. I kind of like the Jagg oil cooler only because it doesn’t stick out as far from the side of the bike as the SE oil cooler does, but the SE oil cooler may be more efficient at doing its job than the Jagg oil cooler is. It might also come down to money for you. The Jagg oil cooler is a little bit less expensive than the HD SE oil cooler is. I also kind of like the Jagg oil cooler because it is NOT a Harley item, but there are people that would rather have the HD SE oil cooler because it IS a Harley item. You should check out what is available in oil coolers and make your decision based on what you like for looks and performance for your bike. I live in Southern California and the majority of my riding is at high speed, on highways, riding through the deserts of California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. An oil cooler is not a mandatory item. I run Mobil 1 Synthetic 20/50 V-Twin oil and I am content that it gives me enough protection as is. One of the oil coolers was a present from a friend and if I didn’t run it they might be bummed out about it so that one went on after I got it. The other one was because I was about to go on a cross country, coast to coast and back again, trip of just over 6,000 miles and I wanted to have some piece of mind about the oil temperature and have one less thing to worry about. I use one Sportster to go back and forth from home to work every day, about a 10 mile commute each way, and for all of my little around town kind of riding, and again it just gives me some piece of mind about the overall oil temperature. Hey, good luck with your Sportster and ride safe!