i bet everybody thats posting "never over 35 psi" have the stock harley gauge in the dash. i have a 13 SG and it is true. very low at idle and never above 32.

one of my other 103s has an aftermarket oil pressure gauge. it reads 20 psi at idle, 40-45 running down the road. i like looking at this gauge much better.

anecdotal for sure. feeds off the idiot light oil pressure site.

i'm sure this will start another round of shouts and cries, but it is what it is.

 

Ok, not to hijack the threads but; if there is a bypass for pressure above ~32psi isn't it pointless to have 40-45? And what is being bypassed, the filter? My bike has the cam upgrade done with new oil pump but I'm not getting the pressures some of these guys are claiming. I understand more is usually better, but if it is not contributing to the health of the engine why bother?

And I'm glad I'm not the only one tired of wscott's miles long posts and complete lack of grammar.

 

Sorry not all the bearings in the newer Harley's are roller bearings. The cams at the plate are held up on a thin layer of oil created by oil pressure. Also if there is no pressure the oil is not moving. The lifers and top end will start to suffer. You'll know it because it will sound terrible! You don't need much pressure but 5-8 psi is not enough. I did the screaming eagle plate with a baisley spring and I will say I am 60 hot running down the road and 30+/- idle. I think that is too much and am considering putting the stock oil relief spring in and should be 15-20 idle and 40's at speed. Should be perfect. The baisley Spring is perfect for a stock plate. Brings the pressure up but not too much.

 

Sorry not all the bearings in the newer Harley's are roller bearings ... I accept your apology ... but you do get the point that with ANY roller bearings there will be significant reduction on low/slow engine speed but enough to keep critical parts lubricated ... that was my point :>)

 

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"i bet everybody thats posting "never over 35 psi" have the stock harley gauge in the dash. i have a 13 SG and it is true. very low at idle and never above 32."

THATS NOT REALLY THE CASE & HERE'S WHY.

Its actually over heated oil in summer cond with faring & lowers making motor run hotter causing the lower oil pressure & not the design of the oil pressure gauge or sending unit.

And even good quality syn oil doesnt have to be that hot to experience low oil pressure issues that i see when oil temp gets to approx 225-230 deg f where perf has already started to degrade & its all downhill from there perf wise as oil temp go's past 225-230 deg f in summer heat on my hd.

I have 09 flhtcu with stock oil pump in motor along with stock oil pressure and oil temp gauge in batwing with stock 96" motor that " used to run " oil pressure of 5-6-8ish psi @ idle & 32-35psi at cruise in summer heat (85-90+ deg f ) caused by hot thinned/stressed/sheered oil visc wise even with good quality dino,semi-blend or full syn bike oil,same issue in real summer heat.

I saw the issue (HEAT!) & addressed it by installing an ultracool oil cooler with twin cooling fans & wards cooling fans (targets cooling heads & upper cyls) both at same time which reduced oil temp a whopping 50deg f significantly reducing the load on the oil so its now less thinned or sheered visc wise.

Now oil pressure in summer heat went from 5-6-8ish psi @ idle & 32-35psi at cruise with no cooling mods to now with cooling mods
& oil being 50 deg f cooler in summer heat to being solid 18psi @ idle & 45-47psi @ cruise in summer heat which was very nice 10-12psi increase in oil pressure post addressing/reducing oil& /engine temp not stressing/sheering the oils visc anymore which was the root cause of low oil pressure in summer heat.

THERE WAS NO NEED TO INSTALL AN AFTERMARKET HI PERF OIL PUMP OR HI PERF SPRING IN STOCK PUMP TO INC OIL PRESSURE 10-12 PSI IN MY BIKE BECAUSE I ADDRESSED THE ROOT CAUSE BEING " HEAT " !

THAT NOT ONLY IMPROVED MY BIKES OIL PRESSURE IN SUMMER A LOT IT ALSO RESULTED 4-5 ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS IN ENGINE PERF & OVERALL RIDING COMFORT TOO.

50 deg f cooler oil also resulted in:

* NO MORE DETONATION

* VALVES/LIFTERS NOW REMAIN QUIET DUE TO COOLER OIL MAINTAINING BETTER VISC & MOTOR RETAINING BETTER & HIGHER OIL PRESSURE DUE TO LESS LESS SHEER/VISC LOSS COLLECTIVELY TOGETHER KEEPING THE HYD LIFTERS PUMPED UP BETTER WHICH KEEPS VALVETRAIN QUIETER IN THE PROCESS.

* MOTOR NOW RETAINS THE PWR/TRQ & CRISP THROTTLE RESPONSE IT USED TO ALWAYS LOOSE IN SUMMER HEAT DUE TO HEAT SOAK WHICH IS NOW A THING OF THE PAST AND GREAT IMPROVEMENT IN ENGINE PERF IN SUMMER HEAT TOO.

* HOT STARTS LIKE POST FUELING UP ARE NOW EASIER/FASTER DUE TO MOTOR/BATTERY/STARTER NOT BEING AS HEAT SOAKED.

* OIL NOW BEING 50 DEG F COOLER IN SUMMER HEAT EQUATES TO X-AMOUNT COOLER RUNNING MOTOR TOO SO THERE IS
IN FACT LESS HEAT BEING GIVEN OFF BY THE MOTOR/CYLS BACK ONTO THE RIDER SO THE BIKE IS MORE PLEASURABLE TO RIDE IN SUMMER HEAT TOO.

And so on!/LOL!

HAPPY MOTORING!

SCOTT

 

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WOW,30psi @ idle & 60 psi @ cruise in summer heat is a bit high oil pressure .

Heres the root cause of your bikes low oil pressure in summer heat i just posted elsewhere that i experienced 1st hand so know its the case and not just opinion like is being posted here at times.

Scott

I have 09 flhtcu with stock oil pump & stock 96" motor that " used to run " oil pressure of 5-6-8ish psi @ idle & 32-35psi at cruise in summer heat (85-90+ deg f ) caused by hot thinned/stressed/sheered oil visc wise even with good quality dino,semi-blend or full syn bike oil,same issue in real summer heat.

And all that starts happening @ only approx 225-230deg f oil temp & just gets worse as oil temp rises from there no matter the type & quality oil i tried though some faired better then others.

I saw the issue (HEAT!) & addressed it by installing an ultracool oil cooler with twin cooling fans & wards cooling fans (targets cooling heads & upper cyls) both at same time which reduced oil temp a whopping 50deg f in summer heat significantly reducing the load & stress on the oil so its now less thinned or sheered visc wise.

Now oil pressure in summer heat went from 5-6-8ish psi @ idle & 32-35psi at cruise with no cooling mods to now with the 2 cooling mods & oil being 50 deg f cooler in summer heat to being a solid 18psi @ idle & 45-47psi @ cruise in summer heat .

That was very nice 10-12psi increase in oil pressure post addressing/reducing oil& /engine temp not stressing/sheering the oils visc anymore which was the root cause of low oil pressure in summer heat.

THERE WAS NO NEED TO INSTALL AN AFTERMARKET HI PERF OIL PUMP OR HI PERF SPRING IN STOCK PUMP TO INC OIL PRESSURE 10-12 PSI IN MY BIKE BECAUSE I ADDRESSED THE ROOT CAUSE BEING " HEAT " that was sheering the oils visc in summer heat of approx 80-85deg f & even worse @ 90-95-100 deg f .

So if you remove current hi perf pump & re-install stock pump install the same 2 cooling mods i did that should reduce oil temp 40-50 deg in summer heat & your motor will maintain much better higher oil pressure in summer heat along with 4-5 other great benefits in engine perf and overall riding comfort i got too all of which you can see/read which i posted elsewhere in this same thread.

Scott

 

Same here. I've never seen over 35psi on any Harley I've ever owned. My present 10 Ultra uses full syn, PCV, Jagg oil cooler and the most powerful cooling fans I could find and still don't see over 35-36psi at cruise.

 

My oil pressure has read about 32psi (at start up) cold and warmed up at idle about 8psi from day one, & going down the freeway about 29psi.

Just for kicks last week i removed the sending unit and installed a manual gauge to see just how much or little oil pressure I really have.

Turns out cold while idling engine has about 41 psi, hot & at idle pressure reads 23psi and hot at 2000rmp reading was 34psi.

I put the sending unit back in and moved on with my life.

For what it's worth before anyone starts spending money to improve their oil pressure I recommend using a manual gauge and checking what you really have or do not have.

Never trust an electric gauge. JMHO

 

Hey tinman. I also have the SE cam plate w/ high volume pump. I didn't change the spring and the numbers are exactly what your looking for.

 

temperature relates to oil pressure, as everybody knows, so cooling also relates. Here, however, everyone seems to assume that either all or most cooling is via transfer by air-flow. In reality a great deal of heat is dumped via radiation. Stuffing that motor in tight and snug and generally reducing the radiation vectors - as we see in some models more than others - is also a factor in establishing equilibrium at some Nth oil temp and condition set.

Modern synthetic 50 or 60 w oil - and removing the radiation blockers - then using a smoke trail in a thoughtful and logical way - Well, never have had a serious overheating experience - or any oil pressure problem.

You only have to dissipate about 9 kw...at about 60 mph. Easy if scooter stripped down. Of course at 100 mph the numbers get bigger closer to 90 kw.

Feel free to check the numbers - I might be wrong!