Just curious, my first bike with a oil pressure gage and I am reading next to nothing at idle and jumps to 30+ while cruising.

 

15 to 30 PSI at idle depending on the temp and around 50 at 2500 RPM. But, I have the Axtell bypass setup.

 

there is a bleed off which will limit oil pressure under about 32 PSI- excess pressure is relieved between the oil pump and the oil filter ( the service manual gives a good description of the path the oil takes from tank to tank).

oil pressure and volume is dependent on motor rpms- which is why idle speed is spec'd at about 1000 rpms, to provide enough oil to lubricate AND cool the motor internals.

the gauge will drop down at idle and appear to be next to nothing- and with HOT oil which gets thinner readings may be even lower/ conversely cold oil readings ( thicker) will be higher- but still limited to 32 psi

when cold at start up- with initial idle speed around 1200 or more I see 10 to 15 psi after riding and a hot motor the idle drops and the oil thins and I see lower readings

this is a stock 96" 2009 model

owners posting their result with modified oil pumps etc might as well post numbers for their nissan- it doesnt apply

Mike

 

A lot of compound stresses originate in the tube as soon as the pressure is applied. This makes the travel of the tip to be non-linear in nature. "Tube"? bourdon tube gauges non linear.

oil pressure requirement of roller-bearing engines - like plain journal engine, is simply enough push to get oil to the places where it's supposed to be.

Steam turbine 1,000 mw oil pressure at journal is about the same as the "pressure" in your coffee cup...

As long as motor runs and sounds ok and oil is returning to the tank and some pressure shows on the highway - 30 is maybe a bit higher than I'd expect - but it's the flow, not the pressure...more or less.

I have found that 50W in Summer - or even 60W, seems to make my scooters happier than 20/50...though 20/50 in the Fall as temps drop...
Best! Don't worry. Sounds normal. Just make sure oil is returning to tank.

 

It looks like 0 at idle, but is actually about 8 if you get down and look. It sits about 32 cruising down the highway.

 

34 psi running down the road, 26 psi at idle. S & S cam chest and pump

 

SE cam plate and high volume pump here. Hot idle runs 15-20. Hot cruising runs 40-45 on the gauge. Before I saw 5-8 on hot idle. and about 30 cruising.

 

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Your motors oil pressure in summer heat is avg for an HD that is in fact due to excessive heat stressing & thinning the oil leading to multiple heat related issues & reduction in engine perf in mult ways & reduction in overall rider comfort too.

In summer heat my 09 Hd " USED TO " have 6-8psi max at idle & 32 psi or so at cruise due to excessive heat from the motor stressing & thinning the oil in temps or approx 80 deg f or more .

I directly addressed the heat issue by installing an ultracool oil cooler with twin elec cooling fans & wards cooling fans that target cooling heads & upper cyls that collectively together reduced oil temp 50 deg f in summer heat.

And even if your hd has stock oil cooler its just about useless when needed most like when sitting in traffic @ lights or in slow moving traffic due to lack of airflow thru the cooler without cooling fans until you gate back up to a decent cruise speed for quite a few miles to start cooling the oil & motor back down again thats not an issue on my bike anymore with UC oil cooler & Wards fans that both have " twin elec cooling fans ".

Now in same 90+ deg summer heat oil pressure in my bike went from a dismal 6-8psi max at idle & 32 psi or so at cruise without the 2 cooling mods to now 18psi @ idle & 45-47psi @ cruise in same 90+ deg heat which was a huge 10-12psi improvement in oil pressure without having to go into the motor to install a hi perf hi pressure pump or hi pressure spring and still not get as good a result as i did in summer heat because they didnt address the root cause which is excessive heat.

I also run spectro 20-50 oil they specifically formulate for hd's that i found held better oil pressure in summer heat then m1 v-twin & syn3 both syn 20-50 i tried prior in my bike that held a bit lower oil pressure in summer heat resulting in a bit more valve/lifter noise too.

Reducing oil temp 50 deg f in my HD motor in summer heat also resulted in:

* NO MORE DETONATION

* VALVES/LIFTERS REMAIN QUIET

* MOTOR RETAINS THE PWR/TRQ & CRISP THROTTLE RESPONSE IT USED TO ALWAYS LOOSE IN SUMMER HEAT PRIOR TO INSTALLING THE 2 COOLING MODS.

* OIL/MOTOR RUNNING COOLER MEANS A BIT LESS HEAT IS HITTING THE RIDERS SO THERE'S AN OVERALL IMPROVEMENT IN RIDING COMFORT HEAT WISE ALONG WITH IT ALSO BEING NICE NOT HEARING NOISY VALVES ANYMORE ,MORE DETONATION AND SEEING THE MOTOR RETAIN 10-12PSI HIGHER OIL PRESSURE AT ALL TIMES IN SUMMER NOW TOO.

* MOTOR HOT STARTS EASIER/FASTER DUE TO STARTER / BATTERY/ MOTOR BEING COOLER.

And that all starts happening at approx 228-230 deg f oil temp where even at that not so high an oil temp i would still see a noticeable reduction in oil pressure at that temp in summer heat prior to inst the 2 cooling mods and it just got much worse real quick when oil temp went to the 240-260+ range.

At 230 deg f + i would start feeling more heat from motor,more valve noise,motor would start to detonate & loose considerable pwr/trq & thorttle resp would get soggy along with harder bit slower hot starts like post fueling up.

Ok,so now you have real solution to your motors poor oil pressure on hot days that not only addresses the root cause (excessive heat!) that also results in 4-5 additional improvements in engine perf & overall rider comfort at the same time too with the question of the day being :

Are you going to actually do something about the excessive heat thats sucking the pwr/trq & overall riding comfort out of your hd in summer heat?

Or are you going to be like most other guys here in hdforums after reading my post (that never tried it!) totally ignore the results & or dont believe the 5-6 great improvements my hd got post cooling oil 50deg f in summer heat by saying hd's dont have heat issues in summer cond & or hd's wont benefit from the 2 cooling mods i installed on my bike even after reading what it did for my bike that made it run ,perform & ride like a much better completely diff bike in summer heat vs prior to installing the 2 cooling mods when it :

Perf'd like crap and was much less enjoyable to ride for all the reasons i already stated above that are all due to excessive heat issues all air cooled hds experience in summer heat with worst case HD's having a faring & lowers making motor run even hotter (more heat to riders too!) stressing & thinning the oil even more leading to mult perf & comfort issues.

Happy Motoring.

Scott

 

14 SGS, stock motor w/ Stg 1 upgrades - 8-12 psi at idle & 31-35 psi at highway speeds. It varies with motor temps. HDs are known for high flow but lower psi oil pumps.

 

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LOL!!!!

In 90+ deg f summer heat with stock oil pump & spring my hd " now has " 18psi @ idle & 45-47psi @ cruise .
when it used to have only 6-8psi @ idle & 32psi or so @ cruise & you wonder how i could do that without inst a hi perf oil pump.

Yeh,after you went into the motor to inst a new perf pump all you got was 1 improvement being the same approx inc in oil pressure in summer heat i got post cooling my bikes motor that also resulted 4-5 additional great improvements in engine perf & overall riding comfort too that " you dont get " with perf oil pump the motor really didn't need if you address " the root cause" thats " excessive heat " stressing the oil & motor.

By addressing the root cause /excessive heat & cooling my motor with an oil cooler having elec cooling fans and wards cooling fans too reducing oil temp 50deg in summer heat i also got mult other benefits you didnt get because you didnt address the root cause excessive heat which are just to name a few you didnt get:

* MOTOR NOW RETAINS THE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PWR/TRQ & CRISP THROTTLE RESPONSE IT USED TO ALWAYS LOOSE IN SUMMER HEAT PRIOR TO INSTALLING THE 2 COOLING MODS

* NO MORE DETONATION

* LESS VALVE/LIFTER NOISE

* LESS HEAT HITTING THE RIDERS

* BETTER/FASTER/EASIER HOT STARTS LIKE POST FUELING UP

Bottom line is when i addressed the root cause being excessive when installing the 2 cooling more that not aonly inc oil pressure in summer heat 10-12psi it also addressed & fixed 5 other heat related engine perf & rider comfort issues you didnt get fixed when putting a bandaid fix of hi perf oil pump that only helped with 1 issue.

I keep pushing this point because so many of you guys are totally missing the bigger picture on your hds heat related perf issues in summer heat which all our air cooler hd's in fact suffer a lot from in summer heat with mult per issues i already stated which you guys refuse to believe when it's right in front of your eyes when you read the results i got but have never tried it with heat issues in summer heat right under your butt roasting you ,its in your ears with detonation @ times & more valve noise along with in your sight too with much lower oil pressure thats in the gutter in summer heat esp @ idle with some guys bikes showing 3-5psi at idle with isnt good.

BTW,another thing to consider is when oil pressure is that low at idle there are little jets in the motor that spray oil on lower piston skirts to cool them on hd's that stops doing it to ensure more oil/oil pressure is going to main bearings/crank/lifters/valvetrain when pressure is so low at idle and the jets dont start spraying again till oil pressure inc again when motor get above an idle.

My bike feels/runs/rides /perf's much better feeling like a totally diff better bike riding in summer heat then it used to before inst the 2 cooling mods that most guys here have never tried and are totally missing out having a much better riding & perf bike in summer heat with the 2 cooling mods that make you smile mile after mile of have no more detonation,less valve noise,more pwr & trq w-crisp thorttle resp,less hitting you.

But i guess you guys know what your talking about because you in fact never tried it so not trying it puts you in a position to know your hd's wont benefit a lot from installing the 2 cooling mods i did.

" You can lead a horse to water but cant make it drink. "

Happy Motoring in summer heat on your HD's with the motors & oil running a lot hotter then it needs to be.

Scott