Two issues really. What temp should the oil be? Just put in the new oil fill/temp stick and it is a bit troubling. Second, does the installation of lowers affect the cooling of the engine? In my case it really appears to be noticeably hotter since I put the lowers on. My issue or truth..

J

 

I see you're riding a Road King so either your talking about the slip over lowers or the vented ones. My Ultra has the vented ones, and when the vents are closed, the oil temp rises a bit as evidenced by a slight drop in oil pressure. I don't have an oil temperature guage,but oil pressure will indicate whether the oil is hot or not. Normal pressure on my bike is 32 psi. It will drop to about 28 on hot days, or cooler days with the vents closed. Hope that helps you some.

Most of the posts I've read say 220 is about average for a non oil cooler equipped bike, with excursions to 250 or so in heavy traffic on hot days. Most of us run Synthetic oils which will endure up to 300 degrees without losing lubricity.

 

thanks, I do have vented lowers and I am concerned about the temp. I'm wondeirng wheter to go with baker or with hd.

 

You might want to add the HD Premium Oil Cooler, or the one from Jeggs(?). Both are thermostatically controlled.

 

With the lowers on the oil temp generally runs about 10 degrees hotter on. (And I do have a LCD dip stick to verify) That is why I only run with them in the colder months.

 

Great article about oil temps and coolers in the December issue of American Rider. It won't answer your specific question about oil temp and lowers but it will provide some understanding about oil temps, coolers etc. Worth reading.

 

My experience with having recently installed fairing lowers on my '04 EG is that the temp goes up slightly at cruising speeds due to less air flow at the rear cylinder--probably less than 10* based on the HD oil temp gauge with the sending unit in the oil pan.

You could have the ECM adjusted to deliver just slightly more fuel to the rear cylinder since the additional gas will cool the rear cylinder.

With a good synthetic oil, I wouln't worry about the temps unless you are in the desert with ambient temps over 90*.

 

Thanks, that is a great help and great advice! Ride safely.
Best,
J

 

Read a great article in American Iron magazine (December?). Basically discussed whether you should use an oil cooler or not. The take away was that EVERY Harley should have an oil cooler (except VRod)... and that the best one to get was a 10-row Jeggs cooler. In fact, in the article, the guy had installed 2 of them on the bike!! Not sure I'd go to that extreme, but it did convince me that I was going to install one this winter.

 

I'll try to find the article, thanks... is the pic in Yellowstone? Back in 1974 my wife and I had breakfast with the Bison... back when you could camp and get around on your own. Thanks for the response.