The only things that bother me about the Ultra-Cool are the price and lack of a an oil-flow thermostat. I could overlook the price, but I think a thermostat that controls oil flow, not just fan operation, is essential. Two makeshift solutions are a manual bypass valve like Jagg offers or even a "sock" to use over the cooler in cold weather, but I don't like these interactive methods. All OEM oil-coolers on both car and MC engines that I'm aware of have in-line thermostats, so there's a good reason OEM's specify them. If they weren't necessary the bean-counters would surely nix them as an unnecessary expense.

Air-cooled engines have inherently poor cooling characteristics that are dependent only on air flow, air temperature, and engine oil--especially those like the HD engine with no fans of any kind. When oil is cold the Ultra-Cool and Jagg without optional thermostat channel cold oil through the cooler even when it doesn't need to be cooled. That prolongs the engine getting up to operating temperature which will decrease mileage and possibly even engine life in the long-run since oil stays cold and more viscous longer. It may also increase oil contamination (primarily water) since warm-up is slower.

OTOH I do like the cooling-fan idea and I wonder if you could use both the thermostat assembly in HD's Premium or Jagg coolers with the Ultra-Cool. I don't know why you couldn't, and that might be a solution. You can buy the parts from HD separately, which will cost around $100 from an on-line discount source. Jagg's adapter with thermostat is $149 (MSRP). If Ultra-Cool would sell you the kit without the adapter this might be a solution, as otherwise you'd be paying for two adapters.

I've had no trouble with the HD Premium cooler in almost four years of use, and a thermostat is included. My oil temp has never exceeded 230° and it hits that level only a very few times every summer (heavy traffic only), staying at around 180-205° max most of the time depending on air temperature. Jagg makes good coolers too, and I don't think you'll make a bad decision with any of those discussed on this thread.

 

I agree with your thoughts on the oil running through the cooler before needing to be cooled. So far I have not noticed that it takes any longer to reach operating temp. But with the hottest summer on record here in NC that is not surprising. I think ultra cool is somewhat trying to address that problem by having the fan controled by a thermostate. But I have taken that out of the loop by wiring the fan to my acc switch and turning it on only when needed, which by the way has not been very often. My oil is running in the 200 to 220 range on the hottest days. I only turn the fan on when caught in heavy traffic and with the fan running I have only seen a high of 230 one day while I was at a complete stop due to a construction delay. The ulta cool, is as you say a bit pricey, but I like the idea of being able to turn the fan on and know that i am still getting some cooling, even while stopped. As the wheather turns cooler, I am going to monitor how long the oil take to get to operating temp and if it looks like it is going to be a problem, at that point, I quess I will have to figure something out.

 

I run a Jagg 10 row low mount , bought a fan kit kit from big sky fans and added it to my accessory switch so I can turn it on or off as needed, with Jagg you can go with no thermostat, manual or automatic

 

I have the same cooler on my 07 Ultra. When I talked to an engineer at Jaag he talked me out of using a thermostat. He knew that I ride in fairly cold temps.

 

Same here, I called and talked to the Jagg engineer and he said on air cooled V Twin motors there really is no need for a thermostat but they offer them for people who just have to have one, he said if it is cold out just warm the bike up a few extra minutes before riding

 

Any idea on a time frame for this new revision of the Ultracool? I really want an oil cooler, but would hate to get one only to have the newer and better version come out shortly thereafter!

 

Yeah, I did want to add the oil temp gauge which is why I am waiting on the new revision. I would order now though if I knew they were going to send out an upgrade or whatnot to the original units to add that functionality!

 

Jagg told me the same thing a few years ago, but I disagree with their assessment. I know, I know...they're the experts and are depriving themselves of a sale by taking that position, but I still disagree. It's interesting that they not only still sell a adapter/thermostat but have a new thermostat (#4050). This would work well on the Ultra-Cool or any other brand, IMO, by just splicing it into the cooler hoses.

I also don't believe that "warming up a few extra minutes" will do the job, and I'm surprised they told you that, as it takes miles of riding even in summer without a cooler for oil to get up to operating temperature, much longer in winter. For example today in 90° weather (cold front coming through ) oil temp hit 150° after about 10 miles of riding, and that's with a 185° thermostat, so the oil was not passing through the cooler at that point. Idling the bike initially to warm the oil will likely get the head temperatures dangerously high, as they escalate in temperature much faster than the oil.

I still point to evidence that they have a functional purpose, as every OEM I've seen that installs a cooler at the factory also installs a thermostat. That includes Saab, BMW, Porsche, Harley, etc. Eliminating that item would save them a meaningful amount of money per car, so there's obviously a good reason they use them. The one on my car is set for 225° and HD's (standard on 103's and 110's) is 185°. BMW MC's also have a cooler thermostat, but I don't know the spec on these.

 

I also disagree with the JAGG about the thermostat. I’ve done a lot of experimentation and temp monitoring with my own JAGG based project. I was told that a colder thermostat will not make a difference and that a bike is going to reach the same peak operating temperature with or without a thermostat, it will just take longer without. Maybe they just got complacent in their R&D because their products proved so successful prior to the Twin Cam. I have personally debunked that theory because I installed a colder thermostat and my peak operating temp dropped accordingly. The JAGG thermostat begins movement @185F and directs 100% of the oil to the cooler @195F. 195F seems like a very reasonable temperature target if you talking about maintaining your pan temp, but the Twin Cam oil system doesn’t work that way. Unlike its predecessors, the Twin Cam filters oil before it cycles through the engine. In the Twin Cam, the oil actually sheds a lot of heat as it cycles through the oil filter (mounted out front of your motor in the open air), prior to making contact with the thermostat. So what does that mean; roughly, at 75F or less, ambient temperature, your oil is being cooled so much by the filter that the thermostat is not even opening, and you will see pan temps of 220F+. This is not theory but actual observed results from my lean tuned 2006 SG test platform. I cannot speak to the effects of not running a thermostat, because I have no personal experience running a non-regulated adapter. However, my colder thermostat still allows a normal warm up time, very similar to what iclick stated previously, and it lowers my peak normal operating temp. My system is fan assisted, so I can’t compare it to a standard JAGG system, but I’ll safely assume that a colder tstat will at least slow down the time it takes for the temperature to climb to peak. That being said, I still believe that JAGG has the best quality workmanship, materials, design, and most efficient heat exchanger available. They have excellent customer support, and they will take the time to talk with you and answer your questions. I would recommend a JAGG system over all others, hands down.

 

iclick,

There are three main parts on an UltraCool:

1. the fan
2. the oil cooler
3. the mounting adapter

The mounting adapter is a standard Jagg # 4700 adapter for oil coolers on cars, trucks, towing kits, etc. You remove the oil filter and install the adapter, which has the supply and return hoses to the oil cooler. The oil filter then installs on the adapter.

http://www.setrabusa.com/jagg/pages/filter-adapters.htm

There is no oil flow through the oil cooler when the oil is below operation temperature. Once hot, the adapter flows oil into the cooler, and if its hot enough, it triggers the thermostatic switch for the fan.
The # 4050 would work, but you still would need the supply and return taps into the oil system. The # 4700 does both. Too easy, lol



Regards,