I ride year round in Mid-Missouri, bought soft lowers and tried them but the bike handling was crap so I sold them and dealt with the cold legs; then a set of lowers (vented)came up that would fit my RK and I bought them figuring to have to take them off every summer and bought quick detach kit.

Well as it all goes, I have oil fill temperature dipstick, oil temps had always run 230-245F during the warm weather months without lowers, took a ride to Ky and figured cool or wet so left them on even as it was to get 'warm'; 80 degree day 220 oil, 92 degree day 225 oil. I suspect the better air flow with the vented lowers I added is cooling my engine better just from evidence I can produce from experience.

Mine have only been off to clean, then right back on, a plus for quick detach hardware, my engine oil temps run from 10-25 degrees cooler than without; they will now remain on all year.

 

Thanks for your contribution ddm502001. Just curious - what oil temp dipstick are you using? COnsiderig getting one myself and haven't heard great things about the digital unit from HD.

 

Curious. I'm wondering why so many other guys don't have a problem with them but you do? Something else might be going on that you might want to check into.

 

What year is your bike. Warantee issue?????

 

I have the HD ones on both my bikes,cross checked them,they work great.One still has the original battery since 02.

 

Mine is the HD chrome digital, was all I could get at the time two years ago and knock on my wooden head it still functions fine. Buddy thought it was off-cal so he put it in his bike, got same temp as the one he has and mine showed same temp as usual with his stick.

 

I just got lowers for my RKC also and now I actually get MORE wind noise in my ears without the windshield on.

 

I agree, don't notice any appreciable difference with them on or off.

 

The only thing I have installed that made the engine run cooler was a Thunder Max from Zipper. I replaced a PC III, big difference.

I put vented lowers on my Street Glide and found that they affected handling in a strong cross wind and did not provide better weather protection. If anyone would like a set of vented lowers in White Pearl Gold they are for sale.

 

Someone on an earlier thread reported that an HD engineer at Sturgis told him that lowers improved cooling when moving but may trap air and decrease it when stationary. I've run mine through two summers in S. LA and both oil and front-head temperatures run a tad cooler with the lowers when moving, but I haven't noticed an increase in temperatures when in traffic. I'm running an oil cooler which may affect the behavior of the lowers in terms of cooling. When moving >45mph my oil temps peak at about 200° in 90-95° weather and have never exceeded 230° in traffic. In city traffic they'll move up to 205-210° as long as I'm moving.