Still struggling with heat, and I live in an area where you cannot avoid traffic. So, I am thinking that a good fan and oil cooler are cool things to have. After the HD fan crapped out after 2 months of service, I have decided that the MOCO gets NOMO from me. Looking at aftermarket stuff. Heard good things about JAX oil coolers, but wondering what experience you guys have with aftermarket fans. Would really appreciate any recommendations that you may have. Also, before you ask, I am having the bike dyno'ed. The place that said they did it originally never came up with the sheet, so I am starting over. Bike cut out over the weekend after less than 20 minutes of stop and go traffic, riding two up, synth in all 3 holes, just after 5k service. Ambient air temp was 64 degrees. Can you guys think of anything else I should be looking at???

 

Gostaz,

There are several avenues you can take to reduce the heat without buying a fan or oil cooler! I live in the Phoenix area, so I think I can help in this area. Yes, the bad part about owning a Harley is that it's air-cooled. However, making a few modifications can help reduce a significant amount of heat. Below are some options:

1. If you're using that crappy Harley Syn3 oil, get something better in your drivetrain ASAP! Syn3, when hot, is literally useless! Many folks on this site will agree that changing to either Amsoil or Redline will provide better protection to your engine and trans. Thus, help reduce heat!

2. Get your bike Dyno'd! You said you're doing that! However, if you're getting the bike dyno'd, I'm assuming that you're also changing mufflers/exhaust system as well? If you're changing exhaust system, going to a tru-dual system will also reduce heat (to your thighs). As you'll no longer have a crossover pipe! You will also have to choose either the PCIII route or the SERT route. Which one are you planning to use? If you are in fact, doing all of the above, enriching the fuel/air mixture will also reduce heat.

3. Some folks will mention that they have oil coolers installed on their bikes. However, it will do you no good going 10mph in traffic. The cooler only works when you have air flow going through it!

4. You failed to mentioned if your bike has EFI or Carb. I'm assuming EFI. Anyway, these are my suggestions (from experience.) Others may have alternative suggestions.

Thanks and Good luck,
Kahuna

 

I think you are referring to Jagg oil coolers. And tho i may be mistaken, they make the HD oil cooler. Sound like you are running really lean.What have u done to the bike?

 

I need to add my $.02 worth on oil coolers. I think that everybody that says an oil cooler is useless unless you are moving need to reconsider some. While I agreee that the cooler is MORE useful when moving, just having the added surface area of the cooler will help lower the oil temp better than no cooler at all. How much it lowers it may be small, but, it will still be better than not having one. Even if the road temp is over 100 degrees the oil temp is much higher and having the small radiator for the oil will disipate and transfer the higher oil temp to the surrounding air. If the bike is running hot and you want to add a cooler go ahead.

Your bike does sound awful lean. If you are over heating in 64 degree weatherI would add some type of tuner to richen up the mixture. You mention that your bike is an 06 - did you get the updated fuel injectors? That may help some with the mixture, but, your bike should not run that hot in 64 degree weather. Good luck and keep us informed of how things go.

Neil

 

"Crappy Harley SYN 3 oil"????[sm=wtf.gif]

 

wasn't going to go there... any time i see the other oils being mentioned I step away. It's up there with religion and politics.

 

What kind of cooler is used on police bikes?

 

all great advice...use Amsoil...i run a Jagg here in Tx...get some True Duals...if i was you, i'd check into the ThunderMax for tuning and never go to a dyno tuner ever

 

Call this guy at 301-994-9818 or evocycles1@verizon.netask for Rich. He handles LeNalehead fans.I've had one for 2 1/2 yrs and it was perfect. Then the motor died. I contacted him and told him. Here is where they seperate themselves. I was not the original buyer,....yet he told me to ship it back to them and they would switch it out for me at no cost. They tell me that there was a batch of fans that had a motor problem back then and had no problem replacing it. They had nothing to gain other than a happy customer. The specs on these fans as far as I'm concerned is better than the other ones I looked at. So give Rich a call,....tell him Greg from Fl referred you and he'll send you all the info you need.
I just don't think you can go wrong with these folks.........

Good Luck

 

Amen, I usually stay away from these "my oil is best" discussions, too, but gives me a chance to vent a little, if you'll all pardon me. The reality is that some high-end synthetic oils may be marginally better than others at some things, perhaps not as good in others, and all will lower oil temperatures somewhat. My advice to people is pick one of the major players (M1, Royal Purple, Amsoil, Redline, et al) based on accessibility and price. M1 can be purchased almost everywhere and is an excellent product at a low price. Amsoil is a good product that is usually hard to find and pricey. Redline oil is not available in my area at all, so it's out for me. Royal Purple can be purchased at Pep Boys and Napa, and I get it through a distributor at an excellent price. It is my choice based on experience and the fact that it is very popular with racers because it increases HP and reduces failures (their claims based on their experience). I won't say it is the "best," whatever that means, nor that another person should use it over all others. Oils fall into the realm of religion and politics for some, I agree, but it doesn't belong there.

Further, there is no evidence that motorcycle-specific oil is superior to a given brand's car oil. American Iron and Motorcycle Consumer News both ran tests on oils and M1 15w50 for cars was nearly identical in performance as M1 20w50 for motorcycles, but costs half as much and can be found almost anywhere. If someone asks me about which M1 to use, I suggest using the car oil, and many of my friends use it in HD's with good experience.

For me it is a practical decision based on research and my experiences over time. I ran a '96 RK for 106k miles and when I traded it the heads had never been removed and compression was 158/158 with no oil consumption, and the oil rarely exceeded 180 deg. It ran a mix of RP 20w50 and RP Nitro 50 (for nitromethane fuel dragsters). Could I do better with another brand? I don't know and never will. I would bet you could have run that bike with any other good synthetic for that distance and similar results, so where does an oil's superiority show up? At 200k miles, 300k miles? Will you or I ever run a bike that long to find out? If it goes 150k with Amsoil and then fails, how do you know it wouldn't go 160k with M1 under the same conditions?

As for Syn3, I haven't seen any tests on it, but will wager it is a run-of-the-mill synthetic with average credentials offered at an extravagant price. The pros? It's available at all HD shops. Would I use it? No, but some may feel good using it, and if so I say go for it--but please don't tell me it is "best" because HD says it is. After all, for years they said 360 was the best for your HD, and most of us knew it wasn't.

My thrust here is that it probably doesn't matter what brand of synthetic you use, at least in a practical context. So buy what you want based on your opinion, what's most accessible for you and at the best price. I think many fall for manufacturer's claims and questionable testing without further review, and some oil (guess who) falls into a pyramid marketing strategy similar to Amway using agressive techiques and questionable claims. Some fall for it immediately, while others look at the evidence and then go forward to find more. In the end, after exhaustive research, most will discover what I've found, that most of the brands mentioned here are of high quality. Who is "best," whatever that means? Who knows?