Just replaced the ambient air temp gauge with an oil temp gauge. I ran the bike for about 5 minutes while up on the stand and the gauge went to 110 and stopped. Is this normal since it's not being ridden or put under load? I know plenty of you all have done this modification based on threads I've read--so I'm hoping this is just a matter of running the bike under load to get an accurate temp?

 

110 for 5 minutes sounds right to me. I remember when I installed my gauge that I wondered about it, because I only took a few short runs. Next time I was out for a while it jumped up where it should be.

 

Whew. Thank you!

 

Ditto. It takes a good bit of riding in heat to make that gauge move. Oil does not transfer heat well and it takes the oil a good bit of travel through the engine before it gets that hot and then up against the sender.
I have a Baker +1 pan and I had to put the sender in the drain hole (the plug hole was too close to another piece for the tall sender to fit) and unless its pretty warm, it takes a while to move. And if its below 70, you can almost forget about it.
Still think its a great advantage over the air temp sender. If the engine gets hot enough to move that dial, it will work when you NEED it to.

 

What gauge did you buy. I'm interested in this mod

 

As previously stated, it takes a good 15-30 minutes (depending upon outside temp and humidity) for the oil volume to heat up and the temp of the bike to stabilize.

 

Just the standard HD Oil Temp gauge kit. Put the sender in the oil pan where the allen head plug is. You may need a brass adapter.

Here's a link to a dealer, but only because I was having trouble getting the link from the HD site.

http://www.latus-harley-davidson.com...ng-Mount-2.htm

 

Hellbob37, here is a link to the site where I purchased this. They were lower on the cost than most and didn't charge shipping ($116 total). It arrived two days after I placed the order online.

http://www.kutterharleyonline.com/harley/70900284

 

yep!!..after i installed my oil temp gauge i was surprised how long it took for the oil to heat up.. It will get there just give it time

 

Thinking about doing this swap, how involved is the installation of the sending unit? Is it fairly straight forward or is it a PITA?