I know I've seen temperatures of 320 degrees and never had any overheating issues of any sort on my rings or cylinders ... Nothing...

 

You had a factory thermocouple mounted under the spark plug? What model Harley in all of history came with a factory mounted thermocouple under the spark plug?

Not calling you a liar, but genuinely curious since that might have been a better source for these things.

 

The problem with the IR gun is it's measuring an average temp around a certain radius away from the little laser pointer.

Believe it or not, the laser is just to let you know the general vicinity of the temp reading. The IR tool measures like a saw'd off shotgun (the further away you are from the heat source, the larger area is being measured). If you're an inch away from the heat source then it's pretty accurate. If you're a foot away, the radius of measurement is 3" off the laser dot. 3 feet away and you're reading about a foot diameter worth of surface around the laser dot, or basically the whole top end of the motor. These thermocouples will get me exactly the data I want without guesswork.

And yes, 300F and up is normal. Over 375 is where I'll start worrying. 450 is the danger zone.

 

Fully aware and that is what I do..... Thanx....

 

ok, i might have misstated slightly. the head temp. gauge was an official HD accessory that was available in 85. it has 4 gauges, clock, oil pressure, volts and head temp. the caddy also held a **** type radio that you had to supply yourself. i believe it was called a "california radio caddy" or it was made by california caddy co...or something like that. the 85 came empty inside the fairing like the older shovelhead baggers. the original eyelet was copper. the one from the hardware store is copper as well and exactly the same size.

 

https://www.hdforums.com/forum/evo-c...-this-fit.html post #12 and #50 is what my set up is. my kit came with a head temp gauge that says harley-davidson on it....as did all the other gauges.

 

 

I'll be damned. Apparently HD gave a **** about cylinder head temps back in the 80's enough to put that kit together.

 

i never checked the temp with an IR reader but the temp on the gauge usually runs about 350 or slightly lower. like i said i never checked it so i don't know how how accurate the gauge is. i have run r n12yc champions for years. over 100,000 on it. it uses some oil, doesn't leak all smoke (6-800 per quart) but it runs so good i'm afraid to do anything to it. i think the valve guides and valve stem seals are shot.

 

are you sure it's steel? put a magnet to it to see if it actually is. i would think copper would transfer heat better than steel, but i don't know that. the wires that are crimped into the eyelet on mine are copper.