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All I do is put in a meat thermometer after a ride. That'll give you a snap shot of what oil temp is. Just take off the cap, stick the probe down in the oil and see what it is. No need to clutter up the bike...
The thing about gauges is that you begin to worry about it. I don't want that during a ride. I'm out there to enjoy the ride, not worry about minor fluctuations in temp or pressure
Great comment!
I tend to take a minimalist approach to most things in life. And I guess still hold on to the concept and look of the bikes I started riding "back in the day" ('50 and '60 era BSAs and Triumphs). That's partly why I ride an Iron.
I've found that when things start getting too hot my clutch begins to chatter. When that happens I make it a point to pull over and cool off for a bit. Doesn't happen often and only when not moving fast enough to get airflow over the motor. If I'm not mistaken the MoCo has seen fit to install a sensor that will shut shut the bike down if a certain tempteture is exceeded.
It's nice for informational purposes. I thought about getting a temp gauge cap for my bike........but they don't make one. My bike runs pretty cool though, between the 2" tank lift and the breathers running through a custom catch can I made. I never feel my bike getting hot at all, even down here sitting in traffic.
The Outlaw 587 routes the head breathers through a small filter under the air cleaner. But the oil seeps through the filter media and drips on the motor and sprays all over the side of the bike. I made a catch can out of aluminum that mounts, hidden, in the same spot. Every few months I pour the collected oil out. Exactly the same thing as a catch can on a sports car. Same as the one on my Dodge Hemi 5.7, just a lot smaller. I don't know why nobody makes this as an aftermarket part for Harley's.
I'm going to take my invention on Shark Tank next season
The Outlaw 587 routes the head breathers through a small filter under the air cleaner. But the oil seeps through the filter media and drips on the motor and sprays all over the side of the bike. I made a catch can out of aluminum that mounts, hidden, in the same spot. Every few months I pour the collected oil out. Exactly the same thing as a catch can on a sports car. Same as the one on my Dodge Hemi 5.7, just a lot smaller. I don't know why nobody makes this as an aftermarket part for Harley's.
I'm going to take my invention on Shark Tank next season
A few folks do but it's just easier to buy 1/4 fuel line, a couple elbows/t's and a $9 filter from autozone that most who do it never talk about it. Worse, though, is that you need to be an engine enthusiast to even think of needing to reroute it and I don't think the general population fits in there so there isn't a big need.
Your bike will be fine. I'm actually considering taking my oil temp gauge off so I stop obsessing over what it reads. I can ride in 115+ temps in Moab and sub 0 in northern Utah on the same bike with the same fluids and no coolers or heaters and it runs like a champ. These things are way more resilient than the internet scare mongers will make you think some times. This is, of course, until you start messing with it and making more HP/TQ. Then you have to start playing the game of performance vs reliability and take into account your abilities to do the work or outsourcing it.
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