oil temp gauge
Road Master
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 953
Likes: 98
From: was Vegas now CT
If you are moving your oil temp should be fine, no need to try and check it in motion. Stop light to stop light isn't going to hurt too much either. Not sure about accuracy, I always trusted mine.
I have a twin cam 96ci with no oil cooler. The only time I ever had shut down due to oil temp was stuck on I-15 near Baker California due to a wreck. Ambient temp was 115 and my oil temp hit 300.
My super neato digital gauge died soon after moving to CT. I haven't bothered replacing it because the ambient temps here never get that hot and I don't commute anymore so I don't have to deal with being stuck in traffic that hardly at all.
I have a twin cam 96ci with no oil cooler. The only time I ever had shut down due to oil temp was stuck on I-15 near Baker California due to a wreck. Ambient temp was 115 and my oil temp hit 300.
My super neato digital gauge died soon after moving to CT. I haven't bothered replacing it because the ambient temps here never get that hot and I don't commute anymore so I don't have to deal with being stuck in traffic that hardly at all.
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 462
Likes: 87
From: Southern California
I understand that going down the road, oil temp will higher than riding slower like on city streets. That's because oil is directed at the bottoms of the pistons to cool them off some.
I'm building an oil cooler system for my 2016 using the two units from a 1000 cc RSV4 Aprilla.The only way to know just how much more effective it will be over the stock unit is to check it in laboratory conditions, and that won't happen.
I'm building an oil cooler system for my 2016 using the two units from a 1000 cc RSV4 Aprilla.The only way to know just how much more effective it will be over the stock unit is to check it in laboratory conditions, and that won't happen.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 15,705
Likes: 22,718
From: Farmington ,MS
Accurate doesn't matter ...what you are looking for is a dramatic change from normal...
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 9,332
Likes: 3,873
From: Upstate New York
I've probably had a half dozen of them, both H-D and aftermarket, in my bike during the 25 years I've owned it. They all read nearly identical under similar conditions, so I would guess they're pretty accurate to within 10 degrees. Plenty accurate to know if the bike is running well, or getting too hot.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 21,736
Likes: 17,577
From: Driftless Area
The electronic ones are junk.
I've had an old-fashioned analog dipstick gauge in my Shovelhead oil tank for years. I don't know if it's spot on, but I know where it usually ranges, and that's good enough for me.
I've had an old-fashioned analog dipstick gauge in my Shovelhead oil tank for years. I don't know if it's spot on, but I know where it usually ranges, and that's good enough for me.
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Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,279
Likes: 467
From: anywhere
get one from JES they are accurate, easy to read, not electric and the service is amazing. I bought one, it broke, I phone him, he sent me a new one the next day no questions asked even paid for the shipping and told me to throw the old one away
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 13,104
Likes: 13,047
From: Texas, USA
I have one of the HD digital oil temp dipsticks. I wondered how accurate they were as well so I boiled water, placed the dipstick in it and it read 210° F. I'd say that is pretty accurate.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 1,807
Likes: 33
From: TEXAS
The oil temp and the temp by "reading the plugs" are two different things. The oil temp is a pretty good indication of the engine temp, reading the plugs is trying to read the temperature of the combustion cycle, that is how hot the gases in the engine are burning, meaning lean or rich. Too lean makes the combustion hotter and could burn a piston. Really no relation to the oil temp that can be measured directly. There are fancy O2 sensors that can be hooked into the exhaust to read the rich/lean problem. In fact depending on the year of your bike it may already have o2 sensors to help make the EFI work properly.