what's the norme? how high is too high?

 

It is kind of hard to say as these thermal dipsticks are said to not be very accurate. That being said, my Touring bike runs anywhere from 225 - 242 degrees. It seems that Softails oil temp is about 20 degrees lower.

My friend and I were bewildered by this 10% difference in temp and thought that it must just be a faulty thermal dipstick. We pulled over and I stuck my dipstick into his oil tank. Sure enough, 210 degrees just like his temp gauge was reading.

The only thing that we can seem to figure out is that touring/dyna models oil temp must read higher because of the proximity of the oil pan to the motor compared to that of a softail. Yours oil must radiate heat a bit as it travels through the hoses and up into the oil tank. Kind of a built in oil cooler.

At any rate, if you were looking to compare your softail to another, my buddies 2001 Fat Boy typically runs between 200 - 215 degrees.

 

200-230f if your oil gets over 250F then you should be running synthetic.

 

thanks guys. I just got the temp stick, so I never really knew before. it seems to be normal. Got a little worried when it got up to aroung 220, but that was rush hour stop an go.

 

IIRC Harley specs normal oil temp at 230 deg F. From what I've read in the forums, most stock (touring) bikes run around this temp, a bit lower if you have a tuner and/or an oil cooler...

 

235max checked with in dash gauge. yesterday on a ultra with me and the wife in a charity ride 40min. speeds from 70 to standing in traffic at 90F . i do run full syn, had an oil cooler i removed it last year.

 

Why did you remove the cooler?

 

the cover and a mounting tab broke. i will add another type of cooler. when i find what i`m looking for. i do like the oil bud. its clean looking and well built.
but some members have only reported a 10-12 deg drop in temp? thats not much for the amount of coin it costs.
maybe he will ship me one to do a field report and compare it to the one i had. LOL

 

Yeah I'm glad you mentioned that. 10f is not worth $250+ For a cooler IMO either. I've been looking at them online and there are some good deals, but it seems a fan system might provide better cooling than 10'F.

 

Don't get sucked into a fan until you do some research. The itty-bitty one is nothing more than a hyped-up computer fan with a horn on it....if you pay extra. It was absolutely useless in my case, but others have reported success. I suspect it's because they bought one and had to brag on it to justify the expense.

The larger HD parade fans will cool much better, but they have had mounting issues....as in falling apart. I run the old fashion crash-bar cooler. Did not cost much to do it and it's bullet-proof and invisible.

I haven't a clue as to what my oil temperatures are...I just run Mobil 1 V-Twin and "let her bump".

I agree with most of the group here....the $$$ you pay for the (supposedly) good oil coolers is not worth the 10-degrees.