I have a 2009 Ultra Classic that is all stock. I have been having an issue with the bike over heating. Now I have read that others are having the same issue and the response has been to "get a water cooled bike you big sissy" or "it's a Harley, they get warm so grab your manhood and just ride." While these are all very entertaining responses and I can certainly handle a little heat, the heat I described actually bubbled the paint on the oil filter. This is not a sissy heat, this is a legitimate problem. I do not have a laser thermometer to measure the temperature, but the rear exhaust got hot enough to blister my wife's ankle through her boot.


Has anyone else had this issue and what did you do to correct it. I have gone over the whole bike, changed the filter and oil (after 500 miles from the last change), and checked for something stopping up the exhaust. All was good. Rode it again and the same thing happened. Oil pressure was good for the first 20 or so miles, but then dropped dramatically and it got hot again. I am at a loss. I would love to take it to the dealer to fix, but I don't trust the employees there.

 

What is your definition of good oil pressure, psi, rpm,etc.
How many miles? New bike to you? Any work done? Did you put enough oil in it?

 

I would check the basic stuff first, oil in bike, nothing crawled up tail pipe over winter, oil cooler lines good not kinked or stopped up.


Then, I would move on to other items

 

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Assuming theres nothing actually wrong with your bike making it run hotter then it should then chk this out.

I have a stock 09 flhtcu and recently installed Wards thermostatically controlled elc cooling fans for heads & cyls (cools top end a bit) and and the Ultracooler oil cooler with dual thermostatically controlled elec cooling fans to cool the oil and that has the motor & oil running nice & cool now.

The motor runs well showing no signs of being excessively lean like hesitating and or surging ,plugs look nice being very light brown or some would say light tan ,but not a real light tan or white.

That would show being too lean which could cause motor to run hotter which didnt seem to be an issue with the stock ECM tune on my bike so didnt dive into getting Xied's or RCComponants Rcexcelerator fuel management system to fatten up the fuel curve a bit because it seems the motor fine without doing that.

And i dont ride as aggressive as i did yrs ago too due to a lot more traffic on the roads and i am a lot older now too, iv'e been riding bikes on the street every yr for the past 43+ yrs & am pushing 60yrs old too & dont want to push my luck taking as many chances these days.

I was riding in 89 deg heat the other day and at cruise oil temp was holding steady at 180-185 deg (staying under 190 deg) & in stop / go traffic going thru 3-4 stoplight in a row oil sitting still oil temp maxed out at 200-205 deg.

Another positive from adding the 2 cooling systems is oil pressure now stays considerably higher on hot days too now holding 16-17psi @ 1k rpm idle and a solid 48-50psi when at cruise with motor/oil up to normal op temp with a stok 96" motor with stock oil pump,not high pressure pump using Spectro std dino 20w-50 oil.

And the stock 96" motor on my bike also stopped detonating under load on hots days where in the past i had to run 93 octane to help reduce detonation under load which didnt always work .

But now with the motor & oil running considerably cooler with the 2 cooling systems it doesnt detonate at all on hot days on 91 octane fuel even when riding 2up going up steep grades in higher gears.

And another thing is the motor also retains more pwr/trq not laying down lossing umph
as the motor/oil heated up and started to detonate on a hot day like used to happen prior to installing the 2 cooling systems which was hands down the best $600 i spent on the bike along with the 5-6 hrs i spent taking my time installing the 2 cooling systems too.

Before installing both cooling systems in same approx 89 deg heat oil temp used to run 210-220 @ cruise & 235-240deg + in avg stop go traffic going thru 3-4 stoplights in a row ,oil pressure ran approx 6-8 lbs lower on avg,valvetrain and or motor in general was noisier and motor detonated on HD's rec 91 octane fuel and even detonated sometimes on 93 octane fuel too.

Too much heat isn't a motors a friend especially an air cooled HD in these later emissions yrs where they seem to be running hotter & leaner then they ever have .

See links below for details & actual test data showing how the 2 different cooling systems perf on HD's.

Scott


http://www.wardspartswerks.com/cooling-fans.html

http://www.ultracoolfl.com/shop/oil-coolers/the-reefer/

 

How long have you had this bike? Do you know if there have been any ecm changes/downloads?

 

I have a 2009 and it doesn't get that hot in 100 degree weather. I do have a stage 1 on it but nothing else. Mine doesn't have an oil cooler or anything either.

If you don't trust the local dealer find another one. You need help.

 

If your oil pressure is dropping while going down the road you have some problems that need to be checked asap.

 

I bought the bike new. I have done nothing but the standard maintenance and lubes. The fluid levels are good. No ecm changes or aftermarket stuff.


The oil pressure drops to 25-28 psi at 2500-3000 rpm and under 10 psi at idle when it warms up and the heat builds up. PSI should be at or around 32-36 at speed and above 10 psi at idle. I was going to change the oil pump, but at 24000 miles I don't see why that would be the problem so I changed my mind for the moment.


I already checked the exhaust and it is clear of debris or critters.

 

What I'd try:

- Put a set of fans on it (Wards or Love Jugs).

- Put a tuner on it, even though you haven't done any modifications. You can "richen up" the mixture and that should help cool it at least a little.

- Optional: put an oil cooler on it, as well.

- Do the '09's have cats? If so, either drill it out or swap the headpipe for a "de-catted" headpipe.

 

I see everyone is trying to spend your money for you, to put a bandaid on the problem. A stock bike shouldn't over heat. I can't speculate what the problem is, but it seems like it may be internal to the oiling system. If it's hot enough to bubble the paint on the oil filter, then don't ride it till you get it to a reputable shop and have it checked out. There's a lot of brilliant Indy shops out there.