oil temp
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,937
Likes: 320
From: Vancouver, WA
True that. But is your car or truck air cooled? Not mine. Airplanes all have oil temp gauges and for the most part are air cooled.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 3,784
Likes: 100
From: Pasadena TX
I don't give a single thought to oil temp. I change it at the recommended intervals, using a well known quality synthetic. Done.I do have a question though. If you have an oil temp gauge, and a dipstick temp gauge and they don't match, then what?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 5,157
Likes: 740
From: new caney, tx
Then the world is going to end!!!
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 2,976
Likes: 49
From: Northern California
Good, I am not alone.
Way my feeble mind figures it that if the bike is near stock and it did not come with a cooler then it does not need one. Even the Police bikes had none until the engine got larger and emissions leaner. HD may be cheap but if the engine needed a oil cooler to avoid massive warranty claims they would have them.
However if you get peace of mind having one do it, not going to hurt anything.
Road Warrior
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 1,937
Likes: 320
From: Vancouver, WA
Good, I am not alone.
Way my feeble mind figures it that if the bike is near stock and it did not come with a cooler then it does not need one. Even the Police bikes had none until the engine got larger and emissions leaner. HD may be cheap but if the engine needed a oil cooler to avoid massive warranty claims they would have them.
However if you get peace of mind having one do it, not going to hurt anything.
Way my feeble mind figures it that if the bike is near stock and it did not come with a cooler then it does not need one. Even the Police bikes had none until the engine got larger and emissions leaner. HD may be cheap but if the engine needed a oil cooler to avoid massive warranty claims they would have them.
However if you get peace of mind having one do it, not going to hurt anything.
Grand HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 4,012
Likes: 298
From: Central Fl
====================================
1st ting is to verify the dipstick is reading properly using a hand held IR temp gun.
But if you find your dipstick's 214deg f was correct thats too high of an oil temp for at cruise (maybe not in a lot of tsaffic)when outside temp is only 38deg unless maybe you left it idling for 20mins which would explain it.
BTW,I have the same exact bike & motor you do,it an 09 flhtcu w-stock 96" motor i bought 11/2014 with only 9,700 miles on it that should have same lowers as your bike & my bikes oil temp never ran anywhere near that hot in 55-60 deg f outside let alone in 38deg f.
I dont ride in 35-40 deg f temp anymore due to med issues,but when i do ride in in 55-60deg f temp & my bikes oil temp before i did any cooling mods to it was approx 180-185 deg f @ cruise and 210deg f or so in avg traffic.
My bike has stock original HD oil temp & oil pressure gauges & the oil temp gauge ,sending unit & wiring harness are all brand new because i installed them to replace the useless airtemp gauge that came with the bike which later helped a lot in me realizing when oil got over approx 225-230 deg that was causing multiple negative perf issues due to somewhat overheated oil & motor.
When i 1st got the bike when motor was up to normal op temp in hot 90-95 deg f days oil temp with hs syn3 20-50 oil it would run approx 260-275 deg f or so & at cruise would run approx 220-230deg f.
When the oil sit approx 225-230deg and esp at higher temp the motr lost power,detonated,valves got noisier,oil pressure went into crap (8-10psi @ idle & 32-35 psi at cruise),hot starts post fueling up where labored *& the motor roatse me off the bike in traffic.
I didnt like what heat was dong to my bikes perf so i did something about it adding Wards dual elex cooling fans along with an ultracool oil cooler with dual elec cooling fans & switCHed out the syn3 oil for a better quality spectro motorcycle oiL specifically formulated for HDs and got the following results.
Doing those three things working collectively together as a team reduced the oil temp 50+ deg F which was a huge improvement which the motor responded very well to giving me the all the great benefits i will list below right off the bat.
And remember,one of the oils job in an air cooled bike motor is to remove heat so when i got oil temp reduced by 50+ deg that also had to at the same time of significantly reduced engine temp too.
* OIL PRESSURE IN 90-95DEG HHH HEAT WENT FROM BEING 8-10psi @ idle & 32-35 psi at cruise TO NOW BEING 18-20PSI @ IDLE & 45-48PSI (JUST SHY OF 50PSI) 2 CRUISE.
* VALVETRAIN STAYS MUCH QUIETER NOW.
* MOTOR STOPPED DETONATING ON HD'S REC 91 OCTANE FUEL FOR A STOCK 96" MOTOR WITH 9.2 COMPRESSION.
* MOTOR & OIL NOT BEING ALL HEAT SOAKED/SEMI OVERHEATED ANYMORE ALLOWS THE MOTOR TO RETAIN MOST OF ITS PWR / TRQ RESULTING IN CRISPER THROTTLE RESPONSE AND UMHP WHEN IT USED TO FALL FLAT AND LOOSE PWR/TRQ .
* HOT STARTS POST FUELING UP AND EASIER,NOW THE MOTOR FIRES RIGHT UP WITH NO HESITAION AT ALL SO ITS NOW EASIER ON THE STARTER AND BATTERY NOW TOO.
* BIT LESS HEAT IS COMING OFF THE MOTOR SO ITS A LITTLE MORE COMFY TO RIDE ON HOT DAYS NOW TOO.
Doing those 3 things were the best bang for the buck things i did to that bike thus far that made its driveability so much nicer with the valves now staying much quieter, there is a little less heat hitting me now,no more pinging,no worry's it may not start when heat socked post fueling up,hold much better oil pressure which makes me feel better too,etc.
Just wish some guys that are posting here at time they were concerned about their bikes when hot due to crappy oil pressure and others concerned about their bike detonating along with also posting issues with excessive heat coming from their motors roasting them would " DRINK THE COOLAID " & actually try / do everything i suggested to they can get the same benefits and overall improvement in perf and ride comfort too with less valve noise ,no pinging,little less hear,much higher oil pressure and more!
I have posted this same info many times here and nobody as of yet with valve noise,detonation issues,heat from motor roasting them,etc have ever commented on ot let alone tried it like i did ,but i have got quite a few negative comment people were tired of seeing it and or thought was BS and hds were running just fien without trying to get oil running cooler.
Boy were they wrong about that because getting the oil running 50 deg cooler made a huge difference in my bike perf,end of story !
But you need to keep in mind you have to do all 3 things i suggested (inc the same oil i rec too) or you will not get near as good a result as i did!
If you just install wards fans alone or the oil cooler by itself you will not get the same result,you will see some improvement but not same result by a long shot ,same goes for not using the oil i rec too.
I had tried syn3 & m1 v-twin both syn 20-50 and they didnt hold as good a hot oil pressure and valves made more noise too then when i tried / switched to spectro oil specifically formulated for hd v-twins in 20-50,spectro std dino/semi blend/full syn all in 20-50 too held much better hot oil pressure then syn3 & m1 syn did all in same 20-50 grade.
I decided to stick the spectro's semi blend 20w-50 doe hd's,i also use their prim case oil (85w) for hd's along with their trans oil (75w-140) that specifically formulated to help quiet the 5th gear whine some of the older 6 spd HD transmissions have.
But there was no doubt my bikes stock 96" motor held better / higher oil pressure hot with spectro oil vs syn3 or m1-v-twin in 20w-50 which the tells me the other oils that had significantly lower oil pressure when motor was up to norm op temp & hot were simply thinning out more when under more stress when motor & oil heated up that the higher quality spectro proved to me could handle better by not thinning as much like the other oils did.
Happy motoring.
Scott
1st ting is to verify the dipstick is reading properly using a hand held IR temp gun.
But if you find your dipstick's 214deg f was correct thats too high of an oil temp for at cruise (maybe not in a lot of tsaffic)when outside temp is only 38deg unless maybe you left it idling for 20mins which would explain it.
BTW,I have the same exact bike & motor you do,it an 09 flhtcu w-stock 96" motor i bought 11/2014 with only 9,700 miles on it that should have same lowers as your bike & my bikes oil temp never ran anywhere near that hot in 55-60 deg f outside let alone in 38deg f.
I dont ride in 35-40 deg f temp anymore due to med issues,but when i do ride in in 55-60deg f temp & my bikes oil temp before i did any cooling mods to it was approx 180-185 deg f @ cruise and 210deg f or so in avg traffic.
My bike has stock original HD oil temp & oil pressure gauges & the oil temp gauge ,sending unit & wiring harness are all brand new because i installed them to replace the useless airtemp gauge that came with the bike which later helped a lot in me realizing when oil got over approx 225-230 deg that was causing multiple negative perf issues due to somewhat overheated oil & motor.
When i 1st got the bike when motor was up to normal op temp in hot 90-95 deg f days oil temp with hs syn3 20-50 oil it would run approx 260-275 deg f or so & at cruise would run approx 220-230deg f.
When the oil sit approx 225-230deg and esp at higher temp the motr lost power,detonated,valves got noisier,oil pressure went into crap (8-10psi @ idle & 32-35 psi at cruise),hot starts post fueling up where labored *& the motor roatse me off the bike in traffic.
I didnt like what heat was dong to my bikes perf so i did something about it adding Wards dual elex cooling fans along with an ultracool oil cooler with dual elec cooling fans & switCHed out the syn3 oil for a better quality spectro motorcycle oiL specifically formulated for HDs and got the following results.
Doing those three things working collectively together as a team reduced the oil temp 50+ deg F which was a huge improvement which the motor responded very well to giving me the all the great benefits i will list below right off the bat.
And remember,one of the oils job in an air cooled bike motor is to remove heat so when i got oil temp reduced by 50+ deg that also had to at the same time of significantly reduced engine temp too.
* OIL PRESSURE IN 90-95DEG HHH HEAT WENT FROM BEING 8-10psi @ idle & 32-35 psi at cruise TO NOW BEING 18-20PSI @ IDLE & 45-48PSI (JUST SHY OF 50PSI) 2 CRUISE.
* VALVETRAIN STAYS MUCH QUIETER NOW.
* MOTOR STOPPED DETONATING ON HD'S REC 91 OCTANE FUEL FOR A STOCK 96" MOTOR WITH 9.2 COMPRESSION.
* MOTOR & OIL NOT BEING ALL HEAT SOAKED/SEMI OVERHEATED ANYMORE ALLOWS THE MOTOR TO RETAIN MOST OF ITS PWR / TRQ RESULTING IN CRISPER THROTTLE RESPONSE AND UMHP WHEN IT USED TO FALL FLAT AND LOOSE PWR/TRQ .
* HOT STARTS POST FUELING UP AND EASIER,NOW THE MOTOR FIRES RIGHT UP WITH NO HESITAION AT ALL SO ITS NOW EASIER ON THE STARTER AND BATTERY NOW TOO.
* BIT LESS HEAT IS COMING OFF THE MOTOR SO ITS A LITTLE MORE COMFY TO RIDE ON HOT DAYS NOW TOO.
Doing those 3 things were the best bang for the buck things i did to that bike thus far that made its driveability so much nicer with the valves now staying much quieter, there is a little less heat hitting me now,no more pinging,no worry's it may not start when heat socked post fueling up,hold much better oil pressure which makes me feel better too,etc.
Just wish some guys that are posting here at time they were concerned about their bikes when hot due to crappy oil pressure and others concerned about their bike detonating along with also posting issues with excessive heat coming from their motors roasting them would " DRINK THE COOLAID " & actually try / do everything i suggested to they can get the same benefits and overall improvement in perf and ride comfort too with less valve noise ,no pinging,little less hear,much higher oil pressure and more!
I have posted this same info many times here and nobody as of yet with valve noise,detonation issues,heat from motor roasting them,etc have ever commented on ot let alone tried it like i did ,but i have got quite a few negative comment people were tired of seeing it and or thought was BS and hds were running just fien without trying to get oil running cooler.
Boy were they wrong about that because getting the oil running 50 deg cooler made a huge difference in my bike perf,end of story !
But you need to keep in mind you have to do all 3 things i suggested (inc the same oil i rec too) or you will not get near as good a result as i did!
If you just install wards fans alone or the oil cooler by itself you will not get the same result,you will see some improvement but not same result by a long shot ,same goes for not using the oil i rec too.
I had tried syn3 & m1 v-twin both syn 20-50 and they didnt hold as good a hot oil pressure and valves made more noise too then when i tried / switched to spectro oil specifically formulated for hd v-twins in 20-50,spectro std dino/semi blend/full syn all in 20-50 too held much better hot oil pressure then syn3 & m1 syn did all in same 20-50 grade.
I decided to stick the spectro's semi blend 20w-50 doe hd's,i also use their prim case oil (85w) for hd's along with their trans oil (75w-140) that specifically formulated to help quiet the 5th gear whine some of the older 6 spd HD transmissions have.
But there was no doubt my bikes stock 96" motor held better / higher oil pressure hot with spectro oil vs syn3 or m1-v-twin in 20w-50 which the tells me the other oils that had significantly lower oil pressure when motor was up to norm op temp & hot were simply thinning out more when under more stress when motor & oil heated up that the higher quality spectro proved to me could handle better by not thinning as much like the other oils did.
Happy motoring.
Scott
This is so ****ed up I don't even know where to begin...
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