Just installed Ward cooling fans
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1,962
Likes: 140
From: NY
Just installed ward cooling fans and just thought i'd share my thoughts.
I should start off by saying i did not care whether the Wards fans were the most effective or the least effective of all the cooling fans out there. I felt my FLHXS was putting out significantly more heat then my old Deluxe. To the point it was getting uncomfortable to ride at times. On days where i was hitting traffic o the way to work, i was seeing 320 degree temps via my FP3 once i've shut down in the work parking garage. I wanted to try some fans, and the Wards fans were really the only ones that didn't completely ruin the look of the bike.
Fans and install:
I opted for the Chrome finished fans. Wards website seems to prepare you for a so-so chrome finish. I'm not sure why tho because the fans are probably some of the nicest chrome on my bike. The finish and the whole fan assembly in general look and feel very high quality. The only thing that i wasn't a huge fan of was the connectors. For the money spent i would have preferred a more finished looking connector then the male/female isolated spade connectors that come with them. I will probably look to swap them out for something else. Install couldn't be simpler, it's well documented on wards website so i'm not going to go into detail... But i ran into no issues or surprises following Wards directions.
The Results:
I took the bike for a short spin once i had finished the install. The fans did kick on with the thermal switch at some point in the ride, no idea at what time or temp, and stayed on the remainder of my ride. When i returned home i took out my phone and checked the temps, FP3 read 234 degrees.. ambient temp was 81 degrees. I left the bike idling and went inside to grab my infrared thermometer. When i got back to the bike, the FP3 was reading 231 degrees. Temp from the thermometer read 221 at the front spark plug, 235 degrees at the rear plug, 240 degrees around the harley temp sensor. Temp around the rear exhaust port was 315 degrees, and around the rear pushrod tubes was 256.
When i shut the bike off the fans kept running for 9 minutes until the fp3 read 149 degrees and the thermometer read 141 degrees.
My Thoughts:
From a looks perspective, i think they look okay, but i preferred my chrome headbolt bridge covers. i don't mind them, but i don't love them. But they look good enough that will leave them on. I don't really like how long they stay on after i shut the bike off. To be fair, when i ride my buddies FLHXSE, after a long ride the fans stay on also after i shut of the bike, but never more then a minute or 2. Based on my fp3 and temp readings, the bike defiantly runs cooler, but that was expected. What i didn't expect was that i still felt a good amount of heat. To be fair Wards advertises an engine cooling fan and not a rider cooling fan. the heat on the left side was greatly reduced and very comfortable. The heat on the exhaust side did not to seem to be any less. When stopped i did not feel any hot blowing air from the fan, as some have been concerned about.
Of course i will not really see the benefits/difference until i hit some traffic on my way to work.. but i don't plan on purposely sitting in traffic so who knows when i will be able to really test the fans.. Traffic has been light now that schools out.
overall i'm happy that they don't ruin the look of the engine.. And i like that they keep the temp readings down, even tho i don't believe thats needed in most cases. I think they will make a difference in stop and go traffic, so time will tell. I believe on my test ride i would have ran around the same temp regardless of the fans, hence why the exhausts side felt equally as hot. The fact that i was able to idle the bike and take temp readings without any meaningful increase in temps should mean i will see improvements in traffic.
I should start off by saying i did not care whether the Wards fans were the most effective or the least effective of all the cooling fans out there. I felt my FLHXS was putting out significantly more heat then my old Deluxe. To the point it was getting uncomfortable to ride at times. On days where i was hitting traffic o the way to work, i was seeing 320 degree temps via my FP3 once i've shut down in the work parking garage. I wanted to try some fans, and the Wards fans were really the only ones that didn't completely ruin the look of the bike.
Fans and install:
I opted for the Chrome finished fans. Wards website seems to prepare you for a so-so chrome finish. I'm not sure why tho because the fans are probably some of the nicest chrome on my bike. The finish and the whole fan assembly in general look and feel very high quality. The only thing that i wasn't a huge fan of was the connectors. For the money spent i would have preferred a more finished looking connector then the male/female isolated spade connectors that come with them. I will probably look to swap them out for something else. Install couldn't be simpler, it's well documented on wards website so i'm not going to go into detail... But i ran into no issues or surprises following Wards directions.
The Results:
I took the bike for a short spin once i had finished the install. The fans did kick on with the thermal switch at some point in the ride, no idea at what time or temp, and stayed on the remainder of my ride. When i returned home i took out my phone and checked the temps, FP3 read 234 degrees.. ambient temp was 81 degrees. I left the bike idling and went inside to grab my infrared thermometer. When i got back to the bike, the FP3 was reading 231 degrees. Temp from the thermometer read 221 at the front spark plug, 235 degrees at the rear plug, 240 degrees around the harley temp sensor. Temp around the rear exhaust port was 315 degrees, and around the rear pushrod tubes was 256.
When i shut the bike off the fans kept running for 9 minutes until the fp3 read 149 degrees and the thermometer read 141 degrees.
My Thoughts:
From a looks perspective, i think they look okay, but i preferred my chrome headbolt bridge covers. i don't mind them, but i don't love them. But they look good enough that will leave them on. I don't really like how long they stay on after i shut the bike off. To be fair, when i ride my buddies FLHXSE, after a long ride the fans stay on also after i shut of the bike, but never more then a minute or 2. Based on my fp3 and temp readings, the bike defiantly runs cooler, but that was expected. What i didn't expect was that i still felt a good amount of heat. To be fair Wards advertises an engine cooling fan and not a rider cooling fan. the heat on the left side was greatly reduced and very comfortable. The heat on the exhaust side did not to seem to be any less. When stopped i did not feel any hot blowing air from the fan, as some have been concerned about.
Of course i will not really see the benefits/difference until i hit some traffic on my way to work.. but i don't plan on purposely sitting in traffic so who knows when i will be able to really test the fans.. Traffic has been light now that schools out.
overall i'm happy that they don't ruin the look of the engine.. And i like that they keep the temp readings down, even tho i don't believe thats needed in most cases. I think they will make a difference in stop and go traffic, so time will tell. I believe on my test ride i would have ran around the same temp regardless of the fans, hence why the exhausts side felt equally as hot. The fact that i was able to idle the bike and take temp readings without any meaningful increase in temps should mean i will see improvements in traffic.
The Wards fans look good on your bike & are well worth $$$.
If you really want to address the heat chk this out.
To reduce heat I installed wards fans along with an ultracool oil cooler with twin cooling fans both at same time on my 09 flhtcu and collectively together that reduced oil temp 50deg f in summer heat.
And keep in mind its the oil job to not only lube the motor internally but to also remove heat/reduce engine temp esp in a lrg disp air cooled v-twin HD motor so when oil temp was reduced 50deg f engine temp was significantly reduced @ the same time too.
That resulted in (just to name a few) little less heat hitting me from the motor thats now running cooler along with no more detonation/no more valve & or lifter noise/motor maintains 10-12psi higher oil pressure @ idle & cruise/motor also retains all the pwr-trq & crisp throttle response it used to loose on hot days prior to installing the 2 cooling mods.
BTW,if your bike has a cat i also rec at the very least gutting it & installing an enrichment device like for ex Nightrider's adj resistors which can help reduce engine temp a bit but not near as much as the 2 part cooling combo reduced oil/engine temp on my bike.
scott
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,099
Likes: 307
From: mid Michigan
Not at all , what saying is cool horns or cool cooler can't have it all. l I like the cow bell too. Kinda would like a stebal horn for the decibels but think there's other places to put it & then could use cow bell for catch can. I've spent way to much on this bike so I think I'm about done.
If fans were oem equipment, no one would notice them . They are that unobtrusive. You think ward's are ugly, look at Love Jugs
Thread Starter
|
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 347
Likes: 7
From: NJ
100% know your temps would have been hotter on your test ride without the fans on. At 75mph cut the fans off and watch your temps go up some. One of the best add ons you can get for your scoot and extremely pleased to have mine. I never ever ever worry about stop and go traffic any longer.
I rode for about 3 hours this weekend with the ambient temps @ 94 degrees. The ride consisted of back roads, lots of shifting, stop and go city riding and lots of lights and stop signs. Needless to say, the engine was hot. Fans ran for over 20 minutes but bike was also parked in a trailer so I am sure it took longer to cool down that way.
I appreciate your write up but don't understand the operation issues.... The fans are doing what they are supposed to do.
I appreciate your write up but don't understand the operation issues.... The fans are doing what they are supposed to do.
I re-read my post, i don't think i mentioned anything about having installation issues. It was a very straight forward install.
============================================
The Wards fans look good on your bike & are well worth $$$.
If you really want to address the heat chk this out.
To reduce heat I installed wards fans along with an ultracool oil cooler with twin cooling fans both at same time on my 09 flhtcu and collectively together that reduced oil temp 50deg f in summer heat.
And keep in mind its the oil job to not only lube the motor internally but to also remove heat/reduce engine temp esp in a lrg disp air cooled v-twin HD motor so when oil temp was reduced 50deg f engine temp was significantly reduced @ the same time too.
That resulted in (just to name a few) little less heat hitting me from the motor thats now running cooler along with no more detonation/no more valve & or lifter noise/motor maintains 10-12psi higher oil pressure @ idle & cruise/motor also retains all the pwr-trq & crisp throttle response it used to loose on hot days prior to installing the 2 cooling mods.
BTW,if your bike has a cat i also rec at the very least gutting it & installing an enrichment device like for ex Nightrider's adj resistors which can help reduce engine temp a bit but not near as much as the 2 part cooling combo reduced oil/engine temp on my bike.
scott
The Wards fans look good on your bike & are well worth $$$.
If you really want to address the heat chk this out.
To reduce heat I installed wards fans along with an ultracool oil cooler with twin cooling fans both at same time on my 09 flhtcu and collectively together that reduced oil temp 50deg f in summer heat.
And keep in mind its the oil job to not only lube the motor internally but to also remove heat/reduce engine temp esp in a lrg disp air cooled v-twin HD motor so when oil temp was reduced 50deg f engine temp was significantly reduced @ the same time too.
That resulted in (just to name a few) little less heat hitting me from the motor thats now running cooler along with no more detonation/no more valve & or lifter noise/motor maintains 10-12psi higher oil pressure @ idle & cruise/motor also retains all the pwr-trq & crisp throttle response it used to loose on hot days prior to installing the 2 cooling mods.
BTW,if your bike has a cat i also rec at the very least gutting it & installing an enrichment device like for ex Nightrider's adj resistors which can help reduce engine temp a bit but not near as much as the 2 part cooling combo reduced oil/engine temp on my bike.
scott
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,172
Likes: 377
From: Georgia
Oh I understood what you meant , just thought one cute reply deserved another.
My bike doesn't get that hot many times during the year. And I know as well as you that there are more ways than fans to cool an engine.
Besides, this whole conversation has gotten me to think about ways to add a less noticeable fan system...
My bike doesn't get that hot many times during the year. And I know as well as you that there are more ways than fans to cool an engine.
Besides, this whole conversation has gotten me to think about ways to add a less noticeable fan system...
Thread Starter
|
Tourer
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 347
Likes: 7
From: NJ
Nice right up, I like that the fans stay on till the bike gets good and cool. Most the time I wait till they shut off to restart even at gas up. I have one gaurd on the right side (tank& seat) per dk custom keep motor cool tips, this brings air around the rear cylinder. Results is the left sidee is warmer but not as bad before all my cooling mods. Two others is ultra cooler & wood beads on seat.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,099
Likes: 307
From: mid Michigan
I think there should be a air dam that flows under the tank then keeps going under seat then open up to cool rear cylinder to get them more even instead of having different tunes for each cylinder that there is a Moco bandaid. also make it wide and about a inch thick this would keep the seat cool also.
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Road Captain
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 603
Likes: 8
From: Ct
Did mine lastyear, love them. They do not shut off at 75 they simple don't push any air at those speeds. I shut mine off if I'll be on the highway for long periods of time. They stay after the bike off because they are supposed to.