Oil cooler
Thread Starter
|
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2019
Posts: 62
Likes: 5
From: Central Valley
Oil cooler
I have a '14 SG. Ride in hot weather(100+). Sometimes in heavy traffic Thinking about adding a fan to the oil cooler to keep the engine temp down on hot days. Ya' think it will help any??
Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,800
Likes: 307
From: Houston, Texas
Will it help, probably not much but it can't hurt either. I personally believe the fans are sold to make you feel better about the bike. I don't think the engine cares. Even sitting still in traffic, the oil cooler is radiating quite a bit of heat off of it.
Yes it gets hotter than crap and you can start to feel the performance change but as soon as you get it rolling in the breeze it cools right back down fast. Just use a good quality synthetic oil that can take the heat as well.
I ride daily in Houston stop and go traffic and it's been in the upper 90's and hit 100 quite often. My 08 has over 130,000 miles in it and I've never had any heat related issues even after I bumped it up to a 103 with cams.
Of course the rushmores are a different beast then my 08 and 13 and rely on the oil more.
Harley does have a test facility in Arizona where they test in extreme heat situations. They hate warranty claims so if they couldn't take the heat, they would have made the fans standard to prevent claims.
Yes it gets hotter than crap and you can start to feel the performance change but as soon as you get it rolling in the breeze it cools right back down fast. Just use a good quality synthetic oil that can take the heat as well.
I ride daily in Houston stop and go traffic and it's been in the upper 90's and hit 100 quite often. My 08 has over 130,000 miles in it and I've never had any heat related issues even after I bumped it up to a 103 with cams.
Of course the rushmores are a different beast then my 08 and 13 and rely on the oil more.
Harley does have a test facility in Arizona where they test in extreme heat situations. They hate warranty claims so if they couldn't take the heat, they would have made the fans standard to prevent claims.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,271
Likes: 246
From: Columbia SC
An engine fan will keep the engine and oil cooler in traffic.
Check out Lenale for moderate cooling and Love Jugs for heavy duty.
Last edited by alarmdoug; Aug 17, 2019 at 05:05 PM.
Club Member
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 45,429
Likes: 2,898
From: Bedford UK
There are two considerations, where heat is concerned: 1. the bike; 2. the rider! The rider tends to be a lot more sensitive to heat than the vehicle, which is designed and tested to operate in the worst conditions, from arctic to desert. From what you say you are not travelling in a desert, so your bike will be fine! There are however various devices available to make you the rider more comfortable, such as heat shields around the rear cylinder/rider's leg area, plus cooling fans for the heads.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 2,557
Likes: 235
From: Texas
I feel your concern. It goes like this: Stuck in freeway gridlock in downtown Houston in the middle of an August heat wave and the ambient air temp on the road is over 100ş. You are not moving, you have a few more miles to get to your exit, and you can feel the engine getting hot.
How will I know when the engine too hot and what should I do?
I was in this exact scenario recently, stuck in freeway gridlock in downtown Houston, not moving, and the engine was getting hot. After 20 minutes moving less than a mile, the engine was stalling and would not idle at just at 250ş indicated oil temp. Oil pressure was barely registering on the gauge. I was having to blip the throttle to keep it from dying.
My personal answer to the question is that when my engine would not run at idle then it was too hot. When there are no other safe options, I believed the best choice was to find a safe place to shut it off and let it cool down and find another route. That is what I know from my experience.
How will I know when the engine too hot and what should I do?
I was in this exact scenario recently, stuck in freeway gridlock in downtown Houston, not moving, and the engine was getting hot. After 20 minutes moving less than a mile, the engine was stalling and would not idle at just at 250ş indicated oil temp. Oil pressure was barely registering on the gauge. I was having to blip the throttle to keep it from dying.
My personal answer to the question is that when my engine would not run at idle then it was too hot. When there are no other safe options, I believed the best choice was to find a safe place to shut it off and let it cool down and find another route. That is what I know from my experience.
Stellar HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,151
Likes: 406
From: Hurdle Mills NC
I just got done putting a Cam in .. it does feel like the bike is running a little hotter.
But even before I decided on the cam, I decided that I would do what I could to help with heat. Probably because of some of the issues I had with the other recent baggers Ive owned.
Street Glides arent water cooled .. oil and air. Sure there wont be any disagreements there. When in stop and go or sitting in stalled traffic, there is no air (or very minimal) running over the stock cooler or engine. Dont think there will be any disagreements there.
In my mind, having a fan engage under 40 mph would be beneficial for those stop and go or stalled traffic situations; probably not much for the rider but certainly for the engine.
I also think that the addition of the Coolflow fan would help. No, it isn't designed to actually cool the engine. It too detects speed and temperature and pops on to cool the rider and passenger. However, it still moves air away from the engine.
I am opting for both. I have the oil cooler in hand and am waiting on the Coolflow. Taking these measures given the summer heat and humidity of the Carolinas makes sense to me. Today it will be 90 .. real feel is 99 .. thats tough on any bike engine even if water cooled.
.. sumncguys 2 cents.
But even before I decided on the cam, I decided that I would do what I could to help with heat. Probably because of some of the issues I had with the other recent baggers Ive owned.
Street Glides arent water cooled .. oil and air. Sure there wont be any disagreements there. When in stop and go or sitting in stalled traffic, there is no air (or very minimal) running over the stock cooler or engine. Dont think there will be any disagreements there.
In my mind, having a fan engage under 40 mph would be beneficial for those stop and go or stalled traffic situations; probably not much for the rider but certainly for the engine.
I also think that the addition of the Coolflow fan would help. No, it isn't designed to actually cool the engine. It too detects speed and temperature and pops on to cool the rider and passenger. However, it still moves air away from the engine.
I am opting for both. I have the oil cooler in hand and am waiting on the Coolflow. Taking these measures given the summer heat and humidity of the Carolinas makes sense to me. Today it will be 90 .. real feel is 99 .. thats tough on any bike engine even if water cooled.
.. sumncguys 2 cents.
Last edited by sumncguy; Aug 18, 2019 at 10:13 AM.
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,271
Likes: 246
From: Columbia SC
I feel your concern. It goes like this: Stuck in freeway gridlock in downtown Houston in the middle of an August heat wave and the ambient air temp on the road is over 100ş. You are not moving, you have a few more miles to get to your exit, and you can feel the engine getting hot.
How will I know when the engine too hot and what should I do?
I was in this exact scenario recently, stuck in freeway gridlock in downtown Houston, not moving, and the engine was getting hot. After 20 minutes moving less than a mile, the engine was stalling and would not idle at just at 250ş indicated oil temp. Oil pressure was barely registering on the gauge. I was having to blip the throttle to keep it from dying.
My personal answer to the question is that when my engine would not run at idle then it was too hot. When there are no other safe options, I believed the best choice was to find a safe place to shut it off and let it cool down and find another route. That is what I know from my experience.
How will I know when the engine too hot and what should I do?
I was in this exact scenario recently, stuck in freeway gridlock in downtown Houston, not moving, and the engine was getting hot. After 20 minutes moving less than a mile, the engine was stalling and would not idle at just at 250ş indicated oil temp. Oil pressure was barely registering on the gauge. I was having to blip the throttle to keep it from dying.
My personal answer to the question is that when my engine would not run at idle then it was too hot. When there are no other safe options, I believed the best choice was to find a safe place to shut it off and let it cool down and find another route. That is what I know from my experience.
Lenale is a simple one fan device which looks FAR FAR better then the stock horn.
With that said, I wish Love Juggs would contact me for a evaluation set of their new mini fans, would love to be a product tester!
)
Trending Topics
Road Warrior
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 1,399
Likes: 307
From: Salem IN
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Road Warrior
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,271
Likes: 246
From: Columbia SC
I didnt use the relocation kit, I bought a Fiamm pancake style horn and mounted it with my own made mount to the frame cross brace above the oil cooler (caution, dont do this yourself unless you are careful and sense-able) you need to make sure its right up against the frame and account for the front fender compressing when you hit large bumps, if you dont and not sure, it will bang into your fender. You need to take into account the FULL travel of the front works. Its a project that is not for everyone.
Ill post photos when time, been busy at work.
Actually I just found my own photos in this forum by googling my name.
If Interested Ill also post photos of the horn, in the photo you can see it posted above the oil cooler hose.
Click below
Lenale Engine Fan
Personally I think fan looks much better then the horn.
