I have a question.

I live in Orlando, Florida and have a 2009 FLHT. I put the oil cooler on it (the Harley one) and I am always at 230 degrees....

You think that is normal with this HD Oil cooler?

I am using HD synthetic oil as well.....

 

Not normal, seems high to me. I have the 103 with oil cooler plus mods for cooling (non cat pipe, air cleaner and PCV) and mine stays around 190 unless I'm stuck in traffic then it goes to 215 or so

 

no cooler and i run 180 top 230 dep on traffic and time of year. im Orlando/Apopka area. i run mobil one

 

The very reason Harley does not put a oil temp gauge standard is because of the high temps the oil runs at on a air cooled bike. But a oil cooler is always good to have.

 

Just ride your bike. Don't worry about the temp. If your bike is running good then all's well. Who cares about oil temp. Last summer on a run up to Milwaukee my temp got up to 260. I was worried but the engine never so much as made a ping. It ran tip top. Keep running ur syn3 and ride...

 

I wouldn't worry at 230 deg. That is normal if you ride long enough and the ambient temp is warm enough.

I've actually been doing some testing on a 103 c.i. with oil cooler fans and have seen oil temps as high as 270 in my tests with ambient temperatures of only 70 deg. Not to say 270 is normal, or the test conditions I ran through were normal either, but I think those who claim operating oil temps below 200 in warm weather are either not riding long enough for the oil temps to peak or have gauges of suspect accuracy.

If you are stuck in traffic conditions that dictate prolonged idling, oil temps above 250 are not at all uncommon.

The 103 I've been testing has the cat removed, air cleaner, exhaust, and tuner so it's already cooler than a stock configuration.

 

230 is fine and you are in Florida. I got the temp up near 300 last summer while stuck in traffic, bike is just fine.

 

I've discussed this very topic with a bunch of different wrench's, plus last year at the Tennessee State Hog Rally, I was watching the Daytona Beach Drill Team perform. I noticed none of their bikes had oil cooler's. I happened to be standing next to the HD Rep. for this area. We started talking about engine temps and what oil the Drill Team used. It turned out, they all have their bikes serviced at Rossmeyer HD and they use Syn3. The area Rep said they didn't need oil cooler's because the oil needs to run between 215 and 230. or above.

 

230° is the normal operating temperature for a completely stock bike with without an oil cooler. It's possible that the thermostat is stuck closed.

 

Ideally, your oil temperature should be between 180° and 220° under normal riding conditions.