A friend of mine just bought an 06 1200 Custom. He read in the manual that an oil cooler should be added for long rides. What do they consider a long ride? Is this simply a ploy for HD to get you to by more parts from them?

I've got a 99 xl883c and have riden for hours with no problems. I'm looking at riding from VA to NH this summer for Laconia. If this is an issue, will I be alright riding 600 miles over 2 days?

My 04 goes on 500 -650 mile trips quite frequently. The oil stays below 200 degrees. Having said that, an oil cooler is not a bad idea for summer driving in stop and go traffic.

I have a problem believing that MoCo would sell any bike if they thought is was in any danger of needing a oil cooler, other wise they would have a warranty recall problem. I believe if you are riding 2 up in the desert with a ton of gear it would be a good idea but as far as what designates a long or short ride I have no Idea but I would think the oil would get just as hot in 100 miles as it would in 500 miles. It looks like a sales pitch to me.

I rode over 1500 miles in a 3-day weekend - no oil cooler.
My manual said nothing about adding one.

Sounds strange.

Maybe if you ride two-up in really hot weather you MIGHT need one. Save your money.

I ride in higher temps than most of y'all ever will...my bike doesn't have an oil cooler. Oil temp on my bike has never went over 230.

I don't let the temps stop me from riding, one day it was 120deg F.

If I was running an 11:1 compression motor, 1200cc's or up, you BET I'd be running an oil cooler down here. But since my bike is a stock 883, it just isn't necessary.

What oil temp does your bike normally run?

I believe it has nothing to do with the distance driven, no matter how hot it is. As long as your moving, everything will be fine.

What might matter is sitting in traffic for extended periods during real hot weather. But even water cooled bikes can have problems under these conditions.

I'm thinking about getting an oil cooler, but only for insurance - don't really think I'll need it - and it's something functional to tinker with... :D :tour

A friend of mine just bought an 06 1200 Custom. He read in the manual that an oil cooler should be added for long rides. What do they consider a long ride? Is this simply a ploy for HD to get you to by more parts from them?

I've got a 99 xl883c and have riden for hours with no problems. I'm looking at riding from VA to NH this summer for Laconia. If this is an issue, will I be alright riding 600 miles over 2 days?

Horse-Hockey....

The only people that need to worry about oil coolers are those who ride in extreme heat conditions, with oil temps that get above 225 or so (higher with synths).

Don't bother.....

(BTW, this does NOT apply to Ironheads....I have no experience with those....)

Maybe the 06's are leaned out so much because of the EPA that if you want to keep it stock you have to use an oil cooler? I don't remember my 05 manual saying that.

I read somewhere that the MoCo "recommended" an oil cooler for "parade duty". Other than that, I wouldn't think it's necessary.

Don't bother with an oil cooler throw some synthetic in it and you'll be good. If you were to put a cooler on the only way to install it is to use a thermostate that allows it to only be used when oil temps get too hot. Too cool of oil temps will do damage to your motor. You want the higher oil temps to burn the condensation and fuel blowby out of your oil before it turns acidic.

I'm running an oil cooler on my otherwise stock '06 1200R down here in New Mexico. I've got a little over 1K miles on her and I've been experiencing phenomenal gas mileage -- 51 to 57 mpg -- running with a windscreen, 55 to 70 mph on back roads at elevations around 5,500 to 7,500 feet.

My best guess on this is that the '06's are indeed tuned very lean. Lean engines could get high gas mileage, if they didn't run so hot. And in thin (high elevation) dry air, air-cooled engines get hot fast. With the oil cooler, the engine remains cool and efficient -- very low heat and friction.

I'm open to any other theories, but I'm not buying the "you don't need an oil cooler" rhetoric, at least in MY riding environment. Besides, I often wonder why all the Buell 1202 Thunderstorm engines (close cousin to the 1200R) come stock with oil coolers and rear cylinder air scoops? Eric Buell and company are rather talented engineers when it comes to refining H-D designs. They obviously feel that additional engine cooling is a good thing.

I believe it has nothing to do with the distance driven, no matter how hot it is. As long as your moving, everything will be fine.

What might matter is sitting in traffic for extended periods during real hot weather. But even water cooled bikes can have problems under these conditions.

I'm thinking about getting an oil cooler, but only for insurance - don't really think I'll need it - and it's something functional to tinker with... :D :tour

Tim is correct,no worries unless you are stuck in traffic in high heat.
If I lived in Phoenix and rode in the city a lot I'd invest in one but most of us will never need to worry about those kind of extremes in temps.
An oil coller cant hurt but for 300 miles a day in normal summer weather don't sweat it;)
You guys down in the Az. sun have summer heat that's just not fit for man nor beast,the bike takes it better than I do :D

If you were to put a cooler on the only way to install it is to use a thermostate that allows it to only be used when oil temps get too hot. Too cool of oil temps will do damage to your motor. You want the higher oil temps to burn the condensation and fuel blowby out of your oil before it turns acidic.

Not really an issue unless maybe you ride in the Yukon in the dead of winter :D
My FXRS had a Harley (Lockhart) oil coller on it without a thermostat and i never had any issues with running to cold.
I rode in teamps from the mid 20's to the mid 120's on that bike doing well over 100,000 miles in ten years.
Rode it two up for 200 miles the day before I took it in for it's first fresh top end at 103,000 miles.;)

i got stuck in the worst traffic jam of my life last summer, riding out of new orleans about 18 hours ahead of katrina with a few hundred thousand other people. 6 hours for the first 30 miles (no chance to split lanes across lake pontchartrain bridge), and never had a problem with overheating. i did run into a guy on a yamaha the next day who said his clutch was smoking by the time he got across, though :rolleyes:

i got stuck in the worst traffic jam of my life last summer, riding out of new orleans about 18 hours ahead of katrina with a few hundred thousand other people. 6 hours for the first 30 miles (no chance to split lanes across lake pontchartrain bridge), and never had a problem with overheating. i did run into a guy on a yamaha the next day who said his clutch was smoking by the time he got across, though :rolleyes:

I was wondering about you evacuation guys on Harley's. Get out early as you can, eh? That would suck.

I run a cooler which is covered most of the time. I don't run a valve, automatic or manual, to lessen the amount of shit that could go wrong. When it gets hot and it does in NH, I uncover it. Stop and go Laconia traffic can get hot, especially going up the hill. I feel comfortable having a tank of oil that's a bit cooler than riding without the oil cooler.

My bike had a Lockhart on it when I bought it. I probably wouldn't have put one on otherwise, but I swear by it now.

As for the "the oil doesn't get up to temperature" argument, I call bullshit. It has never been a problem, even in winter.


Bart

You guys down in the Az. sun have summer heat that's just not fit for man nor beast,the bike takes it better than I do :D

Y2K,

I hear ya! We poke fun of the northerners in the winter (cause we're still ridin') but they can get us back in the summer. It's damn hot here in Tucson, hotter in Phoenix, and hotter yet in Yuma.

Hell it was in the low 90s yeaterday and today here in Tucson! :eek:

Will probably get the HD oil cooler - but I need new rear shocks FIRST! ;)

Tim

82 degrees here today. I don't get into the stop and go traffic here, so no cooler. I've got new 412s in the box if I can ever get motivated to put them on. I've got to do it before any summer road trips with my wife.

82 degrees here today. I don't get into the stop and go traffic here, so no cooler. I've got new 412s in the box if I can ever get motivated to put them on. I've got to do it before any summer road trips with my wife.

The Progressive 412s are what I'm probably gonna buy? What length and are they HD?

Love to know how they work on your bike!

Tim

The Progressive 412s are what I'm probably gonna buy? What length and are they HD?

Love to know how they work on your bike!

Tim

They are the progressives and I bought the stock length, 13".