I bought a Racing Orange '05 1200R yesterday. See my posts in Introduce Yourself and Dealers. I've previously read about the difficulty in removing the cap. When I checked the oil this morning, I wore a pair of Mechanix gloves and didn't have a problem removing the cap. Maybe it's the natural oils in your skin slipping on the chrome cap. In Houston NAPA sells the gloves. I'm sure there are other auto parts stores that carry them.

http://www.mechanix.com/

Just get yourself one of these:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/Turbota/OilTank.jpg

Manufactured in an African "Sweat Shop" by 50 cent per hour workers exclusively for Harley-Davidson!

Turbota
Where did you get that oil cap.
Bob

H-D part number is 63023-05.

Thanks
Bob
04 883C

How well does the temp gauge work and do you recommend?

How well does the temp gauge work and do you recommend?
That brings up a good point, has anyone had problems with oil getting too hot? I've rode in 100+ and never really thought about it. By the way welcome to the forum Taz :D

Taz, Bronco, I've read that you should add 10% to the the reading, as the oilbag is cooler than the motor. I found it valuable when I ran the Harley 360 fossil oil, which breaks down under high heat. Since I've started using MOBIL 1 Synthetic, that is much less a worry so I now look at it in curiousity.

Thanks Maddog! Been using the sync. so I quess no worries :clap

I have the gage cap and it seems to work fine. I put it on as an indicator.......don't much care if it reads slightly high or low as long as it reads consistant. Anyone living in the south-southwest should have one. Here in Texas, it's not uncommon to have 40 or more 105 degree to 115 degree days in the summer. Sitting in traffic gets dang hot, not only on me, but also on the ride. Remember, air cooled engines only cool when you're moving.:tour

I have the gage cap and it seems to work fine. I put it on as an indicator.......don't much care if it reads slightly high or low as long as it reads consistant. Anyone living in the south-southwest should have one. Here in Texas, it's not uncommon to have 40 or more 105 degree to 115 degree days in the summer. Sitting in traffic gets dang hot, not only on me, but also on the ride. Remember, air cooled engines only cool when you're moving.:tour
What's the max safe range temp?

Broncodog
Bar talk always led me to believe that 215 to 230 degrees was an acceptable range. During the cool weather here (50 degrees), the gage has been showing 180 at idle and about 205-210 running at highway speed. Have not used the gage yet in the heat of the summer. One of these threads had a guy who worked for an oil company. He can probably better state what temperature range the oil should be. I have heard that if it hits 300 degrees, an engine may go...... I looked into an oil cooler, but the parts manager said it's a waste of money if I am touring under 5 hours straight. Over that, he said a cooler is fine. I'm still running 50w.:chop

Thanks Dar! :D

Just get yourself one of these:

Manufactured in an African "Sweat Shop" by 50 cent per hour workers exclusively for Harley-Davidson!

I gotta have one!

Adding it to my "wish list" now.

I'm the guy who works for the oil company you mentioned! (it's ExxonMobil, by the way).

As far as operating temperature goes, if you run in any extreme (be it hot or cold) you need to run Fully Synthetic oil. Don't bitch about the price of it your bikes are worth it!

It is the refining and additive packs in the oil which cost the money. As an example you can put Mobil 1 in a frying pan and try to cook it (don't tel the missus!) and it won't boil, try it with a mineral or semi synthetic and it will.

As far as the operating range goes you can look on the webiste at
www.exxonmobil.com and look under the relevant spec sheet for that oil (if it's Mobil).

I have found the gauge to be within 5 degrees by using a probe type pyrometer. Adding 10 percent wouldn't be a bad idea but even so, the oil is no where near the flash or breakdown point. The Mobil 1 synthetic has a flash point of roughly 415 degrees however, it still has a slight viscosity breakdown at 1,500 miles. I change mine, which currently uses Syn3 at 2,000 miles. In traffic on a 102 degree day the gauge got up to 200-210 and I was very pleased although it was like sitting on a space heater. In any case, the 04-05 Sporties seem to be running very cool.

Stephen Hawk

S Hawk..If your 04/05 tested out within 5% it's because those engines have a much improved oil system. With the older evo's like mine the 10 % addition will be a safer bet.

Yup, you're probably right Maddog. I have talked with other owners including one that works with me that has a 1995. He was telling me that there was no way he could sit around as long as I can. We switched his over to the Syn3 oil and it seemed to do much better although the pyrometer still put his above 200 at the tank where mine was still just below 180 and I think the day was around 90 degrees ambient. I would have no problem with anyone suggesting a 10% flux from tank to sump.

Hawk

Wel, that one got added to my wish list too! Probably not a big deal right now, but I WILL have one before spring. ;)

--Sean

I love my new oil cap!! I really think it goes with the lines of the bike and the overall look and customability. I rode the other day in 45-55 deg. weather and it never got over 170. I'm sure that these aren't completely accurate, but consistancy is great to have.

Mine arrived last evening by ups, ordered it on-line from a dealer in conroe, tx was $45.95 plus s&h--can the guage be inserted so that it can be read from a seated position? or does it just go in one way? still in the box.........

The guage only fits one way and yes you can read it from a seated position.

just upsidedown...................:D