[jim_98335]

Hi,

I'm new to VTF and have been reading as much as I can. I just bought a Aniversary Edition 2003 Road King Classic (Silvr and Black) and have decided to add the crash bar oil cooler that other folks have talked about. I have a few questions before I get started:

1) Has anyone added a small vent/filler port on top of the crash bar? I think it would be handy to fill up the bar from the top during an oil change so the system wouldn't have so much air in it at start up. If this is a good idea, what kind of port would work best? The crash bar wall thickness seems a little thin to put a 1/8th inch NPT plug into.

2) What keeps the oil from draining out of the crash bar when the bike is parked? Seems like it could make a real mess if it backed up into the oil tank then ran over. I plan to use a the offset JAGG adapter with a thermostat between the oil filter and the filter bracket to access the oil flow.

Thanks for any help in advance!

 

[adlerx]

Hi,

I'm new to VTF and have been reading as much as I can. I just bought a Aniversary Edition 2003 Road King Classic (Silvr and Black) and have decided to add the crash bar oil cooler that other folks have talked about. I have a few questions before I get started:

1) Has anyone added a small vent/filler port on top of the crash bar? I think it would be handy to fill up the bar from the top during an oil change so the system wouldn't have so much air in it at start up. If this is a good idea, what kind of port would work best? The crash bar wall thickness seems a little thin to put a 1/8th inch NPT plug into.

2) What keeps the oil from draining out of the crash bar when the bike is parked? Seems like it could make a real mess if it backed up into the oil tank then ran over. I plan to use a the offset JAGG adapter with a thermostat between the oil filter and the filter bracket to access the oil flow.

Thanks for any help in advance!

:corn:
......

 

[wyodude]

Thanks for any help in advance!

Jim,

I'm sure you've seen Lance's webpage on the engine guard oil cooler how-to:

http://silvercrow.com/performance/oilcooler.htm

How about e-mailing him and asking your questions? He's a very knowledgeable person.

[email protected]

regards,

wyo

 

[jim_98335]

Wyo,

Thanks for the suggestion. I sent my questions to Lance at the address you gave me. I'll post his reply here so if anyone else is thinking of using his oil cooler ideas they can see the answers.

I wouldn't have considered trying it without the excellent instructions and pictures that Lance posted earlier.

Thanks again!

Jim

 

[jim_98335]

Lance's Reply to My Questions

Here's the e-mail reply to my questions that I got back from Lance:

*****
Put the drain plugs on the bottom of the cooler bar like in the pictures. It will drain slower but works very well. As for prefilling it.. It really is not necessary.. The cooler fills in seconds when you crank the engine over. Just try it. The red oil light goes off in 2 or 3 seconds so there is lots of oil pressure. Remember all the oil passages in the engine are still full of oil on any oil change so there is no real out of oil situation. As for draining back.. never happens.. As long as you dont drill a hole in the top of the crash bar it will never let air in for oil to drain out. Just fill a straw with water and turn it upside down. Water will not come out till you let air in. The bar mounting tabs are 1/4" thich so drill them not the bar.

Using a drain plug on the bottom will let the oil drain easily. one side will drain and the other side will let air in. That is why 2 drain plugs on either side of the bottom. Something to think about, this is not new HD used this oil cooler method in the 50's plus many bikes run oil through the frame which is the same idea in oil cooling.
*****

Just as soon as the parts arrive I'll make the mod to my RKC. Thanks Lance!

 

[Paniolo]

I wish I knew about the drain plug idea when I did my crashbar.

But then again, just pulling the hose and letting it drain will serve the same purpose. I am really surprised at how hot the crashbar gets. I can barely touch the inlet side, I wouldn't want to brush up against it with a bare leg. The outlet side is hot to the touch, but not at hot as the inlet side.

And here's the kicker, I am running it in series AFTER my Spurgin oil cooler. I know running two oil coolers is real "Anal Retentive" (Medical Term meaning worries for no reason), but I do have to cross the desert twice, once to get out of the state, and once to return.

I have found the teps have dropped 25 degrees in normal operation.

 

[jim_98335]

Paniolo,

I don't have any deserts to cross here in the Northwest so I'm going to include a thermostat on my adapter. I want to be sure it comes up to proper temperature when the day isn't so hot.

This crash bar oil cooler sounds like such a good idea I wouldn't be surprised if someone didn't start marketing a set of clamp-on fins for each side of the crash bar. Seems like they'd be pretty easy to make and it'd be hard to imagine a better cooler set up.

Regards,

Jim