[cox9000]

I've been reading some posts about bikers riding through the desert in some very hot weather, like over 120 degrees. Are there special considerations / preparations that must be taken into account with an air cooled engine? I plan on doing some serious road trips like out to see HIPPO (HA! -- He lives right smack dab in the heat) , but I wouldn't want my engine to over heat. If it's too much to explain maybe you could direct me to a website where I could read up on it.
Thanks!

 

[HIPPO]

Drink lots of water and cover as much of your body as possible with light colored cotton clothes. Drink some more water. Avoid running in the noon heat, just stop for some more water. LOL.

No problem with the bikes, personally don't even run an oil cooler.

 

[JFScheck]

Hippo,

And what is your opinion on Oil Coolers for the V-Twin's? Ever hear or have a problem out there with all that heat?

 

[wyodude]

cox9000,

The same concerns apply when riding here in 90-100 degree heat with 90-100% humidity. It feels like riding in a furnace.

wyo

 

[HIPPO]

Don't think oil coolers will hurt anything, but I feel they are not necessary unless you go over 100 cu in. The state of tune of the engine determines running temperature above anything else, ambient temperature being the same.

I just dislike the extra plumbing and consider it to be a reliability factor in particular when plumbed into the pressure side, and I'm more then willing to back off a bit in the building of the engine in order to avoid the need for a cooler in particular on touring bikes.

It's a philosophical difference more then a technical one, I just hate cluttered and unreliable bikes and those with all sort of bolt ons and doo dats that become impossible to work on, to me a bike is a tool to do a job like a hammer, much more then a colored feather fashion accessory.

Then again, I'm in the minority that much prefers natural or black parts over chromed ones in no small part because the latter are a heat trap.

 

[yzf996fxdwg]

Then again, I'm in the minority that much prefers natural or black parts over chromed ones in no small part because the latter are a heat trap. [/B]

Does black not absorb more heat than a reflective color (chrome)? Or do you feel chrome has some special property that makes it absorb heat more than black would? Also, granted an air cooled engine is going to have much more relaxed clearances than a water cooled one but oil coolers have been on high performance sport bikes for years and there are no problems with them. Just seems like adding a little more cooling area to the oil in an air cooled engine (especialy in hot climates or extended idling) is a good idea. Peace of mind for me anyway.

 

[HIPPO]

Does black not absorb more heat than a reflective color (chrome)?

Exactly, chrome is sort of a heat barrier, so it tends to keep the heat where it is, in the engine.

The other big factor is that all these chrome covers people tend to put over things prevent airflow over hot parts. Even some factory parts like the exhaust crossovers on the baggers are nothing but monster heat sinks in the name of styling.

Like I said, if an oil cooler makes you feel better, by all means go for it as it will not hurt anything. Many of these things come down to personal preference.

 

[JFScheck]

I think the ideal is if I don't need it, then why take the chance on an oil line or the actual radiator for the oil cooler failing?

I would be curious if the 95 engine in the Special Edition Duce has an oil cooler installed or if the 105 engine in the Special Edition Road King has an oil cooler installed.

I just wanna make sure my fairly stock 88b engine (ala Stage One EFI and Vance & Hines Big Shots) don't create any heat that would shorten the life of the engine, even when ridden in this Maryland 100 degree heat and 85% humidity (damn it was hot today)...

Thanks Hippo!

 

[HIPPO]

Have not seen one but the 103 SERK is supposed to have an oil cooler from the factory.

One would imagine it to be much better integrated then the accessory ones, and there is not much of a question in my mind that it can be retrofitted as the cases shouldn't be different other then the left case bearing. A good friend just purchased one, so it shouldn't be too long before we know.
Cost and availability of the necessary parts is another question.

The other thing that comes to mind is that on the rigid mounted engines you don't have the constant stress from engine movement in the rubber mounts on the cooler lines and the softails tend to run hotter as they don't have the built in engine oil cooling baffle in the gearbox pan. The equation might be somewhat different then on a bagger.

 

[HIPPO]

Also keep in mind that my opinion is based on the use of good quality synthetic oils. It looks quite different when running Harley or other fossil oil.

 

[twincamzz]

I used to use HD's finned oil filter cover on my 99 FXDL. It is supposely good for 7 degrees of oil cooling. Only problem is, it will not fit on fuelies. Eagle HD in Lafayette, Indiana (www.eagleharley.com) has a version that they produce that will fit on the fuelies. It sells for 29.95. A bargain if I ever saw one.

 

[JFScheck]

Also keep in mind that my opinion is based on the use of good quality synthetic oils. It looks quite different when running Harley or other fossil oil.

I know we have had this discussion before in other threads, but what Synth Oil are you using, and after breakin period, do you think the Moble One V-Twin oil would be a good Synth, better than Dino Oil?

 

[Hoss]

Speaking of heat, here is a funny one

WELCOME TO Las Vegas................... But remember...It's a dry heat!


May 30th:
Just moved to Las, Nevada...Now this is a city that knows how to
live!! Beautiful sunny days and warm balmy evenings. Mountains and deserts
blend together. What a place! Watched the sunset from a park lying on a
blanket. It was beautiful. I've finally found my home.
I love it here.

June 14th:
Really heating up. Got to 100 today. Not a problem. Live in an air
conditioned home, drive an air conditioned car. What a pleasure to see the
sun every day like this. I'm turning into a real sun worshipper.

June 30th:
Had the backyard landscaped with western plants today. Lots of cactus and
rocks. What a breeze to maintain. No more mowing for me. Another scorcher
today, but I love it here.

July 10th:
The temperature hasn't been below 100 all week. How do people get used to
this kind of heat? At least it's nice and windy though. But getting used to
it is taking longer than I expected.

July 15th:
Fell asleep by the pool. Got 3rd degree burns over 60% of my body. Missed
two days of work, what a dumb thing to do. I learned my lesson though. Got
to respect the ol' sun in a climate like this.

July 20th:
I missed Morgan (our cat) sneaking into the car when I left this morning.
By the time I got out to the hot car for lunch, Morgan had swollen up to
the size of a shopping bag and exploded all over $2,000 worth of leather
upholstery. I told the kids she ran away. The car now smells like Kibbles
and Shits!! No more pets in this heat!!

July 25th:
This wind sucks. It feels like a giant freaking blow dryer!! And it's hot

as hell. The home air conditioner is on the fritz and AC repairman charged
$200 just to drive by and tell me he needed to order parts.

July 30th:
Been sleeping outside by the pool for three nights now. $1,500 in damn
house payments and we can't even go inside. Why did I ever come here?

Aug 4th:
It's 115 degrees. Finally got the air conditioner fixed today. It cost
$500 and gets the temperature down to about 90. Stupid repairman pissed in
my pool. I hate this stupid city.

Aug 8th:
If another wise ass cracks, "Hot enough for you today?", I'm going to
tear his throat out. Damn heat. By the time I get to work the radiator is
boiling over, my clothes are soaking wet, and I smell like roasted freaking
Garfield!!

Aug 9th:
Tried to run some errands after work. Wore shorts and sat on the black
leather seat in the ol' car. I thought my ass was on fire. I lost two
layers of flesh. Now my car smells like burnt ass and fried cat.

Aug 10th:
The weather report might as well be a damn recording: Hot and sunny. It's
been too hot to do **** for two damn months and the weatherman says it
might really warm up next week. Doesn't it ever rain in this barren desert?

Water rationing will be next so $1,700 worth of cactus just might dry up
and blow into the damn pool. Even a cactus can't live in this heat.

Aug 14:
Welcome to Hell!! Temperature got to 113 today. If I had wanted to move
to Death Valley, I would have moved there instead.
Forgot to crack the window and blew the damned windshield out of the
Lincoln. The installer came to fix it and said, "Hot enough for you today?"

My wife had to spend the $1,500 house payment to bail me out of jail!

 

[HIPPO]

Used BelRay EXS for many years with great results, but the price kept going up and became ridiculous. I still think I like it the best, but the differences are not major enough to justify the difference in price. I suppose for people that do just one oil change a year it is a non factor.

Then I started using the Mobil1 car oil, and it seems to work fine. Now they changed the formulation and it might no longer be a option to use it.

Since we have started stocking the complete RedLine series of oils for our customers, this is what I will be using in the foreseeable future.

I also think the Mobil1 motorcycle oil is a very good choice. The only reasons for choosing the RedLine engine oil over the Mobil are convenience in stocking just one line (the RedLine gear oils are unique) and everything else being equal I lean towards diester based synthetics.

If you have to go to the store and buy it, the Mobil1 motorcycle oil is likely as good as any.

 

[JFScheck]

Thanks Hippo!

 

[Straydog]

cox9000, in addition to the recommended water and more water, one other suggestion for hot weather riding is to use plenty of sunscreen. Even if it's sweat/waterproof, use it often.

 

[cox9000]

Whoop-sy Daisy, I sure showed my arse this time. I was hesitant about asking that question -- sure appreciate everybody not being to harsh on me. I can tell you all are a pretty good bunch of guys. At first I wasn't sure if my question was taken seriously with all the drink lots of water parts but when I got to the end I could see that you all were being very helpful (it was funny too). Thanks!
I actually got more information that I asked / hoped for. I didn't know and never heard of anything about diester based synthetic oils so I've been trying to read up on this.
Hey Hoss thanks for the funny one.

 

[Guest]

One of those water-soaked cooling vests saved my butt when it got up to 103 deg on the way to the Black Hills a few weeks ago. I soaked it in the hotel room sink before we rode out in the am, tossed it in a plastic bag and stuck it under the bungie net. Once the temps started rising, I put it on above the T-shirt and underneath a Joe Rocket Phoenix mesh jacket. This worked GREAT!

Got the vest cheap here:

http://www.ridecool.com/

 

[Kampnnut]

Air baffle

I installed HD's air baffle (p/n 58520-79C) made for the touring models. You can find it on page 428 in the 03 catalog. I'm not sure how much it helps, but if it gets more air on the engine, I'm for it. It gets kind of warm here in FL.

 

[wyodude]

cox9000, in addition to the recommended water and more water, one other suggestion for hot weather riding is to use plenty of sunscreen. Even if it's sweat/waterproof, use it often.

Except on yer forehead.

Check this out http://www.msgroup.org/TIP016.html