170-180 is typical for me. I haven't looked in a while. I have seen as high as 200 with the SYN3 provided at my free 1000 service, this was at the 100th in Milw.

Remember that the dipstick gauges are not always the most accurate but will give you a ballpark figure.

 

my oil temp runs about the same here, ambient temp 90-95 oil temp 175-180. it does seem very consistant though, always about the same temp

 

How useful is it to know the oil Temp anyway? I'd rather know my coolant temp and my oil pressure. I think that's more useful info. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

my thoughts...oil cooling on the Rod is very important hence the oil cooler.
the water cooler is important to water temp. they both control the internal temp of the engine. they both are important. knowing the oil temp is another indicator for analysis. having enough information is kinda like having enough horsepower ...when is it ever enough?

 

Nonsense.

For 99.9999% of riders and riding situations - the oil temperature is going to be totally irrelevant. If, for whatever reason, the cooling system is unable to provide adequate cooling capacity - this will show up as a rise in glycol coolant temperatures. The light will come on - and eventually the ECM will shut off the engine.

Modern motor oil can take far higher temperatures than it is likely to see slopping around in the sump of the V-Rod engine. The difference between 180F and 210F is pretty much meaningless.

And, YES - you can have too much information. Its another thing for morons to worry about.

Seriously - engineers with far more skills, knowledge, and accurate measurement tools at their fingertips have spent a heck of a lot of time optimizing the various systems of the V-Rod. Some cretin, peeking over his left shoulder at the temperature gauge is going to do precisely NOTHING worthwhile with whatever information he thinks he is getting. Other than (perhaps) providing hours of entertainment by posting absurd and b/s-filled hypotheses here at vrodforums.com

 

WOW WOW vroddrew is really on top of things here. i think we should all listen to him instaed of the many people who have spent lifetimes studying internal combustion engines and their life span. i for one will continue to monitor my vital signs and let others know what i think.... cooling the pistons with oil at the point of explosion is the fastest way to control many things that can go wrong

 

Great - get a job working for Harley or Porsche if you know so much.

But in the meantime - stop deluding shade-tree mechanics that they will be able to improve the performance of their engines by tinkering with things that would be best left alone.

 

I will have to look closer, but I think mine is around 190 with Amsoil. I have the cheap dipstick. I never see it vary from that temp.

 

wewarn and vroddrew......I didn't mean to start a heated debate here. (pun inadvertant)

All I know is that the only guys who seem to pay CLOSE attention to the oil Temp are the Aircooled Guys.

I don't have an Oil Temp guage in my car, and can't ever remember seeing one.

I do have an oil pressure guage in all my vehicles, and an engine temp guage that runs off the coolant.

I am not a PHD candidate on anything mechanical, and am wondering if I were to add a couple dials, the ones I would want would be Oil Pressure (Sparks'n'Dust's engine failure) and engine Temp.....

Please post up any FACTS that may sway me from this decision......Thank you. Now you two shake hands and make up.......

 

i read a great post this weekend from sam v about oils and such that really caught my attention about how oil and temp go hand in hand. the idea that vroddrew is promandigating about usless information got next to me too quick. myself having a great interest in internal combustion engines and somewhat learned skill of diag and repair i felt the need to support the sharing of how much temp was too much or how little temp might not be enough. now if the all knowing have it that too much is too much then i will agree to disagree and save my opinion to my self . most vehicle applications require minimal guage/lite reminders on the dash. cost versus return of cost dictates that real mechanical guages that are usefull to monitor engine functions is prohibitive to mass produced vehicles. most guages that i work with these days are only glorified idiot lamps that show an indication of function. cost factors spell the use of quality equipment, now again i'm only stating my opinion here and if the offends someone the i'm truly sorry

 

When I first got my bike I installed the analog oil temp dipstick. After going through 3 different oils and verifying my analog temp reading with a Fluke temp probe I found that my bike would maintain the same temp under the same conditions regadless of the oil (never had any oil over 3500 miles in my bike). My engine likes to be at on average 190 F, really hot days in traffic goes to 205 F. After playing around with that I tossed my analog temp dipstick for the chrome version.

Point being, modern engines are designed to run at specific temperatures, the engineers use the optimal operating temperature to determine such things as piston to cylinder clearance and bearing clearances. Assuming such claims of reduced oil temps by as much as 20 deg F are true by adding certain brands of oil, then reducing engine temps further by adding Water-wetter coolant prolly does more harm than good. You engine would never reach the temp that it is designed to operate at. We all know that over heating is a bad thing, but if cooler is better, I believe that the Porsche engineers would have the fan wired to stay on soon as the engines starts. Just some thoughts

 

Just after riding 5 minutes in the heavy traffic the engine get very hot...even the frame get very hot....and out of traffic it still doesn not cool down easily....for still some time the fan works even the bikes speed is around 25 mph....techncians keep saying it is normal ! I had many hightech bikes but never disturbed as such...

 

I think we are worrying to much about temp of oil. Maybe Ken with amsoil can tell us more. I was told that the oil doesnt fail till like 325 degrees. The computer on the bike will shut down at 300 degrees. Another thing about heat. Newer cars and bikes are made to run hotter to bun off everything a EPA thing.

 

RJ both gauges would be nice to have.

 

..Point being, modern engines are designed to run at specific temperatures, the engineers use the optimal operating temperature to determine such things as piston to cylinder clearance and bearing clearances. Assuming such claims of reduced oil temps by as much as 20 deg F are true by adding certain brands of oil, then reducing engine temps further by adding Water-wetter coolant prolly does more harm than good. You engine would never reach the temp that it is designed to operate at. We all know that over heating is a bad thing, but if cooler is better, I believe that the Porsche engineers would have the fan wired to stay on soon as the engines starts. Just some thoughts

Except in extreme cold or extreme hot conditions, the engine will operate within its optimal temperature range independent of Water-Wetter or similar additives. That’s because in cold conditions the thermostat will tend to counteract what the Water-Wetter is doing. Just after starting, and in cooler outside temperatures the thermostat will stay closed until the coolant temperature rises above 185F, so Water-Wetter will do little in affecting the temperature in those conditions because it’s not flowing through the radiator. In hot conditions, Water-Wetter can help because it improves the efficiency of the radiator, when you really need it. But the fans will do that anyway, up until things get REALLY hot, at which point Water-Wetter starts providing its value by improving the efficiency of the heat transfer. So, Water-Wetter would NOT do more harm than good.

In general, the oil temperature will somewhat follow the coolant temperature because they both are heated and cooled by the same major factors. The radiator and oil cooler are mounted together, they both have fans that run at the same time, and they both get hot primarily due to the heat from the combustion chamber. They won’t track 100% together, but under normal bike operation in normal conditions both fluids will stay within their respective safe operating ranges.

BTW, I doubt Porsche had anything to do with deciding when the fans come on. We all saw the “Birth of the V-Rod”, where H-D people were developing and testing the cooling system.

Reference:
- Rev limit set to lower value when below 180F.
- Coolant thermostat begins to open at 185F.
- Fans turn off below 195F.
- Fans turn on above 205F.
- Thermostat is fully open at 212F.
- Temperature lamp off below 220F.
- Temperature lamp on above 235F.

 

...The computer on the bike will shut down at 300 degrees...

Hey vrocket, where did you get that 300 degree number? Is it documented someplace?

 

No! I havent seen in writing. A harley guy and I were talking and he told me this, Everything else he has told me has been acurate. Another thing that I am sure everyone saw in the making of vrod was the amount of heat they used on the bikes on the proving ground inside barriers parked.

 

Correction

I will have to look closer, but I think mine is around 190 with Amsoil. I have the cheap dipstick. I never see it vary from that temp.

I looked allot closer at those little lines and it was little below 180. Not 190. After a very long hiway ride.

 

I just had a temp test done today at the dealers as part of my 1000mi since I told them I found the bike to run a bit lean and hot...
I can scan in the result if anyone is interested... But fan turns on at 212F. And turns off at 208F. (Engine temp).
Which means the fans are working to lower the temps.

My oil is frequently around 200F. I bought the digital temp oil dipstick.
I thought this was hot.. but HD Tech says it's normal.

 

I bought the digital temp oil dipstick.

Good luck with that, everyone i know that had them had problems with it within 3 months. I've had the analog one in about a year and never had any problems with it. Also another thing, is folks saying they have cooler temps with various oils, isn't this impossible, esp with a liquid cooled engine? I have run different oils and never seen a difference in temp.

 

Mobil V-twin. 190-210 Degrees

 

Good luck with that, everyone i know that had them had problems with it within 3 months. I've had the analog one in about a year and never had any problems with it. Also another thing, is folks saying they have cooler temps with various oils, isn't this impossible, esp with a liquid cooled engine? I have run different oils and never seen a difference in temp.

Oil temps are independent of coolant temps. An engine isn’t “warmed up” when the coolant reaches normal operating temperature, but when the oil is.

FWIW – When I first bought the bike, oil temps were at 200 or so. Now it runs around 180 with Royal Purple. I don’t believe the V-Rod has a thermostat that works in conjunction with the oil cooler.

Dave

 

Wewarn Don't be trully sorry for your opinon, after all an opinon expressed always leads to discussion and ultimately a change ,in policy,in construction, in everything.

 

Great - get a job working for Harley or Porsche if you know so much.

But in the meantime - stop deluding shade-tree mechanics that they will be able to improve the performance of their engines by tinkering with things that would be best left alone.

I agree in part with your statement that some people should not tinker with some things that they know nothing about.
BUT...
To stay on the subject, having gauges to monitor operating parameters for abnormalities is very useful regardless of you mechanical knowledge or what tree you learned it under. Being able to detect higher than normal oil temp (but not high enough to overload the glycol cooling system unless it's marginal to begin with) can be invaluable in detecting a potential problem quickly and have it addressed by a "Knowledgeable" mechanic before it's allowed to do more damage. It is very true that modern oils can take very high temps especially synthetics up to 300deg. & still do their job. But when normal riding only sees 180deg, then for no reason the next day shows 230deg, there's something wrong and you should have it investigated. The "Moron" is the person who disregards warning signs (gauges) from his engine & continues on hammer down until it stops, relying on built in engine safeguards instead of common since. It's been my experience that warning (idiot) lights usually tell you that you've just ruined something. I can also tell you from experience (which I will get into later) that any engine operated outside of it's designed parameters over a period of time WILL NOT last as long, run as well or be as reliable. I base this on a passionate interest in internal combustion engines for the past 45 years which led me into my vocation as a Degreed Mechanical Engineer. During this time I have successfully built & raced sports cars, stock cars, drag cars & motorcycles and have witnessed everything imaginable happening to these engines.
All of you on this forum would do well to disregard any technical post from this guy as it sounds he has lost sight of what the forum is for. 1500+ post does not an expert make. This forum is to gain insight & learn the peculiarities of your V-Rod and it does a very good job of presenting it to you to make your on decesions.
By the way, my oil temp has never been read higher than 180deg (by my gage) here in cent. FLA. Bottom line, If I see an appreciable increase (difference) for no obvious reason, I will find out (or have someone knowledgeable) why. This should apply to anything else monitored.

 

All of you on this forum would do well to disregard any technical post from this guy as it sounds he has lost sight of what the forum is for. 1500+ post does not an expert make.

I stand by my post.

For 99% of riders and riding situations, the oil temperature is going to be irrelevant.

It is precisely because I have so much respect for the professionals who engineer, build, and service our bikes that I view some of the nonsense written here with such alarm.

The professionals who designed the V-Rod (not to mention virtually every other passenger automobile and motorcycle currently built) choose not to provide the operator with a readout for oil temperature. Why? Not because it is impossible that, given extremely unusual circumstances, the oil temperature might rise to critical levels, but because the probabilty of this happening is so slight as to be insignificant compared to the very real risk of overburdening the operator with too much information.

Over the past several years I've had a chance to talk to many, many motorcycle mechanics. Do you know what the first question most of them ask when someone brings in a bike needing service? The answer: "What is the last thing you did to your bike?" I'd estimate that a full quarter of service issues people have with their bikes are "self-inflicted."

If you are doing a professional engine development program, for racing or other purposes - by all means make use of a properly calibrated measurement system for monitoring and recording critical fluid temperatures.

This forum currently has some 10,000 members. Of that number, I'd wager that less than a couple of hundred regularly race their bikes. There is a specific area of the forum dedicated for such discussions. But the vast majority of forum members don't race their bikes, professionally or otherwise. It is for thse people, who simply want to enjoy their bikes with as little trouble or worry as possible, that my comments are directed.