Oil temp gauges

[Steve H]

Is anyone running and oil temperature gauge on an aircooled bike ?, and if so what sort of temperature would you expect the oil to run at in this weather ?

[guest18]

There speaks the voice of someone worrying about what theirs is telling them if I am not mistaken!
Personally the advice I got as a youngster, and still pass on, is not to worry too much what the gauge tells you, just monitor it, and once you have a feel for it's "normal" range watch for any dramatic changes.
Otherwise... don't worry, if you didn't have it you wouldn't worry without cause, now you have, why start??

[Steve H]

There speaks the voice of someone worrying about what theirs is telling them if I am not mistaken!

True, however I'm also aware if it wasnt there I would be blissfully unaware. Its just higher than expected so I wanted to get an idea of what the generaly feeling was.
I always remember at college when someone bought a compression tester, amazing how many engines got stripped. I went round to one guys house and he was struggling to get the pistons and rods down through the sump (escort) so he could check the rings. As he was cursing and loosing his temper I took a look at the head propped up against the garage wall. "Err have you spotted the exhaust valve which is a bit proud ?" I asked innocently. I left shortly after !.

[Andy M]

F650 using one of those dip stick gauges ran at about 90. Riding in the desert with the water and oil mixing meant it ran for 700 miles at 130 before the water light came on!

XT600E on the same gauge ran at a steady 110 but burnt a litre of oil every 1000 miles (probably not meant to cruise at 90 mph with full Touratechs etc.).

Basically you might as well have a temp light cos the actual numbers are meaningless. Stick the above gauge in a cup of tea and it would tell you 2 things. Reading 100 after the water hit a cold cup says in was reading high and milk tastes much better that 15W50! Only by knowing that 100 is normal can you tell if 130 is a bad sign.

Andy

[Steve H]

My SRX is running at 110 deg C when running in, ambient temp around the high 20's. I expected it to be below 100 deg C which is why I asked. May consider refitting the oil cooler when I change the oil.

[SteveL]

ok, i run 2 temp guages, 1 on No1 road bike (mild bit of tuning done, now a well run in motor) this guage runs at 80 to 100 C, depending on how i ride it
The other guage is on one of my track srx's the engine is in a higher state of tune, and gets a bit more of a caning (both bikes have oil coolers), the first time i ran it (at cadwell a couple of years ago) it went up fairly quickly to 120, which i thought was a bit hight (certainly felt bloody hot) but as the engine was probably still running in I wasn't sure whether this was ok or not, so phoned up the guru at denver motorcycles (who had originally tuned the engine) who reckoned this was about as hot as you'd want it to go and said try changing the oil now its run in a bit (yeah, all of 4 track sessions!) changed the oil (I use putolin semi-synthetic in all my bikes) at lunch time, and from then on the maximum temp i see on this bike is 110 ish.
One significant thing i notice, especially on my road bike, is that it takes a good 5 miles to get the oil above 60, and this is the time when most wear takes place, a good argument for being gentle until the whole plot is nice and warm.

[Steve H]

Steve, thanks for that. My main reason for removing the oil cooler was the longer warm up times and winter riding (like I actually ride in the winter !). When it was fitted before I had a blanking plate across which I only removed in warm weather.
I'll see what happens when I change the oil.

[andy230]

The race SRX will run at 100-120.  Hi comp piston makes more heat tho.

And I'm not sure how accurate the guage is.  In the recent hot weather, it said the (ambient) temp of oil inside my tank was almost 40 degrees.  Unlikely...

Maybe I'll be a good scientist and check calibration with a thermometer when I get it going again.  Or maybe its not that important!

a

[guest27]

Hi.  How accurate is your data?  Is the reading correct?  It really does not matter if it reads 110 at a true 80 so long as you know - it may matter in some instances.  Now your engine is a simple system, and as such your oil temp will fall  into a predictable range (once the engine is warmed up).  Fluctuation within that range is unimportant ( a bit like rolling a die, if one roll you get 1 and the next you get a 4 you have not got better at rolling the die, you have different numbers but with the same value) It is only when your temperature goes out of the predictable range that you have an issue - as far as the stability of the system is concerned.  It will indicate an external pertubation - ie extra high ambient temp, or an internal defect in the system - ie oil shagged and needs changed.  However it does matter what the true temperature of the oil is (hence needing to know the error on the recording) as the oil will have an optimum range in which it should be ~ I have the funny idea it is generally 80 to 110 but it would be worth checking with the manufacturer. Now knowing this and knowing the predictable limits of your bike (well we dont but we could work them out) we can adjust the oil cooling so that our predictable limits fall within the prefered range for the oil.
Alternativly you could bung the cooler back on and chuck the guage away?
I oove recording devices - so much more for me to worry about!
R

[J Hop]

Hello all Im new round here, Has anybody here fitted an oil pressure guage or low oil pressure warning light/switch to their SRX ?

[Steve H]

The SRX uses a roller bearing crank, which relies upon volume of oil rather than pressure. It fitted a guage to an XL500 (roller bearing crank) and was alarmed at how quickly the pressure dropped off when warm. I wouldnt bother to fit one, it will only be a cause for worry.

[Alan S]

I have fitted a pressure gauge to my SRX6.As Steve says it only reads between 20 and 30 Lbs on start up then drops of to minimum reading when warm,the pressure builds up if you rev the engine.If you are still going to fit one i can send you a photo of my setup if you want.

[peterj]

Have a look at http://www.type2.com/library/cooling/coolsami.htm , the vee dub folks worked out oil temps many many moons ago, and I'd say it sums it up nicely.

The numbers on my temp guage disappeared years ago, but I know where it usualy sits and that keeps me happy. I seriously doubt that the guage was anything like accurate when new. I have a set of saucepans with suspiciously similar looking temp guages in their lids, and they say from 60 to 80 when the water is boiling.

[Martin Churchill]

I can appreciate that the pilot/ess of a Space Shuttle might be concerned as to his/her engine's oiltemperature , BUT....

"Fookin 'Ell (as the locals say 'ere in South Derbyshire, me duck)!

Yer bike ivor runs or it dinna run - an if it dinna run then its fooked innit?"

[Andy M]

Ah, but a 20 quid gauge would have saved a £500 bike if i'd been in a position to use the info. The gauge sits at 100 for 4 years then suddenly starts hitting 130. Investigate at this point and a water pump kit would have cost 50 squid. Being halfway to Timbuktoo of course you just ride on, but 2000 miles after the gauge went red the water light came on. An hour cooling the engine, 200 miles of Morrocan A/B roads and a long ride on the RAC's trailer later and the head is warped and T478KJV is off to the great desert in the sky.

There is fooked and really really fooked ;-))

Andy