Low oil temperature on newly build 74'' Shovelhead engine

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Sorry, Cotten, I thought you were being cheeky.

of course almost all the heat goes out the exhaust ;-)

as for oil temp, I prefer to think in terms of maximums, not minimums here. In fact, I’ve never heard anyone being worried the temp is too low until this thread.

I personally wonder how this applies to total loss bikes or low volume recirculating bikes. Harley was pretty proud the Knuckle got a couple ounces of oil a minute through the bike at speed. Not a lot of oil recirculating volume = takes forever to warm an oil tank.

I’ve had more “water” issues in oil on all alloy bikes than iron/alloy or iron/iron, I wonder if there’s a connection ;-)

[T. Cotten]

The way I was schooled, Folks,...

Internal combustion engines' depend upon maintaining their temps in their range of peak efficiency. (That's why water jackets were invented.)

'Air-cooled' motors somehow perform over a wide range of ambient conditions, with OHVs achieving efficiency at about a hundred degrees F° less than Flattys.
I think the Armored School cites oil supplies about 20% of the cooling (for a Flatty).

If the motor does not achieve equilibrium in its range of efficiency, the first place you will feel it is at the gas pump.

.....Cotten

[duffeycycles]

Cotton is right about best efficiency at certain temps.Too low =run issues & increased fuel use.I don't trust gages for this..5deg is probably not an issue in many climates.Ever notice your bike runs better when warmed up?I always told racers that wanted tips to run the bike until the oil tank was warm before racing.

[T. Cotten]

Cotton is right about best efficiency at certain temps.Too low =run issues & increased fuel use.I don't trust gages for this..5deg is probably not an issue in many climates.Ever notice your bike runs better when warmed up?I always told racers that wanted tips to run the bike until the oil tank was warm before racing.

Anecdotal:

My 380 Suzuki took twenty miles minimum on the highway to get its zip; Only two miles from work on my 450 Honda, cold weather meant draining the oil into a coffee can and leaving it on the stove pilot all night.

At nearly five bucks a gallon, there is one obvious metric we all can keep track of..

So please Pete!
Log your mileage before and after installing a real exhaust.

....Cotten
PS: Back to oil cooling, somewhere there is a Factory promotion boasting the new Knucks supplied a gallon of oil every fifty miles.

Which explained why I could always put my hand on my EL oil tank.