Road Glide banner

How hot is too hot?

10K views 35 replies 30 participants last post by  hook 
#1 ·
2013 Road Glide.
I had a bunch of motor work done and while I was there I changed the stupid air temp gauge out for an oil temp gauge.

Now I'm watching this oil temp gauge, babying the bike up and over a small mountain and the gauge is climbing. By the time we got over the hill and back on straight roads temps were 270°F. Around about town it's usually in the 240°F range.

I've spoken to the bike shop that did the motor work and they say that air cooled engines run a lot hotter and it'll be fine.

It's running fine. It's not even hot enough to activate the rear cylinder shutoff when rolling the throttle forward.

I'm just concerned that it seems awfully hot and it's not even the hottest part of the season yet.

So for those of you with temp gauges, what are you seeing?
 
#2 ·
2013 Road Glide.
I changed the stupid air temp gauge out for an oil temp gauge.

There’s a moral here; what you don’t know don’t worry ya. I bet that “stupid air temp gauge” is looking way cooler now? :DAs to 270F NFI, I only have the stupid air gauge fitted. Checked average temp on other forums seems to be about 250F.:)
 
#5 ·
There's a reason the moco doesn't install them stock . :D
 
#11 · (Edited)
230 is considered normal for oil temperature. I don't have a oil cooler, and run lowers all year. I also live in one of the hottest parts of the country, and ride all year. Mostly two up with my bags full.

Respectfully disagree with the folks that don't want an oil temp gauge, or know how hot their oil, and their engine, is getting. I have three air temp gauges in my Big Box of Takeoff Parts. All have been replaced with an oil temp gauge when the bike(s) were new.

I'll see 250 sometimes on extremely hot days while moving at freeway speed. It's been as hot as 300 a couple of times, stop and go traffic on 100+ days. Personally, when it starts getting this hot, I'll take a break and let it cool. Can you go higher and not hurt the engine, or start breaking down the oil? Probably. Will I do it? Nope.

A good tune will do wonders to reduce operating temperatures, and keep oil temps down where they should be...
 
#12 ·
Here down in lower Alabama/Florida peninsula, my 09 RG with a cam consistently runs 220-240 during the heat of the summer while riding. During this years Spring Thunder Beach while trying to get into the HD dealership, my oil temp hit 286 with little to no oil pressure drop. It was a different story when talking about my cousins old shovel sitting right beside me; his oil pressure dropped considerably, claiming it was barely reading on the gauge. Moral of my story, I watch both the oil and temp gauges and when my oil pressure starts to drop with high oil temps its time for an oil change. Did the same with my boat and never had a problem.
 
#14 ·
OK, hear what you guys are saying, but I think it's running too hot and I haven't even had it in traffic on a hot day

The motor has quite a bit of work done to it. 106 kit, ported and polished heads, oversize valves, 58mm throttle body, bigger injectors, cams, gear drive, V&H x pipes etc.



We still have dino oil in it for break in, hopefully the syn will drop it a bit when we change.

Also, from my RC nitro days I know that a restrictive pipe will make it run hot, I wonder if this V&H pipe (which the dyno guy says is costing 10-15hp over a D&D single) is causing it to run hot.

That UltraCool looks trick. I'll be very interested to hear how it works.
 
#16 ·
OK, hear what you guys are saying, but I think it's running too hot and I haven't even had it in traffic on a hot day

The motor has quite a bit of work done to it. 106 kit, ported and polished heads, oversize valves, 58mm throttle body, bigger injectors, cams, gear drive, V&H x pipes etc.

We still have dino oil in it for break in, hopefully the syn will drop it a bit when we change.

Also, from my RC nitro days I know that a restrictive pipe will make it run hot, I wonder if this V&H pipe (which the dyno guy says is costing 10-15hp over a D&D single) is causing it to run hot.

That UltraCool looks trick. I'll be very interested to hear how it works.
I'd bet 1,000 miles and synthetic oil will drop the temps at least 5-10 degrees, but I wouldn't worry about it too much. If it gets near 300 for long, maybe change the oil a little more often.

Your modifications have added a lot of power, and more power comes from burning more fuel, and burning more fuel generates more heat. Adding an oil cooler will help get rid of some of the extra heat if you're still worried about it

The right tuner and tune will go a long way towards keeping the temps down too.
 
#17 ·
Thing is, bike was overheating while moving 35-45mph, just barely cracking the throttle.

It's also very jerky when just cracking the throttle. Like as soon as I crack the throttle it wants to GO.

I think you are right about the tune. He may have it running nicely at higher throttle and rpm ranges, but off the bottom it doesn't feel right.
 
#19 ·
I had an oil temp gage in an ultra classic.....first thing you find out, is the needle does not line up with the NUMBER and the little DASH thingy. The DASH thingy is either before OR after the Temp number....I forget which. I don't want to go through that again.

Chuck
 
#21 ·
2013 Road Glide.

It's not even hot enough to activate the rear cylinder shutoff when rolling the throttle forward.


I think it's running too hot and I haven't even had it in traffic on a hot day


Thing is, bike was overheating while moving 35-45mph, just barely cracking the throttle.
the bike will handle much higher temps than you will. just a couple things i wanted to comment on here.

first, the eitms is only enabled/disabled by the rider. it will only activate if certain parameters are met. you can not 'force' it into activating. (don't know if that's what you were saying, but just making sure)

bigger engines make more heat. simple fact. my 107 made a ton more heat than it did when it was a 96. ran great though :D the 110 i'm riding now, makes a lot more heat than my wife's 103.....

and, i would like to know what you meant by the bike overheating also. i know someone else asked that question, but hasn't been answered yet.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I have seen 275°F on a very hot day riding all day across Kansas as well as with heavy traffic. I have the push button gauge in my dipstick so I don't worry about it much. I don't look at it much but we stopped at a rest stop in Kansas and a guy next to me on an E-Glide asked how my oil temp looked - his was 275°. I checked and mine was too. That must be about normal but I'm not worried about the Mobil1 oil crapping out at 275°. I normally see 230° - 245° and I manage to avoid heavy traffic as much as possible.

Something that is important to remember is that your oil can be too cool. If your oil is not running above 212° on a regular basis you will have condensation build up and water in your oil. That is how you can get sludgy. You want your oil to be hot enough to boil the water out. :)

Here is quoted (kind of extreme!) text from Mobil1's website:

While conventional oils are designed to protect during normal conditions, Mobil 1™ synthetic motor oil provides outstanding high-temperature protection and is proven to protect at engine temperatures up to 500°F.

I have not tested my bike at 500°F, I think I would need some very thick asbestos pants. :)
 
#25 ·
My 12 cvo skunk consistently ran 240 using a PV and a good tune. Replaced the 110 with 120r and temp runs 265 after 2100 miles and numerous attempts to get temps lower. I have come to conculsion that even with a dyno and all other mods (extra 1.5 pan, oil cooler, running afr at 13.5 and lower) this is the temp of this engine with 266cams. Next mod is cam change. I'm hoping that will make a difference
 
#26 ·
gauge reading

I put an oil temp gage in months ago. I looked but did not pay a whole lot of attention. I have not ridden my bike for a few reason in the last week or so. I started it up today because I got my wiring done and the oil temp gage now starts off at 120. odd.
 
#29 ·
Not to hijack this thread, but I'm curious what oil pressure gauges you guys are putting in to replace the air temp. gauge? Is it a matching gauge to the others that are in the fairing? I wouldn't mind putting one in if it matched the others in my 13 glide. Where are you getting them if they are matching gauges?
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top