installed oil cooler fan on 1200 rt

[dt20]

well i finally broke down and put an oil cooler fan on my 07 RT yesterday. After dealing with 95deg temp and a 45min stand still in traffic here on 95south in virginia it was time.

 

the whole project wasnt that hard actually i think the hardest part of the whole thing was shelling out the $225 for the fan, shroud and bolts! you will have to take both side fairings off the bike thats all that needs to be removed as far as the body goes. there are already tabs on the frame that the shroud mount to and with a couple of retaining clips it fits in quite nicely. you will have to push up on the top part of the shroud to get it over the oil cooler and the bottom has a retaining lip that slides under the cooler. only other thing that needs to be moved is a box/relay/sensor not sure what it is but you will notice it when you try to but the right hand side bolt in as you cant with out moving this out of the way a little bit not difficult just a little time consuming.

 

Once you have the fan in place you will need to cup off the connector that comes with the fan as these are made for the RTP's since they have thermostats installed. I made a couple of quick disconnects so if I ever have to replace the fan it will be easy. I extended the wiring back to a LED rocker switch i bought at the auto store and mounted it in the left side fairing were the radio controls usually go since i dont have the radio.

 

At this point all that is left is just wiring a positive and negative back to my centech fuse block only tricky part of this is finding a opening to run the back along the fuel tank since i didnt want to run all the way around the other side of the bike. I managed to find a small area that i could fish these two wires through and connected everything up to the fuse block. once that was done I made sure the fan worked fine then replaced the body panels and was done.

 

will be testing this out today as its supposed to reach 100deg with about 50% humidity so hopefully this will work.

 

if you have any questions please let me know and will answer them to the best of my ability. will try to post some pics once I figure out how.

[JayW]

Very clever. I had my temp guage creep uncomfortably high in a long traffic jam once, and wondered if such an arrangement would work. I tried to reassure myself that the RT engine is designed to stand up to extended idling and the resulting higher engine temps without damage, but it still made me a bit nervous. Keep us posted.

 

Jay

[ElJefe]

Hey Dave - good write-up, thanks. Any photos perhaps, of the fan mounting?

[GoGo Gadget]

well i finally broke down and put an oil cooler fan on my 07 RT yesterday. After dealing with 95deg temp and a 45min stand still in traffic here on 95south in virginia it was time.

 

Cool deal. No pun intended. I thought about getting a small electric fan like the ones in a computer and installing that behind the oil cooler. Much cheaper, but dunno how durable it would be?

 

I am not far from you in Fauquier, let me know if you are out and about one day, I woul dlike to take a look at it. As far as posting pics, put them up on a photo hosting account like Photobucket and then you can link the image from here.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

12 volt muffin fans are all over the place. A good many computer power supplies have them and they are available from Newark Electronics for only a few bucks.

 

Mounting is as simple as running a couple of heavy duty wire ties through the fins and the mounting holes in the fans, using a second wire tie (just the fixing end) as a nut on the other side.

 

Thermostatic switches are available from car dealers or at your local parts house. These days, many factory cars use electric fans and a good deal of aftermarket stuff is available. Try Summit Racing for some ideas.

 

The good thing about muffin fans is they already have ducting built into them. If you want to get fancy, a little dryer hose can route the exhaust somewhere where it won't hit you in the face.

 

I doubt you could spend $50 on a full setup with a 6" fan and switch. A couple of hours of sweat equity and you are done.

[dt20]

thanks guys. yeah thought about doing something different with a different fan after i found out the price but what the hell its only money!

 

will see about getting a photobucket account and getting some pics posted just need some time to actually sit down at the computer and figure it out.

 

did try out the fan yesterday as it got pretty warm yesterday but wasnt really sitting in a lot of stop and go traffic like i do during my commute. it did go above the mid mark at one point and threw on the fan and it lowered it pretty quickly so im pretty happy with the results so far.

 

gogogadget: let me know when its convenient for you i usually free most of the weekends. your just around the corner as im right out at quantico plus thats some nice riding country you have out there.

[ElJefe]

12 volt muffin fans are all over the place.

<snip>

 

Mounting is as simple as running a couple of heavy duty wire ties through the fins and the mounting holes in the fans

<snip>

 

Thermostatic switches are available from car dealers or at your local parts house.

<snip>

 

If you want to get fancy, a little dryer hose can route the exhaust somewhere where it won't hit you in the face.

 

<snip>

 

 

OK, so maybe it's just me, but I can't see putting a PC muffin fan and some dryer hose vent on a BMW bike with some zip ties...???

 

I do have the skills to rig something up, but if I were, I'd certainly want to use at least a weather & temp-rated fan and some real bracketry (even if welded at home). (Vibration, temp, and weather would surely put an end to a fan built for $0.75 USD BOM cost, and if not, the little movement you may get against the oil cooler fins wouldn't be worth the potential leaks, in my book anyway.

 

YMMV of course, but c'mon - are you serious? I have a KLR650, which is the perfect platform for what we call "Redneck Engineering" - and I've done some myself - but something just seems wrong about that on a nice R/RT bike...

[Fugu]

There's got to be a middle step, a "real" fan that will hold up better than a muffin fan, but isn't the $500 BMW wants for the RT-P parts (for the 1150RT - seems like you guys with brand new bikes got a break in the fan dept...)

 

I was thinking the other day about a boat blower fan- about $20, more durable than a muffin fan, and usually with integral brackets. Figure a place to mount it in the fairing, and use a piece of hose to suck air from the back side of the cooler through and out the blower, which could discharge anywhere...

[dt20]

$500 its $225 for everything minus the switch which is a $5 part. yeah still pricey!

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Jefe',

I have used this very method on a number of motorized applications to gain a bit of auxillary cooling. The fan motors on all the fans are sealed pretty well to begin with and a dab of silicone around the wire entry grommet is all that is needed.

 

Properly done with the zip ties, the fans won't move and there is no oil in the fins anyway.

 

Finding a fan that meets all the needs might require a little study of the spec sheets but, for a hundred bucks, I can read awhile. Temperature shouldn't really be much of an issue, a little more if you mount the fan to suck air through the cooler, a little less if you mount it in front and blow through. Air temperature passing through the cooler doesn't approach that of the oil going through there.

 

Just cause a solution is inexpensive doesn't mean it can't be elegant, just depends on the sweat equity invested.

[Fugu]

$500 its $225 for everything minus the switch which is a $5 part. yeah still pricey!

 

I don't recall where I got $500 from...

 

BUT:

 

01 46632317080 bottom part of additional fan housing BUY 1 $92.00

02 17112317705 fan BUY 1 $193.00

03 46637651900 fan shroud BUY 1 $23.00

04 07119902392 washer (A 4,3 ZNS) BUY 3 $0.50

05 07119900578 fillister-head screw (M4X10) BUY 3 $1.50

06 61131372033 body nut (M5) BUY 2 $1.03

07 07119931029 flat washer (5,3-ZNS) BUY 2 $0.52

08 07119900311 fillister-head screw (M5X16) BUY 2 $0.78

 

 

So it's not $225 it's about $325 + shipping if applicable. Do you have a cheaper source than these prices from maxbmw?

 

 

 

Oh, wait - now I remember where I got $500 from:

 

beemerboneyard.com: SOLD! Oil cooler fan with housing for all R1100RTP bikes. This fan can be adapted to civilian R1100RT bikes with the addition of some wiring and a switch. The fan and the front housing are identical to the R1150RTP set up, only the rear housing cover would need to be changed for use on 1150RT bikes. These parts are over $450 new from the dealer.

 

 

A lot of dough for a fan and a plastic shroud.

[dt20]

oh i must have read you post wrong thought you were saying $500 for the 1200rt now i see you talking about the 1100 instead. sorry for the confusion.

 

on the 1200 the shroud is one piece and is only about $25 cant find my receipt right now. there are just two bolts with retaining clips that hold it in place and the fan is $199 and 3 bolts hold in in place on the shroud. only additional was the led switch, wire and zip ties to clean up the wiring.

picked up parts from mortons bmw

[tallman]

Here's one that's $2.00 in quantity purchase.

http://www.sunonusa.com/index2.asp?f=news&p=pr_weatherfan

Don't know how many that means, but I'd bet you could replace it easily if vibration got to it.

[GoGo Gadget]

YMMV of course, but c'mon - are you serious? I have a KLR650, which is the perfect platform for what we call "Redneck Engineering" - and I've done some myself - but something just seems wrong about that on a nice R/RT bike...

 

I don't think I have ever had anyone say "Nice bike. Would you mind removing your fairings so I can look behind your oil cooler?" This is not an item bolted onto the side of the bike. It would be invisible. Sometimes the best solution really is the cheapest and easiest solution. Just because BMW has the Rodeo Drive boutique sales philosophy, does not mean you have to spend a fortune every time you remove a fairing screw.

[gettysburg]

So it's not $225 it's about $325 + shipping if applicable. Do you have a cheaper source than these prices from maxbmw?

 

Chicago BMW offers discounted prices on parts. The only problem with ordering from Chicago is that you already need to know the part #; since they don't offer online fiche like Max BMW.

 

The $193.00 fan(#17112317705) can be ordered form Chicago for $154.40.

[ElJefe]

Here's one that's $2.00 in quantity purchase.

http://www.sunonusa.com/index2.asp?f=news&p=pr_weatherfan

 

Sometimes the best solution really is the cheapest and easiest solution. Just because BMW has the Rodeo Drive boutique sales philosophy, does not mean you have to spend a fortune every time you remove a fairing screw.

 

It's clear to me we're speaking a different language here and/or have completely different philosophies on engineering a sound solution to a problem.

 

Never once have I proposed spending a ton of money - just proposed spending the time to engineer a solid solution that won't cause more problems than what it's worth. I've made that mistake many times in the past & just prefer not to do it when I can avoid it. YMMV

 

<soapbox mode on>

FWIW, I have spent many years in reliability engineering including that of fans (one of the most common failure devices in many of the applications the $2 fan is used in).

<soapbox mode off>

 

 

FWIW, try McMaster as a good source of industrial-quality components for making your own solutions - good quality ductwork, for example, and even vibration isolation mounts if you need them (not suggesting that here). There's a huge difference in what you get for spending $10 vs $25...but still a far cry from the $225 or even $500 being bantered about above. Properly designed solutions won't often cause other problems, won't leave you by the side of the road (or worse yet, trail) and won't be the single most common failure points on the entire bike / vehicle.

 

There's nothing worse than spending time making sure my ride is ready to go on a trip & having to spend my time on the side of the road (or trail) when someone else on the trip suffers equipment failure specifically caused by a poorly-done modification. Real failures happen often enough - no sense in making opportunities for needless failures.

 

No need to spend a ton of money - doing it yourself is fun & rewarding - but do it right.

[tallman]

Jeff,

It's your money. Spend it wisely.

For me, I'd probably go with either a stock set-up, or

utilize an inexpensive resource that was functional and inexpensive to repair/replace.

A fan that was turned on by a switch, used in limited circumstances (sitting at idle, moving very slowly ala parade mode) would see very little actual on time/use. I can't pretend to have your fan failure expertise, but it would move air over the cooler, it would reduce the temperature, it would be inexpensive to replace.

If in the real world, the inexpensive fan was proven to be inadequate, certainly there are other options out there for far less than $153.00.

Somehow, I don't see that the failure of an oil cooler fan that was not part of the original engineering design would result in this scenario.

"Properly designed solutions won't often cause other problems, won't leave you by the side of the road (or worse yet, trail) and won't be the single most common failure points on the entire bike / vehicle."

 

And, if there truly is nothing worse

"There's nothing worse than spending time making sure my ride is ready to go on a trip & having to spend my time on the side of the road (or trail) when someone else on the trip suffers equipment failure specifically caused by a poorly-done modification. Real failures happen often enough - no sense in making opportunities for needless failures"

 

perhaps you could avoid that by riding alone.

Best wishes.

[JayW]

I agree with you, Jeff. I would rather not have a fan on there at all rather than have one that may not go the distance or that I would have to worry about or "explain" to someone who borrows my bike. I personally like the idea of a discreet switch that I can turn on at will.

 

I am not yet convinced any fan is needed, but if I were I would go ahead and spend the extra money to ensure an effective, elegant, and reliable solution. I would not be satisfied with anything less on my own RT.

 

Jay

[dt20]

Jeff/Jay

thats exactly why i did this. I get caught in traffic all the time here the commute is 40miles one way on 95 which is a bear for anybody that knows the DC area. theres always something going on and on fridays in summer just forget it if your heading south after 1pm. Ive had the temp gauge to up to far for my comfort and theres no breaks for bikes in VA with exception that you can ride HOV lanes which are just as backed up!

 

I too would not put something on my bike that is just rigged in place and could cause me problems but then again im not saying people out there have some great ideas and are able to make them work for them. I rather just shell out the money on something that I know works with the bike and dont have to waste the time figuring out something else while I could be out riding.

 

Not trying to heat up the situation here but thats just my opinion and thats why I went and did it. Just thought I would post how simple it was in case somebody else was thinking about it.

[GoGo Gadget]

Here's one that's $2.00 in quantity purchase.

http://www.sunonusa.com/index2.asp?f=news&p=pr_weatherfan

 

Sometimes the best solution really is the cheapest and easiest solution. Just because BMW has the Rodeo Drive boutique sales philosophy, does not mean you have to spend a fortune every time you remove a fairing screw.

 

It's clear to me we're speaking a different language here and/or have completely different philosophies on engineering a sound solution to a problem.

 

Never once have I proposed spending a ton of money - just proposed spending the time to engineer a solid solution that won't cause more problems than what it's worth. I've made that mistake many times in the past & just prefer not to do it when I can avoid it. YMMV

 

<soapbox mode on>

FWIW, I have spent many years in reliability engineering including that of fans (one of the most common failure devices in many of the applications the $2 fan is used in).

<soapbox mode off>

 

 

FWIW, try McMaster as a good source of industrial-quality components for making your own solutions - good quality ductwork, for example, and even vibration isolation mounts if you need them (not suggesting that here). There's a huge difference in what you get for spending $10 vs $25...but still a far cry from the $225 or even $500 being bantered about above. Properly designed solutions won't often cause other problems, won't leave you by the side of the road (or worse yet, trail) and won't be the single most common failure points on the entire bike / vehicle.

 

There's nothing worse than spending time making sure my ride is ready to go on a trip & having to spend my time on the side of the road (or trail) when someone else on the trip suffers equipment failure specifically caused by a poorly-done modification. Real failures happen often enough - no sense in making opportunities for needless failures.

 

No need to spend a ton of money - doing it yourself is fun & rewarding - but do it right.

 

I agree that a properly engineered solution is the best. However, we also have to avoid over engineering things. Duct work has been mentioned. IS ductwork necessary or is that making a solution for a problem that does not exist? We already have airflow through the oil cooler. All a fan does is flow air when the bike is not moving. So that air would go wherever the "normal" air goes, right?

 

With the particular application we are discussing, if the fan fails, you are back to stock bike mode. No harm, no foul. We are not replacing or creating an essential part. Even if that part were to fail on an RT-P it would not be critical, the bike would just not be able to idle on the side of the road while the officer writes a ticket. He would have to turn the bike off like the HD motormen do.

 

I guess the way I view it is that you can try it with little risk, if it does not work satisfactorily, then you can go with OEM parts or another solution. The investment is minimal, it is worth a try.

[Husker Red]

This is a project I have considered doing because I am often stuck in very slow moving traffic here in Hotlanta. I asked Dave to email me the photos of the cooling fan so I could help him post them for others to see.

 

Here are the pictures he sent me. Thanks to Dave for the sharing his experience with us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ElJefe]

That looks good - properly engineered bracket, sealed fan - and I bet the motor or blades don't touch the oil cooler.

 

Now - this would be easy to duplicate cheaper if you could find a decent 12V fan of such small size & bend up a couple brackets. Brackets are easy - but what about a good quality 12V sealed fan?

 

And for Tim, if it means riding alone or spending a whole day and half the night on the trail / road or under a parking lot light by a parts store trying to fix someone else's broken 'fix' - I'm much happier riding alone. I've spent too much time fishing needle bearings out of sand to put someone else's Jeep's U-joint back together or rewiring a half-burned bike by parking lot light until 4am whose owner didn't have the time - or knowledge -to do it right the 1st time.

 

It's OK to have different opinions & ride with folks that share yours. I ride with like-minded folks, and have stopped riding with the duct-tape & bailing wire crowd. (Not talking about field fixes, of course). We keep our fixes in the garage at home & our days on the road/trail. And our nights in the sack. Much happier trips that way!

[dt20]

thanks mike really appreciate the help with posting the pics!

 

plenty of clearance between the fan and the cooler. the fan really gets going as well was amazed how fast it spun. was pushing air out through the opening between the forks and the tank quite well. it is a little loud when the bike is on but once the bike is running dont even know its there.

[SHIMHEAD]

Any chance you could post a list of all the part numbers for this install? I would really like to do this on my '06 RT, but have not yet found the RTP parts fiche online anywhere yet. Looked at the list of models at my dealer also the other day and the RTP wasn't in the list, but did not have time to grill the parts guy further, and he didn't seem too interested in my quest either. I live in Summerville, S.C. and often commute to Charleston. My temp has crept up near the top of the scale a couple of times in heavy traffic, and I really like the idea of a factory engineered solution. Does anyone know if these parts can be installed, and if the harness includes wiring for the fan? If so, then the coding might be able to be changed to allow full control of the fan just like the RTP models. Obviously, the oil temp signal is already available in the cluster, and CAN systems share all sorts of information, so this might be a simpler mod than some might think. Just might need a friendly tech to research the possibility of coding the bike properly. Anyone? If not, then the fan, an automotive electric fan thermostatic controller, and a manual over-ride switch seems a good solution as well.

[dt20]

will see if I can find the receipt when i get home had all the part numbers on it. there was only the fan and housing all the rest were screws and retaining clips 3 to hold the fan to the housing and 2 with retaining clips to hold to the frame. as for the wiring there is wiring with a bmw clip that would plug into somewhere on the bike but as i am not using a thermostat I just clipped it and ran my own switch and wiring.

[moshe_levy]

Here at work, we manufacture electronic power conversion equipment which in general is all fan-cooled. I haven't seen the BMW part, but I seriously doubt it's different from the cooling fan Harley sells. The Harley fan bolts to the side of the V-Twin and pulls air through the cooling fins of the jugs, and has a chrome cover on top of it. I forgot how much it costs, but it's pretty damn expensive.

 

Imagine my surprise (heavy sarcasm there) when I saw that the fan they use is in fact the same $3 muffin type fan we use in our lower end systems here, with (as someone pointed out before) some sealant around the wires.

 

I'm all for elegant solutions and wouldn't compromise the reliability of my bike with "Redneck Engineering" - but I also wouldn't pay $300 for what I know damn well is a $3 fan I can buy elsewhere. Hell, for $20 I can buy a fan that could suck a tennis ball through a garden hose from any of my fan vendors. Point is, with a little research in this particular case, you could do a helluva lot better than buying the BMW fan for $250 or whatever obscene amount they want.

 

-MKL

[ShovelStrokeEd]

I totally agree Moshe.

 

Just thinking about it, there is a really nice cooling fan on both my Honda VFR and my Honda Blackbird, not sure if the prices are any better and both bikes are liquid cooled rather than air/oil the temperature switch may not 100% meet the needs although on both bikes, the fan seems to kick in at about 105 deg C.

 

I'll go look up the prices and get back to you.

[ElJefe]

Those other fan ideas are good - especially if we had mounting dimensions of the holes to fab up a bracket?

[tallman]

Moshe,

The fans on the my K bike are made by Cooper Standard Automotive (Spain).

The BMW part lists for $193 in an on-line parts site.

I'm fairly certain it can be found for less in another application.

I agree with you, there are fans of similar, or better quality out there for less money.

A quick search turned up more than one waterproof, dust resistant fans of various sizes.

Heck, I even found an "emergency" one that plugs into a cigarette lighter (use the BMW adapter cable) and is designed for engine compartment, not the car interior.

It has a large alligator style clamp.

In a pinch, plug it in, clamp (looked rubber coated) it on, cool it down.

It was $17.64 plus shipping.

Best wishes.

[moshe_levy]

To be perfectly honest, I'm still unsure how the fan would be useful in all but the most extreme applications. I've done my share of extended idling and creeping along - the RID never got close to the red, ever, except once. Only in that one instance (which will be described in an upcoming issue of MCN) did I ever come close to overheating, and that was such an unusual circumstance that I can't imagine it happening to anyone else. Maybe the new Hexes run hotter than my old Oilhead, but from what I've seen a fan is overkill unless you're actually using your bike like the cops tend to do - tons of idling and parade duty.

 

-MKL

 

PS - The label on your fan may say Spain, but 10:1 odds it's really made by an "affiliate" or some other such word of the company on the label - in Taiwan or China. That's where they're all made these days, from what we see.

[moshe_levy]

After dealing with 95deg temp and a 45min stand still in traffic here on 95south in virginia it was time.

 

I meant to ask this in my last post - sorry for the Hijack. After idling in 95 degrees for 45 minutes, I'm curious as to the highest reading you observed on the RID. Did you come close to the red?

 

-MKL

[UBe]

Dave;

 

BTW- first post on the forum, just been lurking so far.

 

I also am in Stafford and commute daily to DC up I95 on a 2007 R1200RT. I go from 610 to 3rd and Constitution. I am now into my 3rd year of full time commuting by bike. I traded a 2005 Kawasaki Concours in on the RT. I never found the Concours comfortable to ride in hot weather.

 

Overheating while stuck in Friday afternoon traffic on the HOV was my biggest concern moving from the liquid cooled bike to the RT. Has not happened yet, but I go to some extremes to avoid the traffic south of Dale City now. (Where are all you people from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania going anyway?)

 

Monday and Tuesday of this week were scorchers. I glanced at the thermometer every few miles on the way home on Monday and the highest reading I saw was 106F. My personal observation has been that the temp on I95 runs 5-10 degrees hotter than the neighborhood roads nearby.

 

A few months ago I spoke with Stuart down at Morton’s about the same modification you made. I can tell you for a fact you saved yourself a pretty good chunk of change doing the install yourself and the job he described to me is exactly what you did. I would like to see the parts list also.

 

I interested to hear how it works out for you. I am right off 610 down past Joshua, if you are heading out to 211 or down to 218 give me a shout.

 

HB.

[GoGo Gadget]

if you are heading out to 211 or down to 218 give me a shout.

 

HB.

 

Me too. I am in Catlett, so you'll be coming past me to get to 211.

[dt20]

guys sorry about taking so long to post. let me see if I cant find the receipt seems I misplaced the darn thing.

UBe and gogogadget always looking for a few people to ride with let me know we can meet up some place. catlett thats were my favorite butcher shops at!

[Husker Red]

The day I picked up my 1200rt I rode into NYC. While waiting to go through the Holland tunnel my temp on the RID went all the way to the top. (I was waiting in the pay lane like a sucker while other jerks were in the I-pass lane and then cut over at the last second. Grrr.) The idiot light never came on, but it had to be really close. I did reach full bars on my old 1100rt twice in almost stopped traffic also - once in Las Vegas and once in Atlanta. Both times I started to lane split so I could move the bike and cool it down.

[GoGo Gadget]

guys sorry about taking so long to post. let me see if I cant find the receipt seems I misplaced the darn thing.

UBe and gogogadget always looking for a few people to ride with let me know we can meet up some place. catlett thats were my favorite butcher shops at!

 

 

You need the reciept for the part #? Fugu already posted them up.

01 46632317080 bottom part of additional fan housing BUY 1 $92.00

02 17112317705 fan BUY 1 $193.00

03 46637651900 fan shroud BUY 1 $23.00

04 07119902392 washer (A 4,3 ZNS) BUY 3 $0.50

05 07119900578 fillister-head screw (M4X10) BUY 3 $1.50

06 61131372033 body nut (M5) BUY 2 $1.03

07 07119931029 flat washer (5,3-ZNS) BUY 2 $0.52

08 07119900311 fillister-head screw (M5X16) BUY 2 $0.78

[dt20]

think those part numbers are for the 1150RT

 

here are the part numbers I have on my receipt for the 07 RT

 

1. 46637690869 fan shroud 21.25

2, 17117656030 fan 199.00

3. 07119931026 washer 1.10 3 needed

4. 63127682829 bolt 1.60 3 needed

5. 06327651204 bolt .75 2 needed

6. 51127070202 clip nut .65 2 needed

 

prices are cheaper at chicago bmw

[velomoto]

Great thread and info but one question - How effective is the fan at reducing the engine temperature?

 

A friend and I got stuck in about an hour of sit-n-creep traffic (he's on an 1100RT, me on a 12RT) with my RT's thermometer showing the "air temp" to be 98 degrees. Both RT's showed engine temp's were very high and after reading this thread it seems this is to be expected.

[dt20]

i found that it decreases the temp pretty good. i get stuck in bad traffic all the time here in d.c. it keeps the bike from reaching the top mark. we get pretty hot summers and lot of humidity but im sure that effect will very to the area you area you are in.

[GoGo Gadget]

I was thinking about this mod yesterday as we rode to OBX. Stuck in 50 miles or so of 20mph or less traffic. Not one big stretch, but several points over the route. The last bit was a good solid 20 miles of bumper to bumper stop and go traffic. My temp never got above the 3rd bar. Luckily it had cooled down before that last stretch. Air temp was around 90, it was 100 earlier.

 

I felt bad for my Dad and his friend on their HD Ultra's. He actually got 2nd degree burns on his left calf and inside his left thigh from the radiant heat coming off the headers. Some nice big blisters.

[seahog]

Hello to all...

I wonder if any of you know what the actual oil temperature range is on the temp gauge? I have a new (2500 mi) 12RT and have not been put in a position where overheating has become a problem. In fact, no matter what the ambient temp is (75F to 100F), the oil temp seems to stay pretty much at 3 bars regardless of speed.

[CoarsegoldKid]

Thanks for the part numbers. Now for the question everyone is asking themselves. Where can the same or similar fan be purchased other than BMW? Web site and part numbers anyone?

[va951]

I have a 99 R1100RT and was thinking of something similar, a manually operated fan to be used if I get stuck in traffic. The batinc oil cooler fans might work, the 4" should be small enough, see website "http://www.batinc.net/porsche.htm"

Download the porsche oil cooling guide.

[GoGo Gadget]

Thought of this thread today walking through Staples. Saw a CPU fan with a built in blue LED light to illuminate your CPU. Put that behind your oil cooler for a little BLING. LOL