An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem

MxMartin

MxMartin

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Nov 13, 2017
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Despite having shortened my oil lines to the cooler I occasionally still have to slacken the mount bolts and pull the cooler back towards frame rails and tighten bolts, I guess vibration resettles them to a 'natural' position. The problem is the brackets welded on the frame force the cooler to want to swing forwards and inadvertently reduce the clearance between it and the mudguard.

I took a closer look the other day to see if I could come up with a remedy and noticed that a lot of the cooling fins were squished and also contained a fair amount of dead bugs.... so I cleaned the cooler fins and straightened them best I could, and to kill 2 birds with 1 stone I came up with this using offcuts of ally I had laying around, it still utilises zip ties back to the frame so is a bit over-the-top :)

An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem

An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem

An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem

An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem

An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem
 
Would it make sense to have the frame mounts at a more proper angle so that we don't need to put that extra bending stress on that nice oil cooler ? Why doesn't Norton do that ?
 
TonyA said:
Would it make sense to have the frame mounts at a more proper angle so that we don't need to put that extra bending stress on that nice oil cooler ? Why doesn't Norton do that ?
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It would make sense, the mounts are neither 90deg to the tubes nor horizontal to the ground. As/when my bike needs a ground up restoration I might just get those lugs welded on at a different angle :)

There is a cross tube between the down tubes just below the oil cooler and I wondered if at some point Norton had something installed, or planned to install, on this cross tube which needed clearance from the oil cooler?
 
Very nicely designed screen. Good job. Why do some of the bikes hit the cooler and some don't. Is it a different dimension and size than the black cooler? Mine doesn't hit.
 
Great idea to protect the aluminum.
I would have a growling tiger face painted on the mesh so it's the last thing a fly or bee will see before they splatter on it.
 
Britfan60 said:
Very nicely designed screen. Good job. Why do some of the bikes hit the cooler and some don't. Is it a different dimension and size than the black cooler? Mine doesn't hit.
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Not sure about cooler dimensions but bound to be differences in fork travel between usd and std, as well as differences in damping. I also note several different fender styles, the short ones look like they will miss the cooler, the longer std fenders have different leg attachments so maybe the anniversary ones sit that little bit higher above the tyre. It is also possible that the rubber oil pipe might be of a less flexible compound adding pressure to force the cooler forwards (the factory fix is to shorten the oil pipes)... I think only the factory can answer this. I'm pretty satisfied that my cooler will now clear the rear of the mudguard under normal use, until I hit that deep pothole at speed that is, but then likely to do more damage than just a scratched fender!
 
BritTwit said:
Great idea to protect the aluminum.
I would have a growling tiger face painted on the mesh so it's the last thing a fly or bee will see before they splatter on it.
Click to expand...
I went for an open weave mesh for minimal effect on the air flow so is unlikely that any decoration would stand out, not even sure if it will stop the bugs except maybe the bigger ones :)
 
An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem
Britfan60 said:
Very nicely designed screen. Good job. Why do some of the bikes hit the cooler and some don't. Is it a different dimension and size than the black cooler? Mine doesn't hit.
Click to expand...
An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem

I am told that the original RWU forks that the Sports had do not have this problem . Not sure why , more travel, more sag on the USD's or RWU just a little taller . I still say that the oil cooler frame mounts should be angled so the oil cooler hangs parallel to the frame tubes without stress . I broke my black oil cooler at the mounting boss , I posted this earlier. Here is my NEW beautiful OIL cooler.
An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem
 
Hi Tony, I like the look of those panniers, do they come with a fitting kit or did you fabricate something? Thanks
 
Beefiddler said:
Hi Tony, I like the look of those panniers, do they come with a fitting kit or did you fabricate something? Thanks
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Hi Beefiddler , The frames come from Blood brothers . Look up BloodBrothers Motoshop . These are sold for the popular Triumph Bonneville but work good for the 961. The hard cases are your choice , I used Viking they are sold for the Harley Bikes, and can be purchased on sale for a great savings. There may be better bags out there but these do the job.

You will have to mount them and find your own hardware. If you do a search for (Tour De Elegance) you will find the thread and see the frames etc..
 
Eljahara said:
I Liked Marks oil cooler screen but not being as talented :( I searched for an online solution. Seems R&G do a range for the 961 oil cooler
Https://www.rg-racing.com
John
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Nice to see aftermarket parts for the 961. I have two concerns about the R&G screen, the first is does one size fit all oil coolers? I am not sure if the aluminium coolers are same size as the steel ones, looking at Tony's new black one above it has more cross beams than my alloy one and appears shorter in depth. Second concern is that the R&G adds to the overall depth and thickness of the cooler which already has interference issues with front fender as fitted on some of the anniversary bikes.
 
MxMartin said:
Nice to see aftermarket parts for the 961. I have two concerns about the R&G screen, the first is does one size fit all oil coolers? I am not sure if the aluminium coolers are same size as the steel ones, looking at Tony's new black one above it has more cross beams than my alloy one and appears shorter in depth. Second concern is that the R&G adds to the overall depth and thickness of the cooler which already has interference issues with front fender as fitted on some of the anniversary bikes.
Click to expand...
The website shows covers for both the black and aluminium one - I guess one would have to ask and yes, need to check clearance with fender - the carbon ones are impossible to fix and expensive to replace.
 
An over engineered solution for a non-existent problem Not being as talented as Mark in fabrication, I sourced this from R&G.
Fit is ok and does not compromise front mudguard (fender) clearance.
John
 
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