OIL COOLER?

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Has anyone recently installed an oil cooler to their 850 commando? I would be interested to here some idea's and what sizes of cooler is suitable. I have considered using an early BMW R80 one as it is very compact.
Regards Norvil 850 fastback. :?:
 
I'm not an expert on this (or on much for that matter) but have followed posts on this question with interest on this and other forums.

There have been strong opinions that oil coolers are not needed on Commandos. The reasoning being that only the proportion of oil which goes to the head gets very hot and those that have measured the temp of the oil in the oil tank report relatively low temps even under hard running.
 
I have always shared the same opinion of ntst8, they simly aren't necessary.

Best thing to do is go out in the conditions you worry about and rag the bike for an hour then come back and stick a thermometer into the oil tank and measure the temp. Need not be anymore complicated than that.
 
An engine should run hot enough to “cook off” the water that forms in the crankcase. An oil cooler may actually do more harm than good, if it reduces the oil temperature too much. Checking the temperature after a hard run is a good idea. If it’s over 200 degrees F, then an oil cooler might make sense. However, I think you’ll discover that your oil temperature is around 180 F, which is not hot enough to warrant an oil cooler.

Jason
 
Richard said:
I have always shared the same opinion of ntst8, they simly aren't necessary.

Best thing to do is go out in the conditions you worry about and rag the bike for an hour then come back and stick a thermometer into the oil tank and measure the temp. Need not be anymore complicated than that.

Thanks Richard and other good adviser's, I have done the thermometer test today and was surprised at only 60 dregrees C oil temp reached after a good run, Although cooler winter air temp at present, mid summer I will check it again to be sure. I agree if it was full noise on the race track a cooler would be a good option! cheers.
 
got a question here....I have had an oil cooler on mine since maybe 1976 or so because back then I had to do a lot of city traffic and the machine used to get hot and the RPMs used to begin to pick up....oil thinning out, I'd think. My cooler has been mounted, since a good 100 thousand , is there a fitting reason I should remove it now, is it just overkill , or should I just let it sit out the rest of it's days mounted up there where it always was?
MUST the oil reach a certain temperature, or is this just a question of what temp it would "normally" reach in a motor without a coller mounted? I get a bit of white sludge sometimes, which I know is condensed water , but it goes away after a good ride, and I never worried about it...... I mean, I could do without the oil lines running up the side of the motor and such, no doubt....but unless there is a real good reason, I will most likely leave it there and continue to march. Interested in all ideas here...Thanks!
 
hewhoistoolazytologin said:
got a question here....I have had an oil cooler on mine since maybe 1976 or so because back then I had to do a lot of city traffic and the machine used to get hot and the RPMs used to begin to pick up....oil thinning out, I'd think. My cooler has been mounted, since a good 100 thousand , is there a fitting reason I should remove it now, is it just overkill , or should I just let it sit out the rest of it's days mounted up there where it always was?
MUST the oil reach a certain temperature, or is this just a question of what temp it would "normally" reach in a motor without a coller mounted? I get a bit of white sludge sometimes, which I know is condensed water , but it goes away after a good ride, and I never worried about it...... I mean, I could do without the oil lines running up the side of the motor and such, no doubt....but unless there is a real good reason, I will most likely leave it there and continue to march. Interested in all ideas here...Thanks!

I am no expert at all on this but I have seen many a Norton with an oil cooler installed! are they nessary? not sure yet but the above comments I tend to lean towards a Norton engine is well finned and exposed to good wind cooling. High temperature oil tends to not be as efficent doing its job and quickly breaks down. Oil needs to be moisture free to work well and last, so running your engine to cool is not good either. A engine should not have lots of white oily sludge build up, as a normal running and good oil temperature should remove all the moisture unless you are in a damp climate or do lots of short trips. The occational build up in the engine breather pipe is not a huge problem as specially if the pipe trails some distance to the back of the bike. Maybe oil coolers are to efficent in some climates and really should be for race track fully fairing bikes?
Lets know what other people think? I dont think I will install one at this stage but I intend to do a summer Oil temp check and see the difference, at the moment it is about the shortest day and 60 dregee C temp is good for me, now sludging in site! :wink:
 
hewhoistoolazytologin, Where you cool your oil is where the sluge lives. On stock bikes it's in the tank on yours it's in the cooler. You may find it wise to pull the thing and pump some fuel oil thru it. If not boxed in the city any more you could save some un-needed wt. norbsa
 
Sounds like sound advise....I know the sludge has built up in the breather tube between the top of the oil tank and the back of the air filter as over the weekend, due to the tank coming a bit loose in the back (broken rubber mount as used on the exhaust, but used to hold tank instead of stock rubber washers and stud) and rattleing long enough to put a crack in the back of the tank (wondered what that new vibration was), I got to see what was in the breather tube as the gasoline leaked on the tube, swelled it up and it has to be replaced. Now I see it is filled with sludge . There is always very little in the oil tank though, so you may be right and it all sits in the oil cooler.......maybe time to change all the oil lines out too. Now I just have to find the right oil line tubing. The only stuff I have found so far is for gasoline lines, and much to my doubt as to why...the salesperson told me it is not oil proof. Why it would be resistant to gas and not handle oil...anyone have a guess?

Anyone got a good way to fix a crack in the tank without me blowing myself to hell trying to weld it shut? Somehow smearing a paste on the tank isn't to my liking, although I will do this as I have found that even soldering it closed with an electric soldering iron is not a good idea as the iron reaches a temp of about 500 celcius, and gasoline has an ignition temperature (point at which it will ignite without a spark) of about 280 celcius.

http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2003/Sha ... pher.shtml

That was what I was going to do, electric solder it , until I looked up this flash point info. May have come pretty close to not being able to finish that other thread I have been working on.........eh?
 
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