Oil temp too low?

[Rob S.]

I just rode 33 miles, some highway, some streets, briefly hit about 90 mph. I went easy until she warmed up, but the oil temp never got near the 210 mark. Judging from the gauge (marks at 160, 210 and 320 f), the oil temp never even reached 200 f.

Ambient temperature was in the low 50s, but it's going to get a lot colder than that this winter. Can the bike be considered fully warmed up if the oil temp is about 180 f?

I'm from the 'less is more' school, so I'd be hesitant to add a thermostat to the cooler.

[wymple]

I wouldn't consider oil temps of 180 all that "cool". 180 degrees will burn the sh*t out of you. Thermostats for automotive coolants use are sold as low as 165, the norm at one time was 180 with 195 being on the high side. Some of the newer stuff is designed to run at higher temps. As long as the oil is heated to flow easily, the low temps should be a good thing, IMO.

[mrbill5491]

Cooler air temps=cooler running motor=cooler oil temps. Remember also, with temps in the low 50's any increase in speed will drop the air temps even more, some call it super cooling, I don't off hand recall the formula for it.

[posplayr]

I would think that the engine is designed to get to a certain operatingtemp so that the aluminum/ steel bits are at a properly expanded size. My guess is that 180 degrees is close to the lower end of the scale with 290 about the top. this is Based on the 160 and 310 degF marks on my gs1100ed and the 210 line indicating nominal.
Now that I'm living in this cold desert climate, I have noticed that it can take quite a bit longer to get to a stable operating temp at 50 deg ambient than say at 70 deg ambient. I'm running an 1166 and a smaller 550 cooler so it has not been such that I feel I need a thermostat. With a series r/r I get to at peat about 200 deg with 220 degF being more normal.