LArger oil cooler

[Bill Lloyd]

Oil coolers

I have an old Lockhart oil cooler on my '81 GS850G -- same model oil cooler I had on my supposedly '81 [actually an '81] GS850G I bought in '82 and ran until '87. Bike rags at the time said this was the best one on the market -- something about the way the tubes contacted the finning [???]. Anyway, I'm looking for an oil cooler for my '82 GS1100G, and one for my '80 GS850G. When I try the website link posted by Nessism,

http://www.anplumbing.com/shop/index...pt=Oil!_Cooler

what I get is the infamous "Not Found" message.

Does anyone have a currently "good" URL for that shop? Thanks!!

-- Bill

[srsupertrap]

My bike has an oil cooler on it...but it's a real dinky looking one. About 2" X 6" X .5". I'd like to have something a bit beefier on it considering the volume of oil running through it. How big would be overkill?

Also, what should the normal operating temp of the oil be? I'll be installing a gauge.

Your oil temperature should be 180 degrees fahrenheit so when shopping for an oil cooler the ideal set up would include a thermostat like a Lockhart BP-180 which as the name implies opens @ 180 degrees. Most OEM cycle manufacturers (My 83 R100RS had one) incorporate a thermostat when installing an oil cooler on their models because oil that is too cold has it's own set of problems like water condensation. Unfortunately you don't have many options since the aftermarket oil cooler manufacturers like Derale & Lockhart have closed their doors.

You can verify oil temperature by installing a VDO Oil temperature gage which has the pick up in the oil drain plug. Air cooled GS oil temperature can quickly spike above 220 degrees fahrenheit after a spirited ride and when stuck in traffic you will see your max oil temperatures. A lot of 83 GS1100E owners which has the hotter 1100 cam report seeing oil temperatures close to 300 degrees fahrenheit in Stop & Go. IMO that's not good.

I first used the Lockhart 500 series which is comparable to the size you listed. After numerous performance modifications I noticied my oil temperature were increasing and I luckily purchased the larger Lockhart 700 oil cooler which barely fits above the tach cable. The S/S & AN fittings are not necessary since most of the GS's have roller bearing cranks running < 15 psi but they sure look cool.

[TheCafeKid]

I have an old Lockhart oil cooler on my '81 GS850G -- same model oil cooler I had on my supposedly '81 [actually an '81] GS850G I bought in '82 and ran until '87. Bike rags at the time said this was the best one on the market -- something about the way the tubes contacted the finning [???]. Anyway, I'm looking for an oil cooler for my '82 GS1100G, and one for my '80 GS850G. When I try the website link posted by Nessism,

http://www.anplumbing.com/shop/index...pt=Oil!_Cooler

what I get is the infamous "Not Found" message.

Does anyone have a currently "good" URL for that shop? Thanks!!

-- Bill

Bill I have an oil cooler i just got for MY 1100G. I dunno where to pick up the connectors for the cooler side of things. I have the adaptor plate already and it looks like on THAT end it just takes hoses and hose clamps. Perhaps one of these days this week we could meet up and you could maybe show me how you had yours hooked up on your 850s, as id assume they'd be just about the same?

[Nessism]

I have an old Lockhart oil cooler on my '81 GS850G -- same model oil cooler I had on my supposedly '81 [actually an '81] GS850G I bought in '82 and ran until '87. Bike rags at the time said this was the best one on the market -- something about the way the tubes contacted the finning [???]. Anyway, I'm looking for an oil cooler for my '82 GS1100G, and one for my '80 GS850G. When I try the website link posted by Nessism,

http://www.anplumbing.com/shop/index...pt=Oil!_Cooler

what I get is the infamous "Not Found" message.

Does anyone have a currently "good" URL for that shop? Thanks!!

-- Bill

Hey Bill,
Link works on my computer. Not sure what's wrong. You might want to try typing anplumbing.com in the address line, which will take you to the front door of the shop. Once there it's an easy matter to navigate over to the oil cooler section. Keep in mind that the motorcycle specific coolers are not shown.

Good luck.

[Dan Ruddock]

Your oil temperature should be 180 degrees fahrenheit so when shopping for an oil cooler the ideal set up would include a thermostat like a Lockhart BP-180 which as the name implies opens @ 180 degrees. Most OEM cycle manufacturers (My 83 R100RS had one) incorporate a thermostat when installing an oil cooler on their models because oil that is too cold has it's own set of problems like water condensation. Unfortunately you don't have many options since the aftermarket oil cooler manufacturers like Derale & Lockhart have closed their doors.

You can verify oil temperature by installing a VDO Oil temperature gage which has the pick up in the oil drain plug. Air cooled GS oil temperature can quickly spike above 220 degrees fahrenheit after a spirited ride and when stuck in traffic you will see your max oil temperatures. A lot of 83 GS1100E owners which has the hotter 1100 cam report seeing oil temperatures close to 300 degrees fahrenheit in Stop & Go. IMO that's not good.

I first used the Lockhart 500 series which is comparable to the size you listed. After numerous performance modifications I noticied my oil temperature were increasing and I luckily purchased the larger Lockhart 700 oil cooler which barely fits above the tach cable. The S/S & AN fittings are not necessary since most of the GS's have roller bearing cranks running < 15 psi but they sure look cool.

This is a smart post and I agree with every thing it says. I would like to add a few things. Put a gauge on your bike first and if the temp rarely goes above 280 don't put a cooler on it. A cooler with out a stat will take longer for the engine to warm up (increase engine wear and water in the oil problems the number one cause of sludge especially if ridden for lots of short trips). I like stats to be set at 200 degrees. Dan

[Nessism]

The second generation GS bikes had oil coolers, as do most road going air cooled bikes built since the med/late 1980’s. As far as I know, none of these bikes have a thermostat. I agree that it’s best to not overcool the oil, but using one of the commonly sized oil coolers will not do that.

[Mysuzyq]

I thought ideal oil temps would be slightly above 212F, to boil off any water condensation. +1 on the thermostat though...I run an 1150 cooler (no thermostat) and find the bike does take a long time to reach 212F (100C). With normal riding, unless ambient temp is in the 80's or higher (30C), or stop/go gridlock, temps will hover around 180F (82C).

Tony.

[makenzie71]

The an/ss fittings aren't needed when I'm only pushing 15lbs. Quality hose, stainless wrapping, and good barb nipples and clamps will hold ten times that without an issue so that's how I'll run.

I'm going to use a large oil cooler...5" X 12" X .75"...and a thermostat. I've already encountered the t-stat issue before and decided not to work too hard/pay too much for it. Instead of running around begging people to provide an inexpensive, handy gadget...I just machined a 2-piece housing out that will hold a common automotive style coolant t-stat. Works great.

I like to cruise between the 190 and 200 degree mark. On my old CB900C, even with a cooler on it twice the size of the stock piece, I routinely saw temps exceed 225*f...sometimes getting up to the 250+ area. With a smaller engine, more oil, and a larger cooler I'm sure I can keep the temps down but the t-stat will save me from the elongated warm-up times I was seeing on the CB.

[Bill Lloyd]

Oil cooler on my GS850G

Hey there, Cafe Kid! -- I tried sending you a private message just now, and got this: "TheCafeKid has exceeded their stored private messages quota and cannot accept further messages until they clear some space." Apart from the pronoun faults, this seems clear enough! :0 -- you gotta delete some messages!

What I said was that certainly we can get together and you can examine my set-up of the oil cooler [which someone else did for -- I m'self have all the mechanical aptitude of a chipmunk.... :-)

-- Bill

[Steve]

Does anyone have a currently "good" URL for that shop? Thanks!!

-- Bill

Try this one, Bill:

http://www.anplumbing.com/shop/index.php?shop=Accessories&dept=Oil!_Cooler

[isleoman]

No thermostat. Older earl's measures 12X4X2. Operates close to 180 unless really cool outside then it might go down to 160. Course who knows how accurate stock temp gage is.

I'm not too worried about reduced engine life with water in the oil since it just turned 104K and the cooler has been on the bike for at least 20 years and 80K miles. Never seen any evidence of water in the oil.

I will say that I use to see a loss of performance and pinging on hot days before I added the cooler. Has Yosh pistons and cams. I use 1150 oil filter cover and have no problems with clearance related to the GSXR1100 forks. The cooler sits on the bracket so most of the weight is supported by the base of the bracket.

[makenzie71]

that's a very nice setup. It's a lot prettier than what I'll be doing but hopefully mine will be just as effective.

[terry]

I've used a lot of different types of coolers over the years with my adapters, but my current favorite cooler is a very light, slim 12 row cooler. I have some here at the moment, they have cast in 3/8" barb type fittings, are only about 3/4 of an inch thick, by 11 inches wide, by 4.5 inches high. Thats a surface area of 49.5 inches, and great for tourers, commuters, or canyon racers.

I know some people here aren't convinced that a cooler is necessary, but that might be due to the low mileages done by some riders in some parts of the world, due to their milder climates. Here in Oz where it's pretty much 24/7 riding temps, (and where gas is so bloody expensive) our bikes get a real work out, and coolers are an essential accessory, just like good tires and good shocks should be.

I've also acquired a couple of old parts bikes that are absolutely buggered internally, due to high temp riding, and poor attention to oil change intervals, and I know that regular maintenance and a cooler could have saved them. If you're ever looking to buy another old GS, dump the oil out, and if it's black, send it back!

These coolers only just fit above the tach cable, but that's up nice and high, up away from the headers, (I recently saw a bike on which the owner had mounted a bracket for the cooler on the headers, and I just thought, "duh"!) up in the cool air, not blocking the flow to the cylinder head like some coolers do. (no one wants hot air off the cooler flowing over their head)

Being 3/8" and not 5/16" or smaller tubing like the old Lockhart and Derale coolers were, not to mention their much larger surface area, their physical size makes them super efficient, and when I had a gauge on my bike with an earlier adapter, even when I had 1073cc Yoshimura pistons and "road and track" cams, I never saw the VDO gauge climb much above 200 degrees.

I didn't run a thermostat then, but when I finish hot rodding my original GS1000S engine, I'll be installing a thermostat, and I might follow Macca's advice, and make my own using car parts.

Here's a pic of one my coolers, sorry about the quality, I can't find my digital camera, but at only 3/4 of an inch thick, it was easy to just scan it, ha ha! Cheers, Terry.

[makenzie71]

terry...you say you have a bunch of those? how could I get one?

[terry]

terry...you say you have a bunch of those? how could I get one?

By sending me money, of course! PM me for a price, mate! Cheers, Terry.