'Da oil cooler, man!!

[Jethro]

I notice a lot of talk about oil coolers in previous posts. Can anyone in the know give this aspireing home mechanic an intensive training on them? Questions are: how do they work, how hard are they to install, and do I need one for my bike? I just put a lot of time into overhauling my motor this summer and would like to do everything I can to improve performance and increase its' lifespan. My bike hasn't overheated in the first 40K miles, but this summers rebuild came on due to a totally cooked head and clutch. Will one of these fancy dancy oil coolers keep my baby rolling better? I appreciate the schooling!

[focus frenzy]

there are two types of oil coolers, one takes the oil and passes it through one pipe that goes back and forth through the cooling fins, know as a multy pass type of cooler, this is the type I have on my bike, and is very common and cheaper to produce.
the second type, has the oil coming in a large diameter pipe and then the oil passes through multiple small pipes to a large pipe on the other side, this is a single pass, this is the way almost all radiators work, it is more efitiant but more expensive to make, the oil cooled gsx(r) engines use the single pass type.

you also have bypass and full flow cooling, some engines send a portion of the oil output to the cooler, this is a bypass system.
Others send all the oil through the cooler, this is a full flow system.
it depends on the cooler kit, some of these gs motors are full flow wile others are bypass.

oil coolers work by the hot oil when it is passing through the cooler heats up the metal fins and the cooler ambiant air flowing through the fins of the cooler absorb the heat, making the oil cooler and the air warmer.

considering that you live "up north" (we southern folks have a term for people who live up north, but I wont go there here) in a cooler climate, a oil cooler is not nesasary.
If you do alot of comuting in a large urban area with alot of stop and go riding, or are a agresive rider who runs your engine pretty hard, then a oil cooler can help prolong the life of the engine.
the key thing to keep in mind is that the oil needs to reach a temperature of 220 to 250 degrees F to cook off combustion byproducts and condisation.

[Anonymous]

Oil cooler

If your engine is like my '82, it will have two large bolts screwed into the front of the engine on each side of the oil filter cover. They don't hold anything down. According to oldkawman.com they are access to the oiling system. You unbolt the bolts, replace the with a fitting that screws into the bolt holes and now you have oil running out into a hose for the oil cooler. After that its just a matter of obtaining the oil cooler. Punch up oldkawman.com to get the details from his "Old Kaws Never Die" section on installing an oil cooler. Most of his info is geared towards Kawasaki KZ's, but the article uses generic parts so it can easily be adapted to a GS. I haven't done mine yet but it's in my future. You'll be able to run more advance on your ignition and use hotter cams due to the increased cooling capacity. Or you'll just make the engine last longer.

[Jethro]

Naw, my 81 has a small oil cooler cover that does not have any bolts in it at all. Anyone else know how I would mount one of these bad boys!?

[1100ED]

Naw, my 81 has a small oil cooler cover that does not have any bolts in it at all. Anyone else know how I would mount one of these bad boys!?

Do you mean the oil filter cover???

[Jethro]

Yup, you got me. I do mean oil filter cover. And it has no bolts or anything in it. Just the ones that hold the thing on.

[mikegs1100ez82]

How about a bolt on each side of the oil cover.Or in that area.

[Jethro]

I'll have to check it out when it returns from the doctor- uhhh, mechanic. Where would I look for one of these fancy contraptions? And about how much am I looking at as far as price?