Move the oil cooler? Heat shield?

[Guest]

'83 GS750ES/EF depending on the day.

I'm starting to put my bike back together now that I've got the frame refinished and I've been thinking about the oil cooler since I took it off...

Would it do any good to space it out 3/4in or so from its mounting bracket? It looks like there is very little open space behind it so I was thinking of using longer bolts and spacers to move it out 1/2-3/4in for, I hope, better cooling.

I also have some stainless steel sheeting and I was thinking of making a small heat shield to block a little of the radiant heat from the header.

Any of this worth doing? I don't know much about the daily life of a running GS yet but these were things I thought about as I was stripping it down.

Thanks!
Dan

[FTGRET]

If you space it out you have to watch for interferance with the front fender when the forks are fully compressed. Same thing with a heat shield.

[mark m]

Spacing it - maybe, maybe not a useful thing. Hard to know without some aero testing to see how the airflow is. I would bet it's a good idea, though.

Heat shield - definitely a good idea. Your header will show color (>900F) when you are running it hard and that heats things up a LOT. A shield would drop the cooler body temp a significant amount.


Mark

[Jethro]

My oil cooler had absolutely zero affect on my oil temps. I keep it there for looks. :?

[Macmatic]

Thanks for the input!

I'll see what it looks like when things are going back together but I'm pretty sure I'll space it out...and I'm sure I'll add a heat shield. As long as things clearn the fender and EF fairing I should be all set....even it its only for looks!

I'm hoping to be on the road in about two weeks. (!!)

/\/\ac

[gke84]

airflow

I think you would block airflow to the engine,using a heat shield.

[oldschoolGS]

Re: airflow

I think you would block airflow to the engine,using a heat shield.

That would be my concern, also preventing proper airflow thru the cooler itself. If heat is a problem, go with a twin row cooler like an Earl's, or modify a later model cooler to fit.

If you are running stock displacement and compression, your oil temps should run around 210 degrees when running the bike hard. I have 45,000 very hard miles on my '83750ED in various engine configurations. I did not run into any heat problems until using a 802cc block with 11.25-1 compression on the street. All of my summer riding has been is in the South and dealing with 90F+ temps.

The stock cooler will not work with my current 816cc build, I plan to use either a late model Katana cooler or a twin row Earl's.

Good Luck, Ed.

1983 GS750ED
2005 GSF1200SZ

[scotty]

My oil cooler had absolutely zero affect on my oil temps. I keep it there for looks. :?

i INSTALLED ONE AND FIGURED THE CLOSENESS of the original setups made them quite a joke so i left some space.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/slowpoke59ds/detail?.dir=a8e5&.dnm=75d6.jpg&.src=ph

iT WAS SO EFFICIENT THAT I HAD TO INSTALL A VALVE TO RESTRICT THE FLOW IN COOLER MONTHS.


Free caps again.