jaceddie
Junior Member
I agree with Smitty. It's nice to know when the temp is approaching freezing.
Oil Temp Gauge
- Thread starter peddler
- Start date
I agree with Smitty. It's nice to know when the temp is approaching freezing.
Ttthhhaaatttsss cold enough for me...don't need an outside air temperature guage to tell me when I am shivering or not...:newsmile062:
Sadist112
Active Member
No difference I installed this one:
Auto Meter
$47 on ebay, works great and looks cool at night. Forget spending $100+
Can't really comment about the fit, but the Pro Cycle guages by Auto Meter work and look great. It has neat blue numerals and soft reddish/purple glow that is unique and gets compliments when friends see it at night.
Last edited:
Porter
Junior Member
I put in the McEwan a few months ago. FYI and FWIW: I had a defective sending unit. Bad right out of the box. I called and spoke to Mr. McEwan (if I remember, he is out in Arizona.) After I described what I was observing, he sent a replacement to me in the mail, with no questions asked. Really nice service in my opinion.
Mine takes a while to register a reading, all dependent on the air temp. It has been posted before, but any of the readings from the gauge are a single point in the system. The oil temp varies significantly (20 degrees or more) at various locations. The gauge simple gives a reference point to let you know what "normal" is for your bike at a give set of conditions (air temp, speed).
If it goes "out of normal" you know you may have an issue and you should pay attention. Also know that the guages lose accuracy significantly at the low end and the high end of the scale. Typically, 25% on each end (high and low range of the gauge) is a SWAG. Another good reason to use a full synthetic motor oil in an air cooled engine!
In a moderate rain, 60mph and 48 degrees, my gauge barely broke 170 in 3 hours of riding, as water pulls much more heat away than air. As soon as the rain stopped: 220F.
No rain and 50 minutes at 72 mph on cruise control: Air temp 35-50 degrees: 180-210 guage, Air Temp 55-75 degrees: 230-240 guage. Over 80F and it holds at 250-260. (Again 250-260 and all the other readings are me "eyeballing" the gauge.)
I got stuck in traffic a few times in the summer: The gauge pegged to what I would assume is 300F. (This was right after I installed the replacement gauge and I was in geek mode and carred an NIST traceable thermocouple in the tour pak, just because I have access to stuff like that and to see what was going on). So I pull over and remove the dip stick and take a reading from the tank: 263F.
So, to me the "number" matters but not so much. The change in the number is what is more important.
Mine takes a while to register a reading, all dependent on the air temp. It has been posted before, but any of the readings from the gauge are a single point in the system. The oil temp varies significantly (20 degrees or more) at various locations. The gauge simple gives a reference point to let you know what "normal" is for your bike at a give set of conditions (air temp, speed).
If it goes "out of normal" you know you may have an issue and you should pay attention. Also know that the guages lose accuracy significantly at the low end and the high end of the scale. Typically, 25% on each end (high and low range of the gauge) is a SWAG. Another good reason to use a full synthetic motor oil in an air cooled engine!
In a moderate rain, 60mph and 48 degrees, my gauge barely broke 170 in 3 hours of riding, as water pulls much more heat away than air. As soon as the rain stopped: 220F.
No rain and 50 minutes at 72 mph on cruise control: Air temp 35-50 degrees: 180-210 guage, Air Temp 55-75 degrees: 230-240 guage. Over 80F and it holds at 250-260. (Again 250-260 and all the other readings are me "eyeballing" the gauge.)
I got stuck in traffic a few times in the summer: The gauge pegged to what I would assume is 300F. (This was right after I installed the replacement gauge and I was in geek mode and carred an NIST traceable thermocouple in the tour pak, just because I have access to stuff like that and to see what was going on). So I pull over and remove the dip stick and take a reading from the tank: 263F.
So, to me the "number" matters but not so much. The change in the number is what is more important.
Sadist112
Active Member
If you have a oil cooler, you might want to consider this, from Jagg:
http://www.setrabusa.com/jagg%20files/jagg%20pdf/Jagg-Pipe-Tee-Instructions.pdf
Heck you can probably get it at Home Depot.
I wish I had installed this, instead of putting the sending unit in the pan. I think this would produce quicker temperature responses and take out the ambient air issues that seem to be caused by air flowing over the huge aluminum pan. Not to mention you can get way more accurate reading on the actual oil temps, instead of the temperature of the oil pan, which is shared with the tranny fuild and right behind the crank. Not to mention you wouldn't have to take the fuel tank off to route the wire. Just a thought.
http://www.setrabusa.com/jagg%20files/jagg%20pdf/Jagg-Pipe-Tee-Instructions.pdf
Heck you can probably get it at Home Depot.
I wish I had installed this, instead of putting the sending unit in the pan. I think this would produce quicker temperature responses and take out the ambient air issues that seem to be caused by air flowing over the huge aluminum pan. Not to mention you can get way more accurate reading on the actual oil temps, instead of the temperature of the oil pan, which is shared with the tranny fuild and right behind the crank. Not to mention you wouldn't have to take the fuel tank off to route the wire. Just a thought.
Are you talking about Short Sweep (140-300°F) or perhaps maybe Full Sweep (140-280°F)?
The full-sweep one, with the stepper motor indicator drive seems more likely to follow the sensor more linearly.
Hoople
Account Removed
Stepper motor indicator drive? No kidding. Nice.