I have an 08 Heritage softail that i purchase used about a year and a half ago. Bike had 8300 miles on it and has been great since.
I added an oil cooler from Ultra cool in May 2013. It worked awesome until last week.
I was riding to work Wednesday morning last week and was about 9 miles from home when I herd lifters ticking while stopped in traffic. Thought it was very odd. It came and went. I put my foot down and left foot slid on pavement. Boots and bike were covered with oil , shut down immediately and pushed off the road. Tow home. verified oil tank was dry. took off filter and very little oil came out. found one of the 2 rubber oil lines that came with ultra cool had ruptured. Removed both and found the were hard and completely dried out. Rupture occurred at the 90 degree bend. Called Ultracool and they claim never been an issue before. I called Doc Weaver, who many of you know, and discussed with him. He is local to me and is pretty much the man on HD engines. He said it is possible for no damage, depends on how long it ran dry. We agreed oil analysis is the way to go. I talked to a guy in Texas, who said that since i had a very high quality oil and it soulded like i likely ran for 5minutes or so dry and didnt run it hard then I may be ok. He said put on fresh filter and oil and run 500 miles and send him a sample. Dyson lab guy said he knows Amsoil and its very good, however he also said that there is something called Bio-synthetic that he believes to be superior to all other oils.
Anyhow bottom line is I am very concerned, my bikes are all in superior condition, mechanically and cosmetically and now i may be looking at a major failure, hope not. I am a commercial liability adjuster and handle product liability claims so I know what to do if there is damage.
I did however do some research on oil hoses and found that a synthetic rubber or silicone type hose are the only ones for oil and high heat. I believe the hose that was on the bike was likely neoprene. I found Gates has Oil Cooler hose rated at 400 psi and 300+ degrees constant temp with engine oil. I bought some and found there was no need for the 90 degree bend in the hose, i made it a smooth curv from filter adaptor to the cooler. I now have about 50 miles on the bike since the failure, so far so good. Oil analysis will be the true test.
If anyone has oil coolers on their bike I recommend pulling off the hoses once a year and check them Mine was not visible while in place, you had to squeeze the hose to tell it was hard and also see the dry rot cracks.
I believe the Ultracool cooler is still a good one just bad hose. I did note they are using different hoses on their web site so likely this may have been an issue. I will have no complaints as long as they stand behind their product and do whats right if there is damage. If no damage then pay for oil, tow, and analysis, all will be about 300.00
I added an oil cooler from Ultra cool in May 2013. It worked awesome until last week.
I was riding to work Wednesday morning last week and was about 9 miles from home when I herd lifters ticking while stopped in traffic. Thought it was very odd. It came and went. I put my foot down and left foot slid on pavement. Boots and bike were covered with oil , shut down immediately and pushed off the road. Tow home. verified oil tank was dry. took off filter and very little oil came out. found one of the 2 rubber oil lines that came with ultra cool had ruptured. Removed both and found the were hard and completely dried out. Rupture occurred at the 90 degree bend. Called Ultracool and they claim never been an issue before. I called Doc Weaver, who many of you know, and discussed with him. He is local to me and is pretty much the man on HD engines. He said it is possible for no damage, depends on how long it ran dry. We agreed oil analysis is the way to go. I talked to a guy in Texas, who said that since i had a very high quality oil and it soulded like i likely ran for 5minutes or so dry and didnt run it hard then I may be ok. He said put on fresh filter and oil and run 500 miles and send him a sample. Dyson lab guy said he knows Amsoil and its very good, however he also said that there is something called Bio-synthetic that he believes to be superior to all other oils.
Anyhow bottom line is I am very concerned, my bikes are all in superior condition, mechanically and cosmetically and now i may be looking at a major failure, hope not. I am a commercial liability adjuster and handle product liability claims so I know what to do if there is damage.
I did however do some research on oil hoses and found that a synthetic rubber or silicone type hose are the only ones for oil and high heat. I believe the hose that was on the bike was likely neoprene. I found Gates has Oil Cooler hose rated at 400 psi and 300+ degrees constant temp with engine oil. I bought some and found there was no need for the 90 degree bend in the hose, i made it a smooth curv from filter adaptor to the cooler. I now have about 50 miles on the bike since the failure, so far so good. Oil analysis will be the true test.
If anyone has oil coolers on their bike I recommend pulling off the hoses once a year and check them Mine was not visible while in place, you had to squeeze the hose to tell it was hard and also see the dry rot cracks.
I believe the Ultracool cooler is still a good one just bad hose. I did note they are using different hoses on their web site so likely this may have been an issue. I will have no complaints as long as they stand behind their product and do whats right if there is damage. If no damage then pay for oil, tow, and analysis, all will be about 300.00
