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Can I add another oil cooler?

By LucidMayhem,
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ProCycle

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Would it work or would I just mess up the workings of the one thats already there. I found a Ducati oil cooler for $35 and want to do it. What say you? Any help/insight is welcome.

I can't imagine you could need a second oil cooler unless you plan on subjecting your DR to some severe abuse.

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ProCycle

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What about If I were to install one of those Bad A$$ 725cc big bore kits you're sellin' Procycle? Might I need it then, livin' in SoCal with hot summer days. I don't go to the desert much. Too Hot!! Do you think that it would even make a difference or just look like hell and add 10 LBS?

My own 725 has had some serious thrashing in very hot weather and engine temps are just not an issue. The DR650 motor is very good at shedding excess heat. If you were going to be riding 100 mph for extended periods then yeah, there would be some benefit to an additional oil cooler. But really, if you are doing that you need a different bike more than an extra oil cooler. Spend the time, money and effort on something that the DR does need.

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LukasM

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My own 725 has had some serious thrashing in very hot weather and engine temps are just not an issue. The DR650 motor is very good at shedding excess heat. If you were going to be riding 100 mph for extended periods then yeah, there would be some benefit to an additional oil cooler. But really, if you are doing that you need a different bike more than an extra oil cooler. Spend the time, money and effort on something that the DR does need.

Do we want some hard proof of that? I could provide you with a good opportunity to test it, thinking about doing the Tuareg Rallye 2010 in Africa.... ?:busted:

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LukasM

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Do it on the KTMasaki!

You actually think I will ever make that thing ride-able? You must have more faith in my abilities than I do. :busted:

I'd think that unless you're going to work it REALLY hard, almost all the time, an additional oil cooler would result in your oil temp being too low.

That's why they make thermostats. You should always plumb an oil cooler so that it gets bypassed until the oil reaches operating temperature.

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Tweety Bird

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...

That's why they make thermostats. You should always plumb an oil cooler so that it gets bypassed until the oil reaches operating temperature.

Sure. Let's make this nice, simple bike just that more complicated. Says Bubba to Jim Bob, "Lookie here, y'all, we'll add an extra oil cooler to keep the oil temp DOWN; than we'll stick in this here thermostat to keep the oil temp UP."

I'm having a hard time figuring out why anyone would think they need added oil cooling on this thing. If you're going to ride it so hard to make this necessary, you have the wrong machine to begin with.

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LukasM

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Sure. Let's make this nice, simple bike just that more complicated. Says Bubba to Jim Bob, "Lookie here, y'all, we'll add an extra oil cooler to keep the oil temp DOWN; than we'll stick in this here thermostat to keep the oil temp UP."

I'm having a hard time figuring out why anyone would think they need added oil cooling on this thing. If you're going to ride it so hard to make this necessary, you have the wrong machine to begin with.

Well my dear Tweety Bird, maybe you haven't figured hard enough.

As you are surely aware, oils have a proper operating temperature. Too cold and they won't lubricate well, too hot and they break down. Under normal conditions the DR will run just fine, if not slightly hot. Now if you ride in hot weather, then add some heavy luggage, and then you get stuck in the dunes or mud, it will get REALLY hot. Not likely to happen if most of your riding is done in Colorado, but with Africa only being 6 hours away, quite possible for me.

Another advantage is that it would increase the not very large oil capacity of the DR, thereby extending the needed service intervals. Other singles can go double the distance, why not the DR.

And have you ever thought what happens if you are in some far out place and a rock hits your single oil cooler? Or you crash and make a crack in it (happened to me)? You'd be f.kked. If you had two and plumbed them with some thought it would be easy to bypass either one, leaving you to continue on your merry way.

So think a bit outside your (not so little) Colorado box, and you might see a few reasons why it would make sense. If they apply to your situation and are important enough to make this change is of course another question.

:busted:

Why doesn't the DR have an oil thermostat?

Added cost mainly, and added complexity. You would need a bypass system since the head needs oil flow at all times.

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Tweety Bird

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Well my dear Tweety Bird, maybe you haven't figured hard enough.

As you are surely aware, oils have a proper operating temperature. Too cold and they won't lubricate well, too hot and they break down. Under normal conditions the DR will run just fine, if not slightly hot. Now if you ride in hot weather, then add some heavy luggage, and then you get stuck in the dunes or mud, it will get REALLY hot. Not likely to happen if most of your riding is done in Colorado, but with Africa only being 6 hours away, quite possible for me.

Another advantage is that it would increase the not very large oil capacity of the DR, thereby extending the needed service intervals. Other singles can go double the distance, why not the DR.

And have you ever thought what happens if you are in some far out place and a rock hits your single oil cooler? Or you crash and make a crack in it (happened to me)? You'd be f.kked. If you had two and plumbed them with some thought it would be easy to bypass either one, leaving you to continue on your merry way.

So think a bit outside your (not so little) Colorado box, and you might see a few reasons why it would make sense. If they apply to your situation and are important enough to make this change is of course another question.

:busted:

Added cost mainly, and added complexity. You would need a bypass system since the head needs oil flow at all times.

You say so.....

(remaining thoughts left unwritten)

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Older and Slower

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Remembering back a few years, some company made a bypass thermostat thing that was an 'aftermarket add-on' for bikes that didn't have a thermostatically controlled cooler. can't remember the name of the company though, sorry.

Along the lines of the oil cooler ... on a bike ridden 100% on the street, is there a disadvantage in removing the cooler guard thing? Think it actually helps in a crash on the road? Waddaya think?

Thanks.

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LukasM

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I think a few companies make them. On my race car I used some parts from Canton and Mocal, I'll have to check which one made the thermostat. It's a really simple piece though, just 2 inlet and 2 outlet AN ports on it. Wouldn't be hard to adapt to a bike at all.

I would keep the guard, it definitely helps when crashing. Mine has bent, cracked and been re-welded a couple of times. Last time I didn't fix it and the next fall cracked the oil cooler. Those things are freakin' expensive new at the dealer - about $450 over here. Luckily I had found a used one on Ebay.

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Tweety Bird

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Guess they aren't very convincing then.

<sigh> OK.

Occam's Razor states, "when you have two competing theories that make exactly the same predictions, the simpler one is the better."

Then there's that other nasty little thing called the law of unintended consequences. This one gets in the way quite often. Especially when people try to out-engineer the engineers. They forget (or don't understand) how one seemingly simple change over HERE can affect the way something else works over THERE.

The OP wanted to know if he could put a second oil cooler on his bike. Of course, the short answer is, "yes". The rest of the story, as I simply tried to point out above, is more complicated.

I rather suspect that most people who would attempt something like this would simply mount and plumb the oil cooler, check it for leaks and ride it. And feel good that their oil is now running much cooler (many people don't even realize that oil can run too cool). Maybe the OP would have done it that way, maybe not. It's not for me to predict what anyone is planning in their mind and for all I know, he was planning on some sort of oil temp control circuit if he added a second cooler. I mention this simply because of what I've seen in 35 years of wrenching on and teaching the inner workings of machinery and systems that are easily 100 times more complicated than the wonderfully simple machine that is a DR. Yes, I understand what happens when oil temps run too high or too low. Yes, I understand how thermostats work (not only on oil but pneumatic and air conditioning temp control, as well).

So go ahead and add your second cooler for your trips to Africa. No skin off my nose. When the engine corrodes from within because the oil never gets hot enough to boil out the moisture, you can add the extra complexity of a thermostat. I guess it doesn't matter that a second oil cooler doubles the chances of a rock disabling your machine, because you're going to carry the tools and equipment necessary to bypass any failure that might occur in the middle of the African continent.

Personally, I'll avoid the added complexity and risk and ride mine with the stock oil cooler. I'll ride mine in the cool air and steep roads of our mountains; in the 100+ degree days of the prairie and desert; on road and off; fast and slow; highway and dirt roads; some days I'll ride it easy, other days I'll flog the hell out of it. And I betcha mine runs just as long as yours does with all your add-ons. Maybe longer.

But in the end, none of this matters to me; if it spins your crank, do it. One of the great things about this sport is that everybody can make their machine uniquely theirs. I was simply trying to give the OP a heads-up that it's not only more complex than he may have originally thought, but that in my opinion, it's completely unnecessary.

The amount of paranoia around here about cylinder head temps, oil temps, 200-mile oil change intervals and the like absolutely astounds me. Keep the oil cooler free of crap; keep the cylinder and head cooling fins clean; keep the crankcase full of relatively clean and fresh oil. Do all these things and I don't think you need to worry about overheating. I suspect that the annectodal cases of overheating can be directly attrributable to operator error, either in the form of no preventative maintenance, or modifications done without consideration for the rest of the bike as a complete system.

OK, now it's your turn to judge whether these thoughts were or weren't very convincing.

Just to make sure you understand, I don't give a damn what you think.

But I stand by my comment. If you need a second oil cooler on this bike, you're riding the wrong machine.

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