Oil temperature dipstick
- Thread starter Steve48
- Start date
ktorian
Member
Low 200's. Anything over 250 (F) is too hot.
when engine nicely warmed up shows about 180 but the air temp in north Scotland never hot
when touring in mid Europe once it got to 240 id stop for a while and let the oil cool down
if you are using a mineral oil it starts to break down at 250 but a synthetic will hold together at much higher temperatures
so all depends on ambient air temp and type of oil as to when to get worried
Brian
when touring in mid Europe once it got to 240 id stop for a while and let the oil cool down
if you are using a mineral oil it starts to break down at 250 but a synthetic will hold together at much higher temperatures
so all depends on ambient air temp and type of oil as to when to get worried
Brian
Being as the oil temperature in the oil tank is relatively far from the engine, I do not expect the oil temperature to get over 200 degrees F even under pretty high heat conditions.
On my Sporty after a long ride in 70 degrees F, it never has gone over 180 degrees. I did hit the 200 degrees F mark when I was riding in SoCal running up the Central Valley heat of 100 degrees F in modest traffic.
If you think readings are going past 210 degrees in the remote tank, I consciously keep the bike moving if running in a hot area as California does allow lane splitting if the conditions are "safe" (which means officer discretion), and would consider getting an oil cooler if this happens fairly often... JMHO.
On my Sporty after a long ride in 70 degrees F, it never has gone over 180 degrees. I did hit the 200 degrees F mark when I was riding in SoCal running up the Central Valley heat of 100 degrees F in modest traffic.
If you think readings are going past 210 degrees in the remote tank, I consciously keep the bike moving if running in a hot area as California does allow lane splitting if the conditions are "safe" (which means officer discretion), and would consider getting an oil cooler if this happens fairly often... JMHO.
SpringerSteve98
Active Member
My softail runs between 180-220 depending on how hard i'm pushing it. I have an oil temp dipstick as well. If i see it climb above 230-240 i'd stop to check if something was up... Or if it falls below 160 after its warmed up (could be low on oil and not reaching the dipstick). A sporty might run a little hotter or cooler, but shouldn't be far off.
Can I add a question to this???? 
Great, thanks!
I was wondering while riding in southern FL, (temps in the low 90s) if the oil temp dipstick had any 'influence' from the outside heat. My bike stayed pretty cool all things considered,(200 or so was the high I noticed) the reason I was wondering, is after the bike was parked for a few hours, I was still getting a reading of well over 100*.
We would get up & ride early, come back anywhere from 2-4 in the afternoon, then take off in the truck. At night we would stick the bikes in the trailer. I ain't skeered to trailer mine. :s LOL, We put them in the trailer overnight because the princess doesn't like to have to sit on a wet seat if she don't have too. :lero And we gotta love the overnight storms that can blow through FL.
So when we would come back to the bikes in the evening, after the bikes had been sitting 5 or 6 hours, I would notice the temp on the oil dipstick. It was in the 90's during the day, when I would return, the temps would be low 80's/high 70's. The bikes were parked in a shaded area and in the open, so they would have the breeze.
Just curious. I never really paid attention to the reading at home in the garage in the evenings after a ride, but maybe I will. :s I was just wondering if it takes that long for the oil to cool down, or if the fact that it was just so hot overall that 100+ is as cool as it gets in those conditions. Unfortunately, I didn't think to look at it in the mornings before we took off after pulling them back out. Just one of those things I got to wonder about in the 8 hours of truck time back to J'ville & the 12 hours or so in the truck on the way back to Ohio. My mind wonders. :bigsmiley22:
Great, thanks! I was wondering while riding in southern FL, (temps in the low 90s) if the oil temp dipstick had any 'influence' from the outside heat. My bike stayed pretty cool all things considered,(200 or so was the high I noticed) the reason I was wondering, is after the bike was parked for a few hours, I was still getting a reading of well over 100*.
We would get up & ride early, come back anywhere from 2-4 in the afternoon, then take off in the truck. At night we would stick the bikes in the trailer.
I ain't skeered to trailer mine. :s LOL, We put them in the trailer overnight because the princess doesn't like to have to sit on a wet seat if she don't have too. :lero And we gotta love the overnight storms that can blow through FL. So when we would come back to the bikes in the evening, after the bikes had been sitting 5 or 6 hours, I would notice the temp on the oil dipstick. It was in the 90's during the day, when I would return, the temps would be low 80's/high 70's. The bikes were parked in a shaded area and in the open, so they would have the breeze.
Just curious. I never really paid attention to the reading at home in the garage in the evenings after a ride, but maybe I will. :s I was just wondering if it takes that long for the oil to cool down, or if the fact that it was just so hot overall that 100+ is as cool as it gets in those conditions. Unfortunately, I didn't think to look at it in the mornings before we took off after pulling them back out. Just one of those things I got to wonder about in the 8 hours of truck time back to J'ville & the 12 hours or so in the truck on the way back to Ohio. My mind wonders. :bigsmiley22:
W
wildspirit97
Guest
Joy,
mine always reads about the same as the outside temp when the bike hasn't been ran. It makes sense that the oil temp. isn't gonna go below the air temp.
mine always reads about the same as the outside temp when the bike hasn't been ran. It makes sense that the oil temp. isn't gonna go below the air temp.
RK Custom
Member
Yes all oils in the crank case or in a dry sump tank are going to be the same temperature as the outside ambient or even higher. I know you said that they were in the shade but if they are sitting in the sun on a black top they are going to get on up there in the temperature well above ambient because of how well the crank case/oil tank conducts heat. Hope this helps.