OIl cooler

[DefTrap]

Not mine.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/L-K-HONDA-BROS-HAWK-GT-NT650-RACING-OIL-COOLER-MOD_W0QQitemZ260137139779QQihZ016QQcategoryZ10460QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Well this is a new one on me. Does the Hawk really need an oil cooler? Even an overbored & thrashed jobby?

[Doc]

I saw that too. I don't see anyone running one.

[tkm433]

I saw that too. I don't see anyone running one.

Today I went on about a 200 mile ride with my local heat index in the low 100 degree range and the bike ran great,

Water temp gauge was in the lower half all day and the cooling fan was only on during long traffic stops.

I really see no need for an oil cooler on the Hawk for everyday use. Maybe for insurance on the race track.

Just my three cents worth!

[Crash]

I personally see no reason to run an oil cooler on a hawk. For normal street use there is no real need for the additional cooling. Also for race use, from a safety stand point the fewer places that fluid can drain from your bike the better and oil cooler are not very effective for engine cooling.

Oil is a very poor conductor of heat. In other words the heat energy from the motor takes a long time to be transfered to the oil (a much longer time than to transfer the same energy to the water in the radiator). Then that same heat energy that is stored in the oil takes a long time to be released into the surrouding atmosphere throught the oil cooler, again a much longer time than the coolant in the radiator. So if your goal is to effectively disipate engine heat you would be much better off inproving the flow of coolant through the motor and increasing the size of your radiator than screwing around with an oil cooler.

[DefTrap]

I also wonder how much difference a circular oil cooler stuck to the side of the motor is going to make. Surely an OC should have a decent surface area and be hanging out in the wind?

[Crash]

Oil coolers and radiators do not need very much airflow to be effective. You only need to flow enough air to move the micro-climate of hot air surrounding it away and replace it with cooler air. The experts say any airflow over 30MPH is overkill. This is why bikes like the Benelli and the Tularis can get away with under the tail radiators. Having said that I still see no use for an oil cooler on a liquid cooled bike. It's just another thing to go wrong (more fluid retaining fitting to fail) and it's effectiveness is marginal at best.