harley oil temp curiosity

[sgtskinny]

230F measured at the pan is considered normal Harley oil operating temp.
230F at the pan is equal to 250F+ at the engine outlet, returning to the pan.
250F is the upper limit operating temperature for conventional oil.
So, is 230F measured at the pan truely an acceptable normal operating temperature for conventional oil, when that pan temp of 230F is equal to 250F+ coming out of the motor.

 

[XS650]

Yes, pan temperatures are the standard for engine oil temperature and assume a generic temperature rise going through the engine.

 

[dwendt44]

Which is why many Harley owners use syntethic oil.
Some add an oil cooler.

 

[BigCahuna]

The owners manual for my '03 ultra said the normal oil temp when all warmed up is 230 degrees.Mine seemed to run in the 215-228 degree range. That's with the lowers on all the time. The oil will come in contact with internal parts which are hotter then 230 degrees, and will pick up heat from them. Obviously this isn't an issue for oil, as it's have worked this way since oil has been used in internal combustion engines.,

 

[sgtskinny]

Sorry for the condensed post initially. I was a little hasty, I'm trying to recover from the frustrations of posting this question on a cycle forum. I am working on an oil cooling system project. I'm currently working to improve the cooling potential of my prototype system. Relative to low limit operating oil temps, I'm just trying to determine if it is more effective to work from the pan temp, or outlet temp, which I have obsereved as the hottest temp in the Harley Twin Cam oil system cirrculation cycle. Also looking for a low limit oil operating temp for conventional oil; something tested or proven, not just an opinion that someone thinks is a good temp (those are easy to find). I guess my ultimate question is, if 180F is the low limit operating temp for conventional oil, and I can achieve 180F at the hottest point in the oil system, will the oil be too cool for the engine to operate properly or cause negative effects.

 

[rn2fine]

My 01 Softail has a temp gauge style dipstick. Oil in the tank seems to remain around 200 after warmed up and during normal operation. Not sure what it's pan temps are.

 

[BigCahuna]

just for the heck of it I'll throw this one in. Raw water cooled marine motors runs in the 160 degree temp range. Freshwater cooled motors run in the 190 degree range. Both are basically marine equipped car motors, and the 2 I had were over 25 years old and ran fine. They were not air cooled motors, so it may not help what ever it is your looking for but just something to ponder. I have a Harley and an old Goldwing , the Harly's oil temps run in the 200-228 range and I can't ya tell what the wing runs at.,,

 

[kballowe]

In 95 degree weather @ a sustained 75 mph my '08 FatBoy runs 240 degrees according to the dipstick in the oil tank.

I have a 2010 Dyna that runs about the same.

 

[Ken2]

Rather than cooling the oil, consider oil that handles the heat better. This will be synthetic oil and the highest viscosity that suits the ambient temperature.

Engine coolant temperature has little bearing on oil temperature. Raw water cooled marine engines have to consider the build up of salt in the parts, and running hotter, even though better for the engine, cause very hard calcium deposits that quickly clogs things. This can only be cleaned out with acid or manually knocking it out...both poor solutions.