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Oil cooler and its importance.

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Richard Krzeminski, Aug 8, 2021.

  1. Richard Krzeminski

    Richard Krzeminski New Member

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    My bike doesn’t have an oil cooler, and I see a lot of bikes with them. Do they make a major difference?
     
  2. Timbox

    Timbox Well-Known Member

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    Depending on the type of riding that you do. If it came with the bike from factor, yes it is needed. If you want to add one that is up to you. As long as you are moving and air is getting passed through the cooling fins of your engine I would say you are good. If you are stop and go traffic all the time, we might need to change to a water cooled fan driven radiator.

    If you will be tracking your bike and riding it all the time like you are a racer, sure. If you want the look of the oil cooler, sure. The bottom line is our air cooled bikes need air to pass through the sports on the engine and oil coolers to remove heat from the fins. If you are testing your bike in a garage or just on the center stand for any length, put a fan in front of the bike so that air can help to cool the bike.

    More folks will chime in soon with their thought and views. Good luck how ever you go.
     
  3. JCH

    JCH Active Member

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    Has anyone have any thought's on air fin oil like Honda recommends on there air cooled motors, I really haven't done much research on this but it seems a bit silly to me if you just keep the fins clean ?
     
  4. bensalf

    bensalf Well-Known Member

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    er, what,o_O
     
  5. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    oil coolers?
    xj550 seca in us had no oil cooler but in UK and canada it has an oil cooler.
    did yamaha say they can only drive 55 so they dont need one?
    the 550 maxim has no oil cooler in US and canada Maxim was a small market bike.

    it looks to me like bikes with 18 inch rear wheels got the oil cooler.
    650 seca oil cooler 650 maxim no oil cooler.

    wait a minute the 750 seca 18 rear wheel no oil cooler.

    so is an oil cooler needed? only Yamaha knows for sure.


    air fin oil when i google i get air filter oil do you have a link to this concept?
     
  6. JCH

    JCH Active Member

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    Yes Honda recommends on there retro CB1100 at a service interval also Castro also sells a genetic oil for air cooled fins.
    Go to U tube and search maintenance for the Honda Retro CB 1100
     
  7. Franz

    Franz Well-Known Member

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    Never heard of it. Honda Air Filter Oil I have heard of.
     
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  8. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    The rest-of-the-world XJ750 models ("Seca" in the USA) had oil coolers........
     
  9. Minimutly

    Minimutly Well-Known Member

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    So if, as is often quoted on here, Yamaha knew best, they must have had a reason to spec a cooler for Europe. Trouble is, the known info doesn't back this up - US temps, on average must be higher, so why?
    I think it was down to cost and target market - why else?
    Perhaps Yamaha weren't really that clever? Obs, if they were they would be still making the xj..
     
  10. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Yamaha did have to meet price points in the United States to sell their motorcycles. It's just hard for me to wrap around the concept that they would sacrifice their bikes by not adding an oil cooler risking possible warranty replacement of motors just to save a few bucks. Maybe the people in Europe just ride their bikes more and harder than we do in

    the US I don't really know. it's just hard to justify the expense of adding an oil cooler to a motorcycle when there would be very little roi it's not like you can sell it dollar for dollar more because you added the oil cooler.
     
  11. Polock

    Polock Well-Known Member

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    air fin oil is right over there by the turn signal fluid.
    maybe that's another use for WD40?
     
  12. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    Bingo. LOTS of competition in the USA market at that time, and remember that was a time of a rather significant recession in the USA (remember 21% interest rates........). In my opinion, it was a short-sighted decision, the mass production costs of the whole cooler system couldn't have been more than $ 100.00 --- remember, this was the early 80's ---- and I think there's no doubt that cooler engine oil temps, especially in a hi-po air-cooled engine, is a good idea.
     
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  13. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    In other words, get a different bike
     
  14. hogfiddles

    hogfiddles XJ-Wizard, Host-Central NY Carb Clinic Moderator Premium Member

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    JCH.... I understood what you meant—
    I use Yamalube 10w40 for the oil in all my air cooled finned head bikes.

    dfox
     
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  15. Dan Gardner

    Dan Gardner Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    What makes the most sense to me is that Yamaha's calculation went something like this: In Europe, the bike is more likely to be in urban traffic, but in the USA, it is more likely to be on open roads, therefore, an oil cooler is not as important in the USA, so let's save some cost.
     
  16. cgutz

    cgutz Well-Known Member

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    I haven't really seen any reports on this site from non oil cooler equipped bikes having shorter lives for lack of oil cooler. The XJ engine, as in the XJ550 Maxim, seems to be pretty bullet proof air cooled without one.

    Perhaps an oil cooler helps the interval between oil changes as less breakdown?
     
  17. Minimutly

    Minimutly Well-Known Member

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    Wasn't there a 50 mph speed limit in the US way back then? Or is that a myth from my old brain?
     
  18. Dan Gardner

    Dan Gardner Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    There was a national 55MPH speed limit at the time, correct, so that probably played into the calculation too.

    Less urban traffic + 55MPH speed limit + cost savings = no oil cooler for the USA.
     
  19. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    i will look again but iirc oil cooler bikes change the oil more often.
     

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