1150 GS oil cooler fan

Massive Lee said:
Well. Crossing the desert in the middle of the day means you still have more air going thru the oil cooler than being stuck idling in traffic. More air going thru the oil cooler and more air taking a bit of heat off the engine cylinders. If the bikes doesn't move, no air. I wonder why water cooled engines have a fan... Electric or mechanical... :)

BTW I welcome comments from the people who think that an 1150GS needs no cooling fan.
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You are right, yes there's many occasions when an 1150 would benefit from a fan...... if that fan got the oil temp down .... I ride slowly in traffic most days with my work and we've all heard them rattle when hot, not good!! other occasions have been very slow riding over rocks etc. with slight tail wind it overheats then too.

The question is then, is it the lack of cool air passing cylinders or through the oil cooler which causes the overheat since placing an big fan in front of the cylinders when the bikes stationary does prevent it.

Other than that, if the bikes moving a a decent speed there's no need for one no matter what the temperature, but I think we're all agreed on that :beerjug:
 
This little sucker below is a 12 volt, thermostatically controlled RELAY switched fan controller.....you program the temps at which it switches via the relay via the micro switches and just bung it in.


$_57.JPG


These are the specs>

Specifications Model: W1209
Dimensions: 48 * 40mm
Temperature control mode: ON / OFF
Temperature range :-50-110 ℃
Resolution[FONT=&#23435]：When temperature is 0.1℃[FONT=&#23435]， [/FONT]the resolution is -9.9~99.9, other temperature segment is 1℃[/FONT]
Control accuracy: 0.1 ℃
Hysteresis accuracy: 0.1℃
Refresh rate: 0.5S
High temperature protection[FONT=&#23435]： 0-110℃[/FONT]
Supply voltage: DC 12V
Static current: ≤ 35MA, attract current ≤ 65MA
Output voltage: DC 12V
Output power: 10A relay |NOTE THE RELAY SHOWN IS 20A :nenau
Measurement input: NTC (10K 0.5%) Waterproof Sensor
Environmental requirements: -10 ~ 60 ℃ [FONT=&#23435]，
Humidity 20% -85%[/FONT]

Note the size of it....it's tiny :)

Oh, and the best bit?

It's £3.29 delivered from UK stock :thumb2

(they're designed to fit into PC cases to switch on additional fans when the CPU/GPU gets to X temperature.......apart from the obvious lack of protection which could be easily solved with a few quid's worth of IP67 project enclosure from Maplins, I reckon it's near perfect for your needs, and sod it, as it's less than the price of a pint, it's worth trying just for fun :thumb2


EDIT......you can get exactly the same device for a quid or two more that have two temp inputs, so you could have a sensor in an oil line (or even in the cooler matrix tanks via a gland of some sort) and another measuring the temp on the engine cooling fins, or whatever other clever combination you can think of.
There are units that will do half/full speed fan control as well {just think PC cooling and search using terms associated with it to find the variations}
 
The reason why I prefer a mechanically trigger fan (switch on the handlebar) is that when riding on the highway and coming to a sudden stop because of a traffic jam, the motor gets heat soaked quickly. So, instead of waiting for oil temp to rise to 6 or 7 bars on the RID, I'd prefer start the fan to help get rid of heat earlier.

Earlier, I thought my oil circuit thermostat could have stuck closed, not allowing oil to the cooler. But when riding at speed, I can feel a whole lot of burning heat coming from the back of the oil cooler. So, there's oil moving through the cooler.

BTW I also have a 650 Africa Twin and rode the Tunisian desert this winter. Riding at slow speed in sand tracks, engine temps can start climbing quick (not much air). One single fan on the right radiator can spin continuously. Which is why I added a second fan on the left radiator. After all, even Honda's NXR Dakar bikes had two fans. ;-)
 
Massive Lee said:
The reason why I prefer a mechanically trigger fan (switch on the handlebar) is that when riding on the highway and coming to a sudden stop because of a traffic jam, the motor gets heat soaked quickly. So, instead of waiting for oil temp to rise to 6 or 7 bars on the RID, I'd prefer start the fan to help get rid of heat earlier.
Click to expand...

I reckon that's a sensible attitude, but TBH I'd also fit an auto switch as above in case you just don't notice the temp going up......or just set the trigger temp lower than needed, so it never gets to above 5 bars in the first place.
That sort of PCB is very reliable, it's just fit and forget, so why risk human failure ?

Yes, fit a manual switch, but you've only got a five quid install with the wires and connectors included to stick in a backup device :)
 
Massive Lee said:
20W50. New oil pressure sender. 7 bars on the RID. ...BTW Do you have any picture of the cooling fan set-up you made?
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No photos of the setup. I modified an RT-P fan in my case. Took it out very soon after installing.

Personally, if the oil temp isn't hitting the red zone on the RID, I don't call it overheating and I don't worry about it. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

But, if you're keen on doing this, go for it. Plenty of reading you can do about it on the Interwebs...ADVRider has a plethora of threads on it. Here's one. Somewhere on ADV is a thread where someone did an experiment to correlate RID bars with oil temperature. It was interesting from an academic perspective. Beyond that, I say just ride the damn thing.
 
gonzomup said:
No photos of the setup. I modified an RT-P fan in my case. Took it out very soon after installing.

Personally, if the oil temp isn't hitting the red zone on the RID, I don't call it overheating and I don't worry about it. We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.
Click to expand...

And what do you call the oil pressure light being lit solid at idle? No. It's no a faulty oil pressure sender. It is brand new. ;-)
 
jimbo said:
not a lot of traffic in the deserts of course :D
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Every other bike in London is a Gs and during the summer the kerbs are littered with examples of bikes with engine damage, as is every city in europe... :rolleyes:

It's not a problem apart from the post originators bike... which suggests he has other engine issues, like slightlyworn big ends, main bearings or oil pump.... by just fitting a fan he isn't fixing the problem, just covering the symptoms. :D
 
Massive Lee said:
The reason why I prefer a mechanically trigger fan (switch on the handlebar) is that when riding on the highway and coming to a sudden stop because of a traffic jam, the motor gets heat soaked quickly. So, instead of waiting for oil temp to rise to 6 or 7 bars on the RID, I'd prefer start the fan to help get rid of heat earlier.

Earlier, I thought my oil circuit thermostat could have stuck closed, not allowing oil to the cooler. But when riding at speed, I can feel a whole lot of burning heat coming from the back of the oil cooler. So, there's oil moving through the cooler.

BTW I also have a 650 Africa Twin and rode the Tunisian desert this winter. Riding at slow speed in sand tracks, engine temps can start climbing quick (not much air). One single fan on the right radiator can spin continuously. Which is why I added a second fan on the left radiator. After all, even Honda's NXR Dakar bikes had two fans. ;-)
Click to expand...

I had a look at the RID when I was out yesterday and it was sitting at 6 bars whilst moving at speed. Couldn't have said before I count them but that is its normal level. I'd agree that stopping a heat build up from starting is a good idea but I've only ever noticed it when the bike was running whilst stationary for a while after it was up to temperature in the first place.

Although you say there is oil flow through the cooler the pipes could still have a build up of sludge reducing the internal diameter and thereby flow rate which could reduce cooling effectiveness.

Fanum said:
I reckon that's a sensible attitude, but TBH I'd also fit an auto switch as above in case you just don't notice the temp going up......or just set the trigger temp lower than needed, so it never gets to above 5 bars in the first place.
That sort of PCB is very reliable, it's just fit and forget, so why risk human failure ?

Yes, fit a manual switch, but you've only got a five quid install with the wires and connectors included to stick in a backup device :)
Click to expand...

Belt and braces is always a good approach :thumb2

Massive Lee said:
And what do you call the oil pressure light being lit solid at idle? No. It's no a faulty oil pressure sender. It is brand new. ;-)
Click to expand...

New parts can also fail or be supplied faulty.

Steptoe said:
Every other bike in London is a Gs and during the summer the kerbs are littered with examples of bikes with engine damage, as is every city in europe... :rolleyes:

It's not a problem apart from the post originators bike... which suggests he has other engine issues, like slightlyworn big ends, main bearings or oil pump.... by just fitting a fan he isn't fixing the problem, just covering the symptoms. :D
Click to expand...

There speaks knowledge and experience.
 
Massive Lee said:
And what do you call the oil pressure light being lit solid at idle? No. It's no a faulty oil pressure sender. It is brand new. ;-)
Click to expand...

You missed the part where I said we'll have to agree to disagree, so I'm going to try to be helpful one last time...I think you're confusing low oil pressure and overheating. From my own experience with two 1150's, I've seen 7 bars and even 8 bars briefly in extreme conditions and never had the oil pressure light so much as flicker -- 8 bars is the maximum normal operating range, by the way...not that the engine sounds good at the time or that I want to see it often. I bet that many others have had similar experience. As Steptoe and others suggested, there is something else going on.
 
A neat looking setup, hope that you can get it to work out properly.

I don't have enough knowledge of these bikes yet to add any helpful suggestions but I have some questions based on my own experience of driving in hot conditions. Firstly, I assumed that the normal operating range was 5 or 6 bars and anything more than that meant that the oil had been 'cooked' and should be changed....7 or even 8 bars :eek:

I recently rode for a week in temperatures up to 43c and a direct sun temperature of over 50c, on motorways the RID gauge was constantly at 6 bars but if I slowed to 100kmh it dropped back to 5. Going through cities was an absolute nightmare and I was switching off at virtually every set of lights and this is where your cooling fan would be most useful.
Once during the trip the RID briefly went to 7 bars so I switched off and waited for it to cool down but the oil warning light never comes on (20w/50 Silkolene synthetic oil)!

You have obviously tried this on the bike so there must be enough clearance between the unit and the forks when they are compressed while the bike is loaded and on rough roads?

As I said, hope you can get this to work as required because it would be an advantage at times :D
 
mspenz said:
You have obviously tried this on the bike so there must be enough clearance between the unit and the forks when they are compressed while the bike is loaded and on rough roads.
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I made 3 generations of aluminum prototypes. Each time increasing the clearance with the fork and speedo cable. Now, with the fork at full lock (but with Touratech steering limiters to keep from damaging the fuel tank if the bike is dropped), I have ample gap. Except for the electricals, installing the shroud and fans takes about 10 minutes. Nothing to cut or grind. I have made more prototypes previosuly, but the install was ot easy. So, I made changes until even a monkey could fit it. ;-)

Some people will say that running the oil at 8 bars on the RID is not a problem, and I will respect their point of view. I personally don't like running beyond 6 bars. And this usually only happens when stuck in traffic, or trying to get out of a mud hole ;-)
 
gonzomup said:
You missed the part where I said we'll have to agree to disagree, so I'm going to try to be helpful one last time...I think you're confusing low oil pressure and overheating. From my own experience with two 1150's, I've seen 7 bars and even 8 bars briefly in extreme conditions and never had the oil pressure light so much as flicker -- 8 bars is the maximum normal operating range, by the way...not that the engine sounds good at the time or that I want to see it often. I bet that many others have had similar experience. As Steptoe and others suggested, there is something else going on.
Click to expand...

These bikes do get hot very quickly when struggling to get through heavy traffic. The first time this happened to me I thought shit... what is going on with this? 7 Bars and engine sounding worryingly wrong!! No oil pressure light though! Once I got through the traffic and away and up to a decent cruising speed everything was fine again. I have owned a 1200TC and I cannot remember this happening on that but this is a different animal. At the time I thought there was something wrong with bike but reading this forum it appears it is normal for these bikes. The bike was only serviced in July by a dealer before anyone mentions oil problems.I did wonder though how people get on in really hot countries on these bikes but I guess the answer is to switch the bike off if you know you are gonna be idling in traffic for some time
 
Neat.
I toyed with this idea when I had my 1100 but never got round to doing anything about it.
Now I've got a TC1200 and after my experiences in the horrific gridlocked traffic in Ajaccio on Corsica (temp very high to the point where I had to switch off and park for 1/2 hour to let it cool down), I'd seriously like to fit one to this bike. If you do design one to fit the 1200, I'd be very interested.

The mounting bracket you've designed / made looks very nicely done - did you get it laser cut and folded?
 
Police spec would be a limited market and all 1150 Police bikes would have been retired from service years ago so very little chance of parts being readily available off the shelf

QUOTE=Paul Young;4171178]If the Police versions had fans fitted, I would expect these to be on the parts fiche and available to order. Was that not an option?[/QUOTE]
 
Hi Matt

I do have a version coming up for the three generations of oil-cooled 1200GS (2004-2013). Your 1200TC (R ninety) is a different breed. And actually, it would be a much easier design and fit than the GS application.

People riding an 1150 RT can retrofit the RT-P shroud and fan (those are often found on eBay USA). But it will not fit the 1150GS. I checked two years ago as my first atempt at solving the heat issue. ;-)
 
Massive Lee said:
Hi Matt

I do have a version coming up for the three generations of oil-cooled 1200GS (2004-2013). Your 1200TC (R ninety) is a different breed. And actually, it would be a much easier design and fit than the GS application.

People riding an 1150 RT can retrofit the RT-P shroud and fan (those are often found on eBay USA). But it will not fit the 1150GS. I checked two years ago as my first atempt at solving the heat issue. ;-)
Click to expand...

Hi Lee - sorry, I've confused things by referring to my bike as a TC - it's a 2013 twin cam GSA :)
 
MattW said:
Hi Lee - sorry, I've confused things by referring to my bike as a TC - it's a 2013 twin cam GSA :)
Click to expand...

Last year of the oilheads. Right?

Between the 3 generations of oilheads, I will have to be accustomed to the differences between oil coolers and front subframes.

Lee
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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