Double check ...
I have fitted a Racetech oil temperature gauge to my R1150GS, as I have taken off the GS instruments etc. as part of a supermoto-esque (?) conversion. I have R1150R instruments on, but these may get the chop shortly (see below).
After a lot of trial and error, I have fitted the R1150R oil coolers on either side of the engine inside the Touratech tank (much easier than I thought) and I wanted to make sure that they were doing their job - together they have a bigger surface area than the single oil cooler on the R1150GS, but you never know! The needle seems to settle around the 105 degree point (virtually in the centre of the 0 to 150 degree options). On hot summer days in traffic it can move up towards the 130 degree mark but moves back down when I get moving. I suspect the RID is not as sensitive in terms of moving around as quickly. I think 105 degrees is around Bar 5 on the RID, so about right. In the colder weather we have now, the needle generally is around 80 degrees unless I sit in traffic when it nudges 100 degrees. The bike has been like this for a couple of years now and the oil seems fine.
Check that your oil temperature sensor is suited to the gauge you are using. I mucked one up and just bought another at random
blast ) and it sent the oil gauge off the end - much to my horror. Once I had twigged that the sensor/sender (same thing) needs to be calibrated to the gauge I was ok.
I tried to wire up the Racetech gauge to the BMW oil temperature sender wire, but this seemed to bugger up the Motronic system - the BMW oil temperature sender is on the top right of the front of the engine next to the outlet oil pipe that heads for the oil cooler but the wire from the RID runs down to the left side of the engine where the oil cooler inlet pipe returns to the engine. I think the positioning is co-incidental - this is where the Motronic information gets fed back in. I think the BMW sensor sends two signals: one to the RID and the other to the Motronic system which tweaks the fuel injection according to the engine temperature. Shame, as it would be the simple option. Initially I put a T piece into the oil cooler hose to take the temperature, but it was a bit ugly so I threaded one of the engine blanks at the bottom inside the plastic front engine cover. This does not touch the oil but is regarded as giving a good readout as the engine should be at its hottest here.
In order to get rid off the rather chunky R1150R instruments and raise the headlight a bit, I am thinking of fitting either an Acewell computer system or one from Motogadget in Germany - nice but pricey. I am working through how all the bits can be connected up.
I would welcome any comments or observations from anyone with experience on the above. Now that I have checked the oil temperature, part of me agrees with Steptoe [who knows a lot more than I do, by a long way] that I might just forget about it now that I know that it is broadly OK and stop fretting.
Sorry to be long winded.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Psyko.
- must offer them round someday. 
