What should the oil temperature be on a Harley Davidson v-twin.  I have a 2007 Road Gide and just got one of those cool digital oil temperature thermometers for father;s day.  When it is around 90 degrees outside, my oil temperature is around 255 degrees.  Is that right, or is that too hot.  Since I never had a thermometer before, I have no idea what the engine or oil temperature normally is.

HotWired,

255° is not that unusual for a Harley depending on the conditions. Can you tell us a little more about the bike and riding...

Is it a stock 96 cubic inch motor, are you running motor oil or synthetic lube?

When the temp is at 255° are you in traffic or moving slow? What is the temp immediately after a ride at 55 mph or more?

I think I read that Harley says the standard operating temp for a big twin is 230 degress. I have a 95" with some head work and cams.... The hottest I have had mine is 224. That was in the Redwoods with the air temp of 105. I have an oil cooler and I aways run Amsoil.. Have you done any engine mods ? www.jlh-oils.com

To answer Lucky's questions;

It is a stock 96 cubic inch motor. The only change is I added SuperTrap slipons.

I am running regular HD motor oil, not synthetic

I see the temp at 255 degrees when running around town. Usually look down at it when stopped at a light. The lowest I have seen it is 240 degrees just after getting off the freeway where I was running low RPMs in 6th gear at around 70 mph.

Hotwired, 255 degrees is definitely not out of range for the 96 ci v-twin motor. Especially around town in the warm summer weather. You could certainly drop that 10 to 15 degrees by going to synthetic lube in place of the motor oil. The synthetic will reduce friction which is what causes the heat.

I am assuming that you change your oil and filter as recommended. One thing that will cause the oil tempurature to rise slightly, is a dirty oil filter. If the oil flow is restricted, the oil will get hotter.

I am not big on oil coolers for anyone who doesn't live in the desert, even then they really don't do all that much, especially around town with a lot of stop and go --- which is where you need it the most. The oil cooler can only cool the oil when there is air flowing around it, and even in HOT weather, 60 mph air flow is enough to keep the engine at its proper temp.

Bottom line is, which has been said here and many other places, the Harley Davidson v-twin is an air cooled engine that runs very hot. It was designed that way and runs well that way.

Got to agree with Bailout on the oil cooler. I live in AZ where the teperature is always 100 degrees plus in the summer. I put the Harley Davidson oil cooler kit on and found that it did only help when moving. If I am in traffic my oil temp is always 255 or more.

Definitely change over to synthetic and your temp will go down. Mine ran anywhere from 225º in the wind to 240º+ in the city. When I changed over the synthetic it started running at 220 - 230. Hardly ever see it above 235 now except on REAL hot days in traffic.

I ride a 1200 Custom with some mild performance work and as far as I know (I have a gauge)230 is tops recomended.I use synthetic and normally stay around 210 at 80 mph on a hot day.Stop and go stuff might get as bad as 220 plus:-(

Thanks for all of the input. I did switch to synthetic about 2 weeks ago. The temp has been around 240 in stop and go. But it has been OVER 100 degrees here everyday since I changed the oil. Once the weather gets below 90 again, I will let you know what the oil temp is. That way its apples to apples.

Hello, I also have a 2007,Its an ultra classic with lower fairings so my engine gets LESS AIR,I live in Miami where its 90 plus almost everyday,I have a oil cooler and still my bike runs at 250 degrees most times untill I had the the 103 big bore kit installed, now it runs in the 230 area,Harley says thats because of EPA standards in which they believe in whole heartedly, Harley's are made to turn off when running too hot so not to damage the motor.
ALSO Harley has a PROGRAM in which they down load into your bike to shut one CYLINDER OFF when you stop at lights to keep the temp down when it hits a certain tempature,You should ask them about this,They downloaded this for me FREE!!!!!!!! PS, I also run synthetic!!!!

Howzit... Read this article a while back on ETIMS which stands for Engine Temperature Idle Management System.. Pretty much covers all the info on the system in layman terms. We just did a bunch of riding through some pretty hot city driving. And you sure can tell when the ETIMS kicks in... The bike motor sound like it's huffing and puffing but the temp does stay manageable.

URL is: http://www.hdtalking.com/diagnostics_and_fuel_injection_related/2728-etims_activation_08_bikes.html />
Good luck.

Normal Operating Temp is 260 degrees, the Twin Cam has an amazing high temp tolerance... I've measured mine up to 348 degrees on the cylinders using a external temp gauge.

I run the synthetic in mine I stayed around 225 to 235 on hot days. I just added an oil cooler to my bike and it dropped the temp another 10 degrees I run 215 to 225 even on the hot summer day in the houston traffic. I have heard there is a lot of conterversy of running oil coolers but I kinda think the cooler I keep it during the summer the better off I am.

An operating temp of 200- 210 degrees will extend the life of any V twin engine. If aircraft engines ran as hot as Harleys the FAA. would ground them.

I still ride an ironhead sporty. That's why 60 weight oil gets used during summer and 20-50 gets used when it's cold. While stationed in Hawaii I learned about the Harley Davidson Chopper Oil Cooler. This link shows mine and how it works in hot big big cities like Honolulu. This summer good luck. good luck.

Full Synthetic oil works for me and I ride all summer thru the deserts on the way to our friends house in 29 Palms. I'm using Mobil 1 20w50 right now and have for years. I'm only catching fire on the legs anymore when were at Sturgis walking the bike thru town. I'm gonna try Amsoil on my next oil change to see how the their oil works.

my runs between 150 and 200

Heat is not the enemy of your engine as much as dirty oil and improper shift positions... if you're riding around town and your RPMs are below 2,000 then you're wrong, you need to shift down and ride in a lower gear. I have seen many do this and I wonder to myself, why don't these big fancy MoCo dealerships clue their customers in? Anyway, change your oil regularly, ride in the proper gear ranges and stay on top of your maints schedule.

Run some Amsoil in your bike to cool it down some and protect your engine better.

AMSOIL Synthetic 20W-50 Motorcycle Oil (MCV) is a premium oil designed for those who demand the absolute best lubrication for their motorcycles. AMSOIL MCV is the result of extensive research, and it is specially formulated to excel in all areas unique to motorcycles, including high temperatures of air-cooled engines such as Harley Davidson® V-Twin, wet clutch lubrication, extreme pressure regions of gears and chains and rust common to short trips and storage.

AMSOIL MCV is multi-functional and fulfills the requirements of both domestic and foreign motorcycles. It outperforms other conventional and synthetic motorcycle oil.

AMSOIL, the leader in synthetic lubrication, produced the world’s first API qualified synthetic motor oil in 1972. Trust the extensive experience of AMSOIL The First in Synthetics® to do the best job protecting your motorcycle.

Reduces Friction, Heat and Wear
In high heat conditions, engine protection is not sacrificed with AMSOIL Synthetic Motorcycle Oil. It has exceptional
high-temperature film strength and contains a heavy treatment of anti-wear additives to reduce wear regardless of the
operating conditions. AMSOIL 20W-50 Motorcycle Oil is thermally (heat) stable and contains maximum levels of oxidation inhibitor additives. It is extremely resistant to breakdown and engineered to prevent damaging sludge and
carbon deposits for superior engine cleanliness.

I use AMS oil too:-) Guilty!

Last august i bought a 2002 fat boy with 800 miles  
I had all the fluids change.
i got 2500 miles on the bike now  i also put a harley oil cooler on it being that i live in south fl
 i want to put synthetic oil but harley said to wait until i have 5000 miles
what are your thought on this should i wait?.
thanks
jocobass