How to install an oil radiator on a Harley-Davidson Twin Cam

In this article we are going to talk about a very important issue in the Big Twin engines: air cooling.

Aircooled PowerTrain
Indeed, the engine of our Milwaukee locomotive evacuates heat from the operation of the engine directly in the air that wraps it (unless your motorcycle is a V-ROD). As we all know, when it is hot we appreciate having a close fan or an air stream that refreshes us a bit. Well, this exactly is what our engine also needs: air current.
The only effective way to maintain an adequate temperature in this type of engines is moving, in this way we favor the circulation of air between the fins and components of the engine and therefore an adequate heat transfer. This means that in slow traffic, traffic lights, etc. The engine does not have sufficient refrigeration capacity, reaching critical temperatures that we have to avoid.

The radiator
Another point to especially keep in mind if you live or wheels in countries with warm summers is that summer temperatures can test any air -cooled vehicle, even if they are moving, especially those enhanced or very loaded.
One way to improve cooling is installing a Oil radiator, since cooling a little the oil that runs inside the engine we will contribute to the temperature of it. In the tests that we have performed between 10 and 12 ° C, which is not bad.
We will proceed to the installation of a Harley Davidson's oil radiator kit, which comes with all the necessary components so that in a matter of an hour and a half everything is ready.

We start with the adapter

To start we remove the oil filter and clean everything, and look at the nut that holds the filter.

Then with a glass key we unscrew this piece.

We then proceed to place the adapter provided the KIT, which is installed with a joint and with a new thread.

We presented it where the oil filter was previously going and we tightened at the recommended tightening torque in the instructions.

We continue with the radiator
We are now going to place the radiator in its place, between the chassis tubes with the help of the plastic clamps provided in the kit.

We are already prepared to install the sleeves or oil ducts. These ducts come preformed and with brands that indicate the upper and lower part, so we have to look well in the instructions so that everything is connected correctly.

Once we have located them we hold them with the clamps provided in the kit.

Final checks
Well, we already have our brand new radiated, we install a new oil filter again and then we start the motorcycle.

We must verify that the oil pressure indicator light goes out and that there are no leaks in the system. Finally we will heat the engine at operational temperature and check the oil level following the indications of the manufacturer's workshop manual, adding oil until obtaining the right level (we will generally need about 150cc more having installed the radiator).

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley