OIL COOLERS

Bwhahahaha If I were trying to sell something, I doubt I would use an engine that looked like that. Permatex Copper seems to be the feature here. I am sure a tube of that stuff must be cheaper than a gasket kit but it sure is unsightly, and has been pointed out, when you put the cover on, it gets chopped off on the inside and ends up SOMEWHERE inside the engine... usually covering the oil pump screen.

As far as oil coolers, the smartest option is to buy one with a thermostat. I had an oil cooler on one of my KZ900s that I used to ride into San Antonio to work every day. I installed an oil temp gauge and noticed that on cold days, with the cooler installed, the oil didn't reach operating temps for almost 15 miles on days when the temps were under 50 degrees. A thermostat controlled oil cooler won't allow oil through the cooler and runs it through a bypass till the oil temp is up high enough. This means you will have to spend a couple more bucks but it is well worth it. See www.jpcycles.com - This is a Harley oriented company but remember that a Harley is air cooled and they sell LOTS of thermostat controlled quality oil coolers. Just buy the fittings from eBay and run oil lines to the cooler from the fittings.

I don't have a thermostat on my cooler mounted to my 650 so in the winter I cut out a piece of cardboard and cover the cooler with it. This brings my temps back up and it's cheap.

An in-line restrictor can slow the flow of oil through the cooler, allowing the oil to stay in the radiator longer. This works, cooling the oil on hotter summer days but when you want the oil to stay hot on those colder days, it won't work.

Use an oil temperature gauge, with the probe in the oil pan. With oil and outside air as the only means of cooling out engines, "You gots-ta know."

Lockhart might still sell its oil cooler thermostats. I bought one from Lockhart a couple of years ago.

Otherwise, pick up a VW (air-cooled) Beetle magazine at the newstands and you'll probably find ads in it for oil cooler thermostats.

I remember being appalled at the prices for oil-stats in motorcycle catalogs. That's why I got one from Summit Racing. Cost about $15, IIRC. Just a little piece with two inlets and two outlets to put between the engine and the cooler. Same story with the cooler itself. A good stacked-plate transmission cooler of the proper size will work better at a lower cost than most of what is marketed as motorcycle oil-coolers.