Oil cooler yea or na

My 900 is the usual Lockhart but my 650 is a Derail(sp?) it goes to the oil filter spin off cap on the bottom of the engine. I have not see many like it. I did see a write up in an old magazine about it that gave it good reviews.

As for do I want one..yes..do I really need one?...no at least not on my 650. It's stock and my climate is moderate but I feel it helps nonetheless. Personal opinion worth 2 cents. My 900 is pumped so yes I want and have one on her.

Patton thats looks pretty good, I like it! I dont particulary want to junk it I just am looking for a cleaner look and the unique routing that Patton has looks good. I think that I am going to give that a try! Thanks!!

Keep in mind that most of the info posted so far is for the 900/1000 motors.
I don't know how the aftermarket coolers are routed, but the easiest way by far on a 650/750 motor is to use a GPz750 oil pan. The oil passage from the pump on the 650/750 motors is routed down into the pan then back up to the motor, the GPz pans just separate the channel for one out and one in, and have ports on the pan for the cooler lines.

I recommend that an oil cool only be used if it has a by-pass valve. When the temps are cool, you don't want oil circulating through a cooler. This keeps oil temps from reaching operating temperature for an inordinate amount of time. If you are interested in doing oil coolers right, go look at the JPCYCLES.com Harley catalog. There are a WIDE variety of coolers with by-passes built in. Some would look good on a KZ. They also sell the accessory braided covers that make the ugly black hoses look a bit better.

I live in Texas and I wish I could afford a cooler for my bikes. If you have one, keep it. It may take a bit longer to warm up the engine but is worth it in the long run....chris3

The GPZ oil pan will fit on my LTD?

Interesting! Steell is it the pan or is it the oil filter cover? I bought a Derale oil cooler that fit the 650B. It had the lines and went to fittings on a oil filter cover. Said it was on a 650. I put it on and it fit. But now you mention it I think it had a raised rail on it. Could it be a GPZ 750 oil filter cover is interchangable to a 650 and the pan does not need to be changed in whole?

wiredgeorge wrote:

... the accessory braided covers that make the ugly black hoses look a bit better.

If preferring the braided look, be sure to use a soft finish plastic/nylon braid and not stainless steel or other metallic braid. The lines do run along in direct contact with painted parts (frame and fuel tank) and wiring, and metallic braid will likely chafe and rub the paint off anywhere it touches, and could possibly rub through wiring insulation.

One thing about the ugly black hoses is that a charateristic of flat black color is that it sort of disappears into the background which helps it go unnoticed. And besides --- it matches the cooler. :laugh:

That's the reason for earlier mentioning possibility of mounting the cooler "upside-down" whereby the lines would more quickly disappear underneath the fuel tank.

Now, for those with a big pretty sparkling chrome cooler, nice gaudy matching bright braided lines would seem a must. :laugh:

Good luck with whatever is decided!

It's the entire oil pan on the GPz750's, the inlet and outlet is on the front of the pan.

The GPz750 pan will fit all the 650's and 750's, I sold three or four to members here for both.
Only have one pan and oil cooler set up left, and it's going on my 80 KZ750E

Kawasaki didn't think a bypass was needed, since they didn't put one on the gPz750's.

I don't think the GPz750 was designed to be ridden when it was really cold though

I'm looking for a GPZ oil pan right now, but I'm not having much luck.

kxhonda wrote:

I'm looking for a GPZ oil pan right now, but I'm not having much luck.

The oil pan on a ZR750 (Zephyr) also has an integrated oil cooler with the lines run to the front of the oil pan, and just happens to use the exact same pan gasket that's used on the KZ650's/KZ750-4's.
So basically, the 750 Zephyr oil pan should also be a direct bolt-on to any KZ650/KZ750-4.

The 750 Zephyr was made for fewer years than the GPz750's, so finding a used oil pan from one might prove even more difficult than one from a GPz. But the Zephyr being a newer model (last year was '92 or '93 IIRC?), chances are that a NOS oil pan can still be bought through Maw Kaw.

I'm running GPz750 oil pans/coolers on my '78 KZ650 and my '84 ZN700 LTD (basically a de-stroked KZ750-4) here in So Calif, and it DOES make a big diff during the summer, especially in rush-hour traffic!

Here's a few pics (click to enlarge) of the GPz oil cooler and pan on my ZN700.







If you want to see how I mounted the pan and cooler on my 650, just let me know.

Womder if would work for my 82 750 LTD Toooo !!!!