Amazon oil cooler

[wedooit]

Out of curiosity what was the price on that unit, mjstef?

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by o2jmpr

I guess I need a "for dummies" explanation of the install. When you say your feeding from the bottom, do you mean the cooler or the engine? Your oil screen hose is on the bottom of the cooler, so if you were feeding to the cooler, then the particulates it catches seems like they would just fall back down the hose to the engine when it was shut off.

I don't understand the relationship of top feed vs bottom. Liquids always find their own level, so it seems when the bike was shut off, the oil in the hoses would always run back down to the oil level in the block and leave a little bit trapped in the cooler itself so you would always be starting the engine with a bit of air in the system unless you put check valves on both hoses when the cooler is mounted anywhere above the engine.

Help fix my ignorance I did order this cooler kit.

On the adapter one of the lines runs to the center which is the suction line from the pump. The pump will act as a check valve so run that one to the bottom of the cooler. The line on top of the cooler sucks oil from the base of the engine. When setting it up connect all lines up except for the top line on cooler. The kit includes a syringe that you will use to fill the cooler before connecting the top line. When you get the kit feel free to ask me any question.

[o2jmpr]

Ok thanks!

I misunderstood then, I thought the oil was circulating from bottom of the cooler to the top not top to bottom and that fixes the oil strainer issue I made in my mind.

[krawl]

I am on the fence with the oil cooler, I understand the benefits of longer oil life and more oil for particles to get trapped in, but has anyone overheated their 229's to need a cooler?

I'm just thinking that adding more points of possible oil leaks on the trail may not be worth it especially if you change your oil more often. Is this just a solution to a non problem or does this really benefit the engine and outweigh the one con I can think of?

[ChipToothy]

One thing to be said, the Amazon cooler is very nice and my synthetic oil still hasn’t turned black from install 1,100 miles ago. The little cooler does it’s job really well for durn sure.

[mjstef]

Originally Posted by wedooit

Out of curiosity what was the price on that unit, mjstef?

If i was to order 50 at once i could sell them for $99 and make around $8-$10 each after shipping. Wasn't worth laying the $3,800 to order them in......

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by ChipToothy

One thing to be said, the Amazon cooler is very nice and my synthetic oil still hasn’t turned black from install 1,100 miles ago. The little cooler does it’s job really well for durn sure.

The oil cooler will extend the oil life. That was one of the first things I noticed.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by krawl

I am on the fence with the oil cooler, I understand the benefits of longer oil life and more oil for particles to get trapped in, but has anyone overheated their 229's to need a cooler?

I'm just thinking that adding more points of possible oil leaks on the trail may not be worth it especially if you change your oil more often. Is this just a solution to a non problem or does this really benefit the engine and outweigh the one con I can think of?

One of the main reasons I added the oil cooler in the first place was because I do a good bit of off-road trail riding. One place I ride the trails are going trough a heavily wooded area with steep hills and creeks where i'm traveling at a very slow pace so the engine doesn't get the cooling effect as you would riding the streets. An air cooled engine will heat up quickly especially when the temperatures are in the upper 90's. I am also running a higher compression than stock so it's a must need for me.

[OneLeggedRider]

I had the same questions about the necessity of the oil cooler. Because my little Fourtrax 200D idles and putts around in the woods at 5mph for hours at a time, and has been doing so for 25yrs with the original factory spark plug. I've never done anything to it other than change the oil, and clean the carb every few years. That being said it's probably the most dependable motor Honda ever produced and was engineered to be bulletproof.

However I do plan on putting a cooler on the Hawk just because of fiddling with the airbox, exhaust, and carb. It seems no matter what I do it's still running a little lean so I figure a cooler engine temp couldn't hurt.

[Megadan]

It was already stated, but I will second that it extends oil life. More importantly, stable oil temps also mean the oil retains it's shear and film strength and can do its job better. Better clutch life, bearing life, etc. Is it absolutely necessary? Not really. Does it help? Absolutely. These engines are pretty harsh to oil, and the engine temps might not seem extreme the oil is retaining a lot of the heat, so giving it a place to shed it from outside the cases really helps.

While it can help with low speed engine temps to a degree, the coolers wont do much at low speed unless you put a fan on it with a thermostatic switch. One area it does make a difference is pushing the engines hard at higher speeds, especially on hot days.

The reduced clutch fade is a rather nice addition as well.

Also keep in mind there is another type of cooler out there that can be used, which is the valve cover style. This is a pressurized cooler system that takes the feed going to the head, sends it to a cooler, and then back to the head.

[dpl096]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

I had the same questions about the necessity of the oil cooler. Because my little Fourtrax 200D idles and putts around in the woods at 5mph for hours at a time, and has been doing so for 25yrs with the original factory spark plug. I've never done anything to it other than change the oil, and clean the carb every few years. That being said it's probably the most dependable motor Honda ever produced and was engineered to be bulletproof.

However I do plan on putting a cooler on the Hawk just because of fiddling with the airbox, exhaust, and carb. It seems no matter what I do it's still running a little lean so I figure a cooler engine temp couldn't hurt.

I had a fourtrax 200sx years ago and you're absolutely right...bullet proof engine. I sold it and to this day regret doing so. It was a workhorse. That one isn't mine but identical.. Great 4wheeler

[Wild Dog]

Originally Posted by OneLeggedRider

I had the same questions about the necessity of the oil cooler. Because my little Fourtrax 200D idles and putts around in the woods at 5mph for hours at a time, and has been doing so for 25yrs with the original factory spark plug. I've never done anything to it other than change the oil, and clean the carb every few years. That being said it's probably the most dependable motor Honda ever produced and was engineered to be bulletproof.

However I do plan on putting a cooler on the Hawk just because of fiddling with the airbox, exhaust, and carb. It seems no matter what I do it's still running a little lean so I figure a cooler engine temp couldn't hurt.

Most of the things done here are not a "YOU MUST DO IT OR YOUR ENGINE WILL GRENADE!!!"

Most of the owners of the CG xxx run the first 625 miles (in metric countries the first oil change is done at the 1000 km mark) with the factory oil no problem. Sames goes with the brake fluid, until it turns brown they keep using it. They run the torch branded spark plug for like forever.

I will speak for myself, i do most of the mods because i like to work on mechanical things. Plus i know that the motorcycle that i put on the motorcycle better parts that will make things a bit better.
Hell i even know people, that put an original crf 230 piston on their cg 230.
Same diameter and same pin diameter.

TLDR: Not needed but a nice thing to have.

[Sochin]

I decided to get the oil cooler from Amazon, when I use my Hawk for work commute it gets to scream at 8k rpm for 25 miles one way. Just to keep the oil stability for longer, it is worth it.

[Megadan]

I have the same cooler as Chiptoothy it seems. It is a 125ml capacity cooler, and with the volume of the lines included it takes about 250-300ml of oil on top of the roughly 1.2-ish quarts the bike already takes. Basically adding about 25% more capacity to the system. I mounted mine up about as high as it can go, both on the bike physically, and the limit of the cooler lines as well.



The fender previously being spaced down at the rear mounts about 5mm bought it just enough room for the cooler to fit there. Yes, the fender is going to block some airflow to the cooler, but enough of the core gets airflow as it is that it doesn't harm it's ability to cool. I do have a fender I plan to buy in the future that has slots in that part of the fender that should aid with airflow there if I decide it needs it. Even with 50 degree air temps that cooler gets quite warm. A big advantage of this cooler location is that it doesn't block any airflow to the engine itself.

I also noticed my idle get much more consistent. I can only assume my cylinder head temps are more stable as well. If you plan on bumping up the compression then I would definitely recommend some type of oil cooling. At least the valve cover style.

[JerryHawk250]

Originally Posted by Megadan

I have the same cooler as Chiptoothy it seems. It is a 125ml capacity cooler, and with the volume of the lines included it takes about 250-300ml of oil on top of the roughly 1.2-ish quarts the bike already takes. Basically adding about 25% more capacity to the system. I mounted mine up about as high as it can go, both on the bike physically, and the limit of the cooler lines as well.



The fender previously being spaced down at the rear mounts about 5mm bought it just enough room for the cooler to fit there. Yes, the fender is going to block some airflow to the cooler, but enough of the core gets airflow as it is that it doesn't harm it's ability to cool. I do have a fender I plan to buy in the future that has slots in that part of the fender that should aid with airflow there if I decide it needs it. Even with 50 degree air temps that cooler gets quite warm. A big advantage of this cooler location is that it doesn't block any airflow to the engine itself.

I also noticed my idle get much more consistent. I can only assume my cylinder head temps are more stable as well. If you plan on bumping up the compression then I would definitely recommend some type of oil cooling. At least the valve cover style.

All you need to do now Dan is mount that skid plate to protect the hoses.