Oil Cooling

[renagade]

What does the team think to this idea. Get two smaall cooling fans (the typw used to cool the CPU in your computer)and mount them just in front of the oil coolers on the fuel tank (1150 R ) so as they came on when the ignition was switched. This I am sure would give that little bit of help to the oil when things start to get hot ?????????


Just a thought.

[DJ Downunder]

Sounds good to me...

DJ

[B52G]

I would like to have an on /off switch,so in cooler weather you could keep them off. If you mount them in front of the oil coolers you could hide them with screens that are already on the market. BTW on EBAY the was a guy selling oil cooler screen for about $10.00 ,I got one and they are great, especially since seeing them on some web sites going for well over $100.00

[Lobo1625]

Same thought I had about CPU cooling fans. You'd have to do some testing to see if it actually made a difference. I know a lot of people here were concerned about airflow with the screens, and I wonder if a fan would inhibit airflow after a certain speed. I am personally surprised BMW didn't put something on the coolers in the first place.

[yjleesvrr]

Given the small surface area of the oil coolers, a fan (even a small one) would inhibit air flow through the oil coolers when the bike is moving. It would on the other hand help if you're at a standstill in rush hour. I think the engineering issue involves size and what percentage of the surface area of the oil cooler is blocked by the non-moving parts of a fan. The higher the ratio, the lower the effectiveness. You need to be able to shield the fan motor assembly from road debris. This requires a covering for the motor assembly which will block out the wind. If the oil coolers were larger, this would not be a problem.

[Wass]

The police version of the 1150RT is sometimes equipped with oil cooler fans. I don't know if its an aftermarket accessory or a factory option, but they do exist. They seem to be more the size of an AV style 'muffin' fan than a small cpu type fan.

[Sit]

I had thought the same thing about the fans, you can find some very small ones on the web for cheap. My thought was to put the fan behind the cooler and draw air through it, that way it would not bloke air flow. The screens I have on my bike have not affected airflow from what I can tell and with a fan running on the outflow side, I dont think there would be any negative effects. My concern though, how weather proof are these little fans and how much airflow are they actually going to create. If they can be switched off in the cooler months, are they just going to rust and fall a part or short out the first time it rains? I have tried to find a parts fische for the RTP to see what the size of the fan is on them, but have not had any luck yet.

[johno]

BMW spend $millions on engineering,and testing of there products, so I think I will trust there decision on what they use.
How many oil heads have you heard of blowing up?
How many have done over 100,000 ks with no problems?
I dont want to sound negative about this subject, but, unless doing a lot
of stop start traffic work in a hot city, no point.

[renagade]

Hi Johno
I understand what you say, it's just that all my life I have had water cooled jap bikes and this is my first oilhead and while it is cold out now (yorkshir uk )well you know what I mean.I just want to protect my RR.

[baltm604]

Before going to all the trouble of mounting fans and temp controls, track down the two examples I have seen (I think cyclerob's is in the faq section?) and install a temp gauge.

I really like the install where the clock was replaced with a temp gauge, it looked factory!

Knowing the real engine temp before re-engineering the cooling system will help you also know when the bike is not getting up to a good operating temp (I have to partially block the oil coolers from december to march otherwise the engine does not get up to temp to burn off bad stuff that gets into the oil every time you start the bike).

This would also give you a reference point for judging the real need for fans and under which conditions.

Bill

[acejones]

I think the BMW engineers did the job right. I ride in the Coastal Gulf South of the US where its hotter than hell in the summer. I don't think your bike in great Britain is going to be bothered by what you call heat there.

[m@rco]

I agree with Acejones and Jono. Wouldn't you think that BMW had thought about this? Personally, I don't think that these small fans will do a great job. Few points to consider: 1) Placing the fan in front or behind the cooler has the same effect on total airflow. That is, the static parts reduce the airflow simply because of reduced pressure over the cooler. 2) I am not sure if the cooling fan can resist the heat. Have you ever stuck your hand (without cloves) in the cooler outlet?!? 3) Rain, debris, and the forces of the airflow at high speeds may easily break your fan. That may clog up the cooler and worsen the cooling capacity afterall. I am sure you have experienced the forces that your body has to take at high speeds.

Anyways, apart from all theories, I drove my bike to Croatia this summer and was stuck in heavy city traffic at 37C for quite some time, and the engine did just fine. I was more concerned about my own body temperature while wearing a fully protective suit....

[jm1515]

Haven't done a cooling fan, but this is my experience w/ oil cooler screens....

http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=11437

Had a set & took them off...I don't think I want anything obstructing those oil coolers. A fan would have to really push some air to be effective.

[zooomart]

I had the same idea/worry when stuck in a traffic jam this past summer . The conclusion I came to was... I use synthetic oil and probably change it before it loses it additives anyway. I don't think the motor sees enough overheating abuse here in tropical Ohio to make much difference. I agree a temp gauge is best first step, but then what? PowerPoint graphs of time v. temperature