Took the bike (1997 900ss) out for a spin yesterday and noticed the temperature was reading just shy of 100*C It wasn’t a particularly hot day, the riding involved a mixture of roads from fast motorways to country lanes. I’m sure it’s always been around the 90* mark or at 12 o’clock. Bike ran well and sounded beautiful as always! Has anyone any ideas for the hike?
The sensor is measuring the oil temp as I remember, so it's good to be concerned. Could be the sensor or the gauge? Check oil level (I know - you've done that!)... Clean the oil cooler...
I've to say i was on the 998 that very hot wednesday just gone and the temperature gauge was hitting that mark everytime,but the other bikes have been reading the same amount in last couple of weeks.With warm temperatures and not travelling fast enough on the highway in any available cool air ......if you can find any that is.
Oil is at its best when it is running at above 100c, it will evaporate any moisture off at that temperature. Maximum temperature for a mineral oil is around 140c, synthetic is much higher.
I wish I had a photo of the double-oil-cooler setup I did on my SS (for track time & cos I just wanted to!). I mounted them vertically inside the front of the fairings.
If you want to see the ultimate oil cooler setup then look for a company called Laminova. Their oil cooler sits inside the water coolant line so that the oil warms up quickly. It is a very effective system that is used on many aero piston engines.
I agree that 100 deg c is not a concern for an oil/ air cooled engine with decent oil, but I prefer to keep it below 110 ish where possible for the max life of the oil additives, and to keep heat soak to the fuel system as low as possible as IME they can start to play up with fuel vapourisation / heat soak Issues etc. (Not to mention the rear shock rebound damping going South!) when the temp in the vee gets higher. The track 900ss hits 130 deg c towards the end of a 20 min session with the standard cooler.
