Engine (Oil?) Temp - how to get it to show temporarily on the display

[ryaninetyone]

Good info on displaying the Temp. So the consensus is that it's engine temp right?  Side note....I got to talking with a Big Dog chopper rep at a Bike rally a few years back and he explained to me that the Raider's cylinder's are designed in such a way, with certain materials so that you could close it in a shipping container and idle a whole tank of gas through it and it would never overheat or damage the cylinders. The subject came up between us because I was admiring the external oil cooler on one of the Big Dog's and he claimed you don't really need it on the Raider except for looks and he was definitely bragging about the Raider which, coming from a Big Dog Rep was kinda cool. Does anyone know any Yamaha Tech Reps that can back this up? Surely somebody has the connection         

[RoadStarRaider]

[Zxdave]

If that was the case I wonder why Yamaha put a auto shut off for long idle times?? (20 mins I think)

[SilverStar]

If that was the case I wonder why Yamaha put a auto shut off for long idle times?? (20 mins I think)

Can't really speak for Yamaha, but why would you want it to idle for more than twenty minutes?  Even ten?  As I understand it, if you start it cold and let it idle the heads warm up but the oil won't xompletely warm up until there's some load on it.  So running it with warm heads and cold oil isn't the greatest thing for it.  Another thought, just because the engine is designed not to overheat at idle it doesn't mean it can't suffer heat damage.  Looking at it from Yamaha's view, you know that no matter how you design it, somewhere in the general populace there are the few individuals who can screw up a wet dream, and if I'm corporate Yamaha, I don't want those individuals to screw up MY motorcycle.  I'm going to idiotproof it as much as possible.

[ROADKILL]

Good info on displaying the Temp. So the consensus is that it's engine temp right?  Side note....I got to talking with a Big Dog chopper rep at a Bike rally a few years back and he explained to me that the Raider's cylinder's are designed in such a way, with certain materials so that you could close it in a shipping container and idle a whole tank of gas through it and it would never overheat or damage the cylinders. The subject came up between us because I was admiring the external oil cooler on one of the Big Dog's and he claimed you don't really need it on the Raider except for looks and he was definitely bragging about the Raider which, coming from a Big Dog Rep was kinda cool. Does anyone know any Yamaha Tech Reps that can back this up? Surely somebody has the connection         

You let any air cooled bike sit and idle for an extended period of time you're going to damage the engine - putting an oil cooler on a Raider is not just for looks - people that ride in areas that are prone to extreme heat have added them as extra protection - did they need to or not isn't the point - it makes them feel more confident in their ride...as for the Bid Dog rep...I can see why he works for BD instead of Yamaha.........and as someone else has already said Yamaha has a safety built in to prevent the Raider from sitting at idle for over 20 minutes.

[ryaninetyone]

I think you guys may have gotten the wrong impression. I was just stating what the Rep said, which reflects the durability of our engines. In No way was I encouraging folks to idle tanks of gas through their bikes nor was I discouraging anyone from installing an oil cooler. I know I'm saying it wrong but the rep claimed the cylinder was coated with Nickel chromium or a close name to that. No he didn't say Nikasil or whatever is commonly coated on 2 stroke cylinders. I know full well that he could've been blowing smoke at me all together but he was definitely proud of our 1854's Engineering so I thought pick your guys' brains on it. Thanks again.

[marcelmot]

Let's go back with some posts ...

Does anybody here set an aftermarket engine temp gauge on the Raider ?

It would be awesome to have the engine temp displayed, when riding !!

[Marine]

So I been thinking about this oil temp gauge. So why didn't yamha just program it into the bike? If I am not mistaken it should be can? Right? Use the selection switch... I do retro fits on laser and plasma and water jets. So yamaha it would have taken like 10 min to program to be able to see it on the display screen!  Love the bike, but I think it should be able to do so much more. I belive my bike is getting hot as well. I work 28 miles from my shop. Shop, home, 228 degrees. I FULLY UNDERSTAND AIR COOLED ENGINES. But again no cooler?

[Hi-Road]

If that was the case I wonder why Yamaha put a auto shut off for long idle times?? (20 mins I think)

I blame the lawyers.... 

[Mr. T]

So I been thinking about this oil temp gauge. So why didn't yamha just program it into the bike? If I am not mistaken it should be can? Right? Use the selection switch... I do retro fits on laser and plasma and water jets. So yamaha it would have taken like 10 min to program to be able to see it on the display screen!  Love the bike, but I think it should be able to do so much more. I belive my bike is getting hot as well. I work 28 miles from my shop. Shop, home, 228 degrees. I FULLY UNDERSTAND AIR COOLED ENGINES. But again no cooler?

Well, I don't... 

But I live/ride in Houston and during the summer you can easily hit 100+ heat... stuck in traffic, and my Raider has NEVER skipped a beat.  So, why have one if not needed?   

[LeaderDuece]

It's not really that hard to install an oil temp gauge. I installed dual coolers on my downturns on my Warrior. To direct oil to the coolers you install a sandwich plate between the oil filter and the filter mount. You don't need a fancy 100 dollar one made for motorcycles. I got a nice billet one made for cars in Amazon for about 25 bucks. These sandwich plates have multiple ports in them. I installed an oil temp sensor in one port, and an oil pressure line in another port. The sensor is electronic, so I just ran the line back to the gauge. the sensor came with my gauge. I got a small 2 inch gauge made for cars and built my own bracket for it. I also ran an oil line back to an oil pressure gauge and mounted that on another bracket. I think that gauge was made for bikes, but I don't remember. Originally I had a liquid filled one, but the liquid funks up over time so I replaced it with a regular one. Still works after two years.

I'm attaching a couple of pics on how the setup looks.

[CHROMINATOR]

Damn LeaderDuece, that is slick as hell.  Very nice job... 

[LeaderDuece]

Thanks. That gauge also reads volts for one minute when you turn the bike on. So in that pic, it's reading 12.3 volts.

I average about 180-200 degrees, although I have hit about 215, and that was pretty hot. I wish I knew what it used to average before I put the coolers on, just to see the difference.

[PaulyD]

Hey,

My friend has an '08 Yamaha cruiser (Not the Raider - a Stratoliner) Same engine as the raider though.  His has a Oil cooler on it from the factory.

That's why I started to think of adding one too.

My Raider threw an over heat code... IT happened when I was doing skills training on an obstacle course. Sucker got way hot

[Zxdave]

Hey,

My friend has an '08 Yamaha cruiser (Not the Raider - a Stratoliner) Same engine as the raider though.  His has a Oil cooler on it from the factory.

That's why I started to think of adding one too.

My Raider threw an over heat code... IT happened when I was doing skills training on an obstacle course. Sucker got way hot

there's your problem.... raiders don't like to go that slow !! ;-)

[ernie]

Tell me about your air cleaner set up?