Oil temp gauge R100rt

[MIAirhead]

I just got a 84 RT, it has a Temp gauge for the oil. How in the 'H' do you check the oil?
I just quickly tried to remove the temp gauge and check oil, but have yet found a way to do that. It has a dial for the gauge, and a big nut under the gauge.

[squiffynimrod]

I've got a Luftmeister one on the 85. The dial will unscrew from the base, but when I try to remove it it hits the petcock and won't come out. So I have to unscrew the large nut like fitting from the block to be able to tilt it enough to remove the dipstick/dial assembly. I estimate the height I add for having the nut unscrewed when checking the oil. Kind of a cool thing but a PITA really. I'll probably get rid of it and go with the standard dipstick.

Steve

[rocketman]

I've often wondered about the real value of an oil temp gauge on an airhead, does it really tell you anything that you would not be aware of without it? When an airhead gets really hot it gives you plenty of clues, from rough running to higher idle etc., heck you can feel the heat coming off the engine just by being on it. If it makes checking the oil level that much harder I'd say go with a stock dipstick, being able to quickly check the oil Level would seem to be much more important than having a gauge to tell you what should be fairly obvious just being on the bike!

RM

[Bob_M]

I have that gauge/dipstick and used it for about 3 months. The bike always ran fine, the temp always stayed in the same range and it never burned any oil. Once I was confident that nothing was wrong or changing I went back to the MUCH more user friendly dipstick.

[rpeckham136133]

I am curious about those gauges: what do they read when the bike has been ridden on a hot day?

I have a digital infrared which I use to shoot temps, trying to establish a baseline/normal, and am curious to know......:)

[MIAirhead]

I just got the RT, I think it read about 180, but have not driven it much. I want to of course change oil, etc. When I do I look at gauge, I just adjusted the valves, now idles at a nice 40000, so I got some work ahead of me to get it running correct.

and since its too had to check oil I order a standard stick

[shire2000]

WOW!!! that is some idel speed. 40000RPM. I didn't think and airhead could rev that high, not even once. :brad

[rkildu]

I have a gauge that uses a temp sensor in place of the oil pan drain bolt. In the winter it will indicate about 160 after warmup. In summer more like 180. When it hits 180 the oil cooler will cut in and keep it at 180 as long as I have air flow. In town or traffic I have had it climb to 220 or more. But it drops back as soon as I get moving again.

I once ran into a guy with a similar setup except his sensor was at the oil pressure sensor. I think he went through a "T" fitting. He was reading about 210 to my 180. It obviously makes a diference where you measure.

Rod
'82 R100

[MIAirhead]

I like zerossssssss

[easter85]

I have an 1978 R80/7 that I have had since new. I have 2 dipstick oil temperature guages. One has a big head and one has a small head. Here in Texas it can get pretty hot. I have seen 260 degrees when running across Texas at 5,000 rpms.

I first added a "briel" oil cooler which is a spacer between the case and the oil pan with tubes running front to rear. It added some oil capacity but did nothing as far as the temperature guage indications.

Next I added a factory oil cooler with the thermostat in the early 1980's and the oil never indicates over about 200 degrees as long as I am moving. I finally removed the oil temperature guages and don't worry about it anymore.

The guage with the big head was easy to read while riding but hard to remove to check the oil. The guage with the small head was hard to read but easy to remove. I finally just put back in my original dipstick.

One of the best things I ever did though was changing to synthetic oil. This bike always burned about a quart of oil every 1,000 miles.. Now it will go over 2,000 miles on a quart of oil. I think the oil was just vaporizing and leaving the crankcase. The first 40,000 miles were on regular 20-50 oil. The next 40,000 have been on Mobil 1 Air Cooled V-Twin 20/50 oil. I don't know if anybody else has experienced this.