Final word on Oil Cooler?

[MisterGank]

So I've been trying to read through on very old posts on the subject of oil coolers. I guess I'm getting lost because people are referring to other posts, other websites, and pictures all of which no longer work and aren't available.  I feel like I might be dragging this old subject through the mud as some of the posts are 10+ years old!  The website xz550.com is no longer up and running so all of lucky's posts are missing info!

I just bought a '82 vision and it has a weird pentium 2 slot processor heatsink mounted to the left casing, disrupting my big ass size 14 shoe from shifting.  Through my research, I think it was to help and try cool the stator!  But reading and agreeing, I think maybe the oil needs cooled a different way.  The bike I just bought has 10,000 original miles and not a single dent anywhere!  I want this bike to last a long time, and cooling it, I think, might be key!

Please help, as reading on the threads is confusing as they are all missing info!

[Re-Vision]

Just my two cents worth, I'd ride the bike and see what it needs. Lots of Visions have high miles and no oil cooler.        BDC

[dingleberry]

I wouldn't use an oil cooler unless I was in a very hot climate or I was going to ride bike hard for prolonged periods on a regular basis. There is an optimum oil temperature for most engines for a balance between performance and wear. Put an oil temp gauge on to see where you are at.

[fret not]

It seems to me the series type Regulator/rectifier may well be the key to keeping things from overheating and damaging the stator since it supposedly draws only enough current for whatever demand your system has.  This is unlike the original shunt type that draws everything it can from the stator and shunts to ground what the battery doesn't use.  This is likely as effective for preventing overheating as an oil cooler plus it should free up some more power from the engine if it isn't being used to generate useless excess electricity.  It is certainly easier to install the new R/R unit than to go through the process of fabricating and installing an oil cooler.  Besides, the top end is water cooled, which draws off a great deal of the heat that is generated in the engine.

[pinholenz]

It seems that the previous owner was an avid reader of the ROV forum. However, oil cooling was centred around trying to get longer stator life out of an XZ since they were notorious for failing. Keeping the oil cooler was seen as one answer.  Some readers suggested mounting a heat sink fan on the casing by your size 14 foot, others suggested a mod with an external oil radiator. Another proposal was modifying the crankshaft end so that more oil could splash over the stator in an attempt to cool it more efficiently.

In my opinion, the temperature of the oil as a source of stator failure was misdirected. For me, Fret Nut's advice is on the money; stator overheating because of the shunt-type regulator/rectifier was the problem and this blew both the R/R and the stator with monotonous regularity for some owners. (Many Vision owners also went to great lengths to relocate or add additional cooling to the R/R unit.l)

The type of R/R you want is a Shindengen FH020AA. Yamaha #1D7-81960-00-00 Mosfet Regulator/Rectifier.
If you want to source a used Mosfet unit rather than buy new, there is a list of possible donor bikes at this thread.

http://ridersofvision.net/rovforum/index.php?topic=14447.0

In the last couple of years there has been less discussion about failed Stators and Rectifier/Regulators problems. Is this because people have changed to Mosfet's and the problem is solved? I don't know.

But, I can confidently predict that you can get rid of that ugly computer heatsink which sticks out like a barnacle on the face of your beautiful engine casing. Its not a good cure for stator failure nor will it make any difference to engine wear, IMHO

[pinholenz]

P.S Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you have got a great bike!

[MisterGank]

Thank you all!  I think I will redirect my efforts and look into the Regulator/rectifier upgrade!

If I remove that heatsink, would it be safe to use the same screws and put them back in or do I need to worry about finding shorter ones? 

The bike has been a great ride so far!  One fork has a seal leak in it that I will be having replaced over the winter.  But I put over 500 miles on it over the labor day weekend!  Also looking at recovering the seat but those are easy to find all over.

[pinholenz]

That's a tasty looking bike!

I suggest that you keep your screws short. Maybe chop them down or replace them. Sounds like your stator is good if you knocked up 500 miles without a hitch. A digital voltmeter on board is always a  reassuring check that regulator and stator are working. I have mounted a cheap $10 waterproof meter into the top of my headlight light housing, but you would have room in your fairing to hide it away.

I love you bikini fairing. I definitely want one of those!

[admin]

these guys are right, an oil cooler while seems like a good idea,
on a water cooled bike is mostly a waste of time and effort.

as a note, the xz550 pages are slowly being resurrected as time permits on this site,
here:  http://ridersofvision.net/xz550pages/XZ550Pages.html

lose the cpu heat sink if you can, although I wonder if you'll need to pull the cover to
do it right if there are nuts on the back side maybe ?
good luck.

that's a  sharp looking bike and welcome to the site !




thanks

[The Prophet of Doom]

Nice work getting those old pages from Lucky up Ron.

[vl5150]

No need for a oil cooler with the radiator.  That being said, look for my posts on the thermostat replacement and thermoswitch modification.  It will keep the temp gauge in the middle of the green in the hottest weather. I'm doing the series r/r now.

[vl5150]

Just as a followup in case anyone uses this as reference.  The series R/R lowers the temp about the width of a needle.  So my bike went from hitting the red in traffic stock, moved to about the middle with the thermostat and thermoswitch, and a bit lower than middle with the series R/R. It's come a long way so I'll stand by the belief that the oil cooler is not needed if you take my path.

I'm in S. FL so this is based on hot humid riding conditions so it's good to go.

[QBS]

vl, your first post in this thread states that your bike has 10k miles on it.  Please be aware that, if it hasn't already been preemptively done, your starter clutch will need to be reattached no later than approx. 20k miles.  Sooner is much better than later.  Listen for new ticking sound that mimic's a loose valve and evolves into a light rapping until it sounds like a full on, really bad rod or main bearing.  The sure fire indicator that the problem is a loose starter clutch is that the sound disappears completely above approx. 2500 rpm.  Repair of this issue is relatively easy and very cheap (if done early).  Also, by 10k miles the factory starter motor oil seal has failed and needs to be replaced with a single or double spring lip design.  The indicator will be that the bike will begin to crank more and more slowly until it won't crank at all.  The problem mimic's a bad battery or failed stator coil.  Diagnostically eliminate those possibilities before throwing money at them. Again the fix is relatively easy and cheap.  Do it at your earliest convenience.  Otherwise, if the seal hasn't been upgraded by 12k miles, you won't be riding your bike.

Both of these problems are factory defects that ALL V's had when they left Japan.  If you can determine the upgrade history of your bike you may find that a PO has done these upgrades.  If the history is unavailable, ride the bike until the symptoms appear.  Riding without these fixes done won't damage the bike except that if you ignore the starter clutch much beyond 17k miles the risk of a broken starter clutch housing significantly increases, then it gets expensive   If they don't appear, praise God and enjoy your beautiful V.