oil cooler fan(s)

[Katlover13]

Has anyone thought about attaching a fan (or set of fans) to the oil cooler to help with cooling the oil in those heavy traffic or hot days?

As a racer (1/4mile pro-street car) I am always trying to find ways to cool my motor down, from custom high-tech intercoolers for the supercharger to oil, fuel and trans coolers.
This got me thinking that maybe there is a way to fit a small fan to the oil cooler and wire it to a switch (or even on a higher level using a temp sensor) so that in high heat situations the fan(s) would come on and aid in cooling the bike.

what do you all think? is this a feasible idea? or am I totally off my rocker?

[Black_peter]

Totally feasable..
I would make sure I used a thermostat..

[katana bob]

the only issue I can think of is a clearance one. there's not much room between the oil cooler and the header. it would be a good idea if you can find a spot to mount it.

[Katlover13]

well, at least it does not seem like i am totally bonkers.
I will have to take a closer look at the oil cooler and the header placement. I have run across a few very low profile fans in dealing with the pro-street car so I might be able to come up with something.

[The CyberPoet]

We've had riders in the past who put the California pollution fans on the oil cooler instead and slaved them to a switch. If you find a set of fans that would fit, I would certainly be interested. As it is, I have a 750 cooler here that I'm planning on grafting onto my 600 soon (have to fab up some brackets to hold it, since the cooler is taller and the 98+ models have the lower cooler brackets welded to the frame).

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[mad max]

I have an old cbr f2 fan I was thinking about riggin up.

[BarMatt80]

you could also put the fan on the front of the cooler, might be some of a hinderance but on cars it works and since it is blowing air through the cooler. so you wouldn't fry anything by the headers. i have looked for fans and all to large.

[G]

Here's a perfect fit.

I got two fans few days ago at the electronic shop for $7.50 ea. and they are 12V DC 120mm X 120mm X 25mm thick with a protection grill. They are the same height as the oil cooler.

Installation: You need to make 2 brackets 120mm X 20mm that will be mounted at the top and bottom of the fan acting as extensions fins. At the back of the oil cooler on the top and on the bottom there are two flanges where the metal extends out about 3/8". That is where a holding screws or a bolt can be placed to secure the fans to. They are perfectly spaced for two fan installation and 25mm thick fans leave plenty of clearance.

Electrical: Install heat shield tubes on fan wires or 2 layers of shrink tuping just in case and get a thermostat at JC Whitney #ZX379527P. For the power, use two extra wires, brown and black w/ white stripe, that are provided for the front parking light. The fans have 3 wires, white-black-red, use black & red and ignore the white.

Important: remove the factory sticker, if any, from the side where the fan axle is and check if there's a plastic washer around the axle. Replace it with a metal snap on holding washer.

I have done this before on a few bikes and it worked fine but never took any pics. Within next couple of day I will have some pics for posting. Once you get it installed you can tell others that you got a hard drive and some kick ass power supply mods .

[BarMatt80]

you could also run to advance auto parts and go find their aftermarket fans for cars made by imperial, and get mounting hardware(i think is like $10), comes with 4 plastic ties that go through the radiator and then have a spring and fastener you just push onto the pins that go through the radiator, that way you wouldn't have to fab anything.

[BarMatt80]

something like this G:

http://rmhfaq.com/oilfan.htm

[The CyberPoet]

The problem with computer fans is that they usually burn out early, because they are expecting 12 volts nominal and the bike usually runs 13.8 - 14.7 volts in a positive charging state (i.e. - charging system working correctly). I don't even want to think about the water issues, at least here in Florida with it's torrential summer monsoons... A fan set-up from the auto parts store is probably more promising.

If you live somewhere very dry, you could just spray water onto the cooler to get the same general effect

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[Katlover13]

i am gonna look into this more. I am sure I can come up with something that wont restrict the flow to the cooler while moving, yet provide some cooling while stationary or under 20mph.

G`s suggestion seems good but i might be able to retro fit an actual automotive fan like i use to cool my fuel cell or trans in the pro-street.
trick is to find something that draws low amps that can be a direct wire like G`s solution.

[G]

C,

I do agree with you about a rain factor on these fans but I have to say that I do not agree with you with a voltage variation ( unless its a Chinese junk) on these fans.

Tech wise you are correct but Texas summer wise you might not be. Hey, it's a $15 investment that did fine 3 years in a row on 3 bikes. Even if the fans break down after a month, the mounting and the wires are there for a simple replacement. So why be negative about it? Let see how long and how well it the thing works.

[G]

After clocking around 150 miles on the "computer fans' and without the thermostat, they click just fine.

I was just wondering that people that write code have any idea about actual material propertis. It's like architects, they can design something but have no idea of how it works cause they can not afford it, but they want to. One of those slap silly factors.

[suzukisportrider2004]

The problem with computer fans is that they usually burn out early, because they are expecting 12 volts nominal and the bike usually runs 13.8 - 14.7 volts in a positive charging state (i.e. - charging system working correctly). I don't even want to think about the water issues, at least here in Florida with it's torrential summer monsoons... A fan set-up from the auto parts store is probably more promising.

If you live somewhere very dry, you could just spray water onto the cooler to get the same general effect

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

they use fans like that in car audio all they time