oil temp gauge

[reef]

Hi i was wondering if anybody know where to obtain oil temp. non digital gauge.I was on some dutch pages today and discover gauge what you put instead of oil filler cover(I think it would look great on bike)however I don't speak dutch so it was hard to figure it out.Unfortunetly there was'nt r1150r listed.Maybe somewhere they have a similar item? Regards Mark

[challey]

Someone on this board did a very nice modification a while back where he replaced the clock with a VDO oil temp gauge. It matched the other instruments almost exactly. Whomever it was did a great job and posted complete information and pictures. Try searching the archives.

Charlie

[sweatmark]

I mentioned something about this recently:

http://www.r1150r.org/board/viewtopic.php?p=96506

Can't take credit for this myself; wish I remembered the Roadster owner who did the fantastic job on the typeface match: the face of the modified VDO oil temp gauge is a gerat match with Roadster speedo and tach. If you want, I can dig up the gauge for a couple pics, and I should have pics of the original project by the previous R1150R board member.

I "commissioned" the VDO oil temp gauge through a west coast speedo shop. Won't work with my current Rockster, and my wife prefers to keep clock on her (formerly my) Roadster, so the VDo gauge is available for sale to recoup sunk costs.

[edit] Here's link to EZCrusty's oil temp gauge install using Auto Meter SportComp, great info:

http://home.mindspring.com/~jabrooks/te ... m#ezcrusty

Same process for the VDO gauge, but the VDO is perfect complement to the Roadster instrument nacelle.

Mark
Oregon

[sweatmark]

OK - found the name of the Roadster owner who created the digital mask for custom paint of the VDO gauge face: Jon Maddux; don't believe he's an active member here any longer. Beautiful work, and I'll have to look for pic files of his original install. Plus a pic or two of the similar gauge I purchased.

[jm1515]

This is what I use for the Temp gauge...

http://www.egauges.com/vdo_mult.asp?Typ ... ial_Chrome

150~300F face with a max 300F sender.
The bezel / lettering is the closest I could find to the OE instruments.

Same style for the Voltmeter, altho I'm not sure it's available anymore.
Mounted on small L-brackets velcro-ed in between the speedo-clock & clock-tach.
So I have 2 'mouse ears' mounted on the dash to match my mirrors.

[shake1150]

hey jm1515...
thats a pretty slick temp gauge. it looks like stock...

can you answer a few questions for me about that gauge? is it waterproof? is it illuminated like the other instruments? and can you get one that says "oil temp" instead of "water" ?

any pics?

thanks!

[jm1515]

hey jm1515...
thats a pretty slick temp gauge. it looks like stock...

can you answer a few questions for me about that gauge? is it waterproof? is it illuminated like the other instruments? and can you get one that says "oil temp" instead of "water" ?

any pics?

thanks!

Shake...I doubt it's waterproof...it's a standard 2 1/16" dashboard mount. But I've got my Givi A750 screen raked pretty low so that it's protected well. I don't make it a habit to ride in the rain too much, so I've not experienced any problems so far....
It is illuminated...I'll probably replace all the standard instrument bulbs with red LEDS tho...
The VDO pn 310-511 in the link above does say "Engine Oil" on the face...scroll down and note the 'On Dial ' column on the order form.
Same hieroglyph on the right representing 'OIL'. The pic on the site is a generic one the show what the bezel & face look like.
I do have of pic of the R dingle showing the gauges....I'm just too lazy to go find a hosting site.

[hotzuk]

I am using the Daytona temperature gauge. I picked it up from Cyclerob when both he and I lived in NJ. If you can find and follow the mounting instructions that were supplied by Cyclerob you will be very happy with that gauge. This gauge does not take the place of any of the gauges on the current cluster. Give Cyclerob a buzz for the instructions for the install before you think about buying.

[sweatmark]

OK - found pic of the Jon Maddux oil temp VDO install:



As seen in the photo of finished product, the revised gauge face is an exellent match for the Roadster's speedo and tach.

If anyone's interested, I have a new gauge like that shown above, purchased from the company Jon worked with for the original. My wife prefers to keep the clock on her Roadster, and there's no place for the gauge on my Rockster!

PM me if interested.

Mark
Oregon

[shake1150]

im interested. pm sent

[sweatmark]

Hey Shake (and anyone else interested)-

I saw the original info on the old R1150R board - Jon did an amazing job with the new gauge face... he did all the work finding appropriate font, creating the master image based on the VDO gauge's specs, etc. All credit goes to him... don't think he's checking the board any longer.

For anyone interested, the shop Jon worked with is Palo Alto Speedometer:

http://www.paspeedo.com/index.htm

It's been a few years, but they might still have the master image of the revised gauge face on file. I don't remember what the whole thing cost, but it included new VDO gauge, disassembly to redo gauge face, the graphics work, reassembly with std. face seal. Maybe it's best if I call them to confirm pricing and availability?

Mark

** IIRC, the speedo shop said that weather- & waterproofing should not be a concern...

[challey]

I had forgotten just how nicely the gauge matched and how useful it would be to have an oil temp guage.

If someone contacts Palo Alto Speedo and if there is a minimum order quantity that needs to fabricate more gauges, let me know - I'm definately interested.

Charlie

[HiOSilver]

I may be asking a stupid question, but what's the oil temp guage for? Does it serve a practial purpose, or is it an esthetic thing?

I commute 100 miles a day in stop and go traffic in temps that exceed 115F in the summer. I've never had any indication that the engine is anywhere near overheating in the 35000 miles I've put on my '04 RR. I admit I've switched to synthetic oil and change it frequently, but that's about the only concession to the heat. Should I be more worried about the engine temps?

[klrstix]

Here is my question, on the "self threading" for the engine crankcase, what is the risk of getting metal shavings in your oil??

[boxermania]

HiOSilver

As a general rule oil temperatures on internal combustion engines are to be maintained between 180 F and 220 F. Below and above these ranges is not recomended because the lubricity will be diminished and the durability of the engine components will be so reduced.

That doesn't mean that under adverse circumstances one could not run there, as long as one understands that it is not desirable to do so for extended periods of time.

Now factor in the fact that the BMW Boxers are air cooled and you can see that elevated ambient temperatures and stop and go traffic can affect the operating temperature of the oil.

It is also a little obscure fact that the temperature where the oil wedge acts on a typical bearing is about 10 F to 15 F higher than what is being recorded at the sump. In the case of a reading of 220 F at the gauge your oil at the bearing is ~ 235 F which is getting close to the point where organic oil begins to break down. Synthetics have added range, somewhere just south of 300 F.......

So that being said it is a benefit to have an oil temperature gauge specially if you do a lot of city/stop and go or high speed traveling. Besides, the life of the engine is lubrication....hope this helps.....

[Johan_SA]

HI klrstix

If you plan to install the pickup as discussed by cyclerob and others, there is little chance of you actually getting metal shavings in your oil simply because you won't penetrate (no need to) the actual "firewall" to the engine.

All that you have to do is to measure the depth of the hole with a vernier or even a short screwdriver and thread it shorter than the actual depth of the hole. What I found was that the connector from the oil gauge was sort of cone shaped whilst the taps that I could get were all just normal taps. So there is no need to tap it too deep simply because the shape of the connector will prevent you from screwing it in all the way.

How accurate is the guage on my bike? Well that I don't really know. On open roads the oil temp wil rise to about 212 F and move fractionalyy above or below. This seems to be in line with what boxermania explained - so I'm fairly satisfied that the gauge is not too far off.

Hope this helps.