Yes, I have seen the overpriced touratec crap.

If you can do it cheaper and better than good luck. Touratech may be expensive stuff but it's not what I would generally call crap.

 

I'm in the process of removing mine all together.

I had an 85 XR650 which used the frame as the oil cooler. With that in mind I'm fitting 15' of 3/16" stainless steel tubing inside the frame and stationary members of my Wee.

Should provide under-seat warmth in the winter with the switch of a valve also.

Ray....

 

After hitting my oil cooler this summer, (bashing the skid plate into the cooler and nearly taking it out!), I too am looking into relocating my O.C. as well. I have posted here the same questions and I have looked at the Touratech setup as well. But, I still would like to talk to someone who has ACTUALLY done the job themselves, or has had someone do it, or has come up with another solution, or believes that the O.C. could be done away with altogether. I have also thought of coiled up tubing as an alternative solution to solving the issue of the O.C. standing right out front saying, "hit me".......

Please keep this thread posted as to what direction you go. I would like to follow the updates.

My winter priority list of modifications, maintenance and repairs, has me working on other stuff first.

Thanks,

Barry

 

stearing head

i allways wondered if the hot oil in my honda frame was hard on the gease in the head bearings

 

I also thought of omitting it all together, but I didnt want to loose the extra oil capacity. Or any extra cooling effect. If it wasnt necessary I dont think Suzi would spend the money on it. Thanks for the input guys...

 

Does any tech masters know if the oil pump has enough umpa to support the tubing ideas, or relocating the cooler higher and further away from the pump?

My concern is that the pump would not be able to maintain the proper volume of oil, or the proper presure.

 

I have tried asking these questions before here as well, along with at the boat yard that I work in. No one has responded on the forum with a confident "yes" the pump will handle this. The "system guys" at Hinckley's seem to think it will. Oil coolers are popular for off-road vehicles, (jeeps to ATVs), and often they are added by the owners themselves. Jagg makes a popular brand of cooler; horizontal as well as vertical installations. Touratech has a system specifically for the V-Strom, but I don't know anyone that has personally installed one. From what I "hear" online, it's a good system.

I am not an engineer by any means, but from what little I understand, the system is a "closed" system and the pump should handle it easily..........

I want to do something before "relaunching" this Spring, but I can't quite make up my mind which direction to go, nor can I totally wrap my brain around the whole thing! Locally, I do have "talent" to draw upon to help out, but I was kind of hoping someone else would be the "guinea pig" instead of me..........



Barry

 

Instead of messing with a "very important" part that Suzuki engineering deems to be important...why don't you simply put some protection over the oil cooler "plenty out there", or get another dual sport that you can't tear up. I'm all for doing mods and such, but this sounds very unwise to me. But do what you will...it isn't my bike.

 

Moving the OC up and in front of the radiator might be an option. I will leave the engineering to others more qualified.

 

a pat walsh skid plate/side guard & option oil cooler guard will protect the cooler nicely, plus added side/bottom protection plus enable you to lift the bike (with atv lift) to change the tires.
http://www.patwalshdesigns.com/vstrom.html


dan vesel makes a guard only
http://community-2.webtv.net/CHERDAN/MyVStromAccessories/

remember suzuki germany did the design up on this bike. it's a street adv touring bike for them because this is almost no offroading in germany. suzuki NA brought it here and labled it a dual sport. in stock form that is a very loose term to call it but that how they labled it. if suszuki stuck it in the road category very few people would take it off-road.

 

The crashbar, skidplate modifications have already been done. I STILL want to relocate the oil cooler. I nearly took it out, (the oil cooler), EVEN with SW-Motech crashbars and skidplate in place along with a FendaExtenda as well. The oil cooler location is my only engineering complaint about the bike. It's just a big, billboard hanging out front with the words written on it, "Hit Me!"

I'm hoping that someone with knowledge about doing work like O.C. relocation will jump in here and help out.


Thanks,

Barry

 

I would imagine with a little thought you could make your own, head to a junk yard and take a look around, perhaps a automatic tranny cooler off something would work. I know years ago, allot of harley riders would come up with some slick oil coolers, that costs next to nothing, some where even poor mans chrome as we called it then, or polished aluminum...now its called billet ($$$).
Anyway, look around, take some pics of the stocker, and an idea on where you want to mount a new one. Then head to the yard. You just may find a real winner everyone would want!

 

Thanks Tollster,
I appreciate the input and ideas.

I don't mind paying the money that it costs to purchase the Touratech relocation system. I don't mind purchasing parts from various sources to make my "own" system. What information I am really looking for is something along the lines of the following:

1) Don't move the oil cooler to "this" location for "such and such a reason."
2) Stick with a horizontal cooler instead of a vertical cooler for "such & such a reason."
3) Don't increase or decrease the oil capacity by "this amount" because.....
4) Don't move the oil cooler above a certain height in relation to the oil pump because.......
5) If you move the O.C. you have to increase or decrease the tube connections because.......
6) Don't put the O.C. in front of the radiator because.......

I am looking for the "list" of the "Dos and Don'ts" and "what to look out for" things that can erupt when doing things like this. Although Suzuki has engineered the bike to have an oil cooler, (does it really need one?), and have picked a location for it, I believe everyone is in agreement that the location of the OEM cooler is a poor one.

Take a look at the "Farkles" that are available for this bike that everyone purchases "to make the bike better", and a few of them are specifically designed JUST to protect the O.C.. I believe there is a better way.

Thanks!

Barry

 

Touratech relocation kit

FYI guys & gals, the relocation kit was developed by Tony Kirby, the Touratech Australian agent. He then rode the modified Wee from Darwin to Melbourne via the centre of Australia, through sand, mud, dust, rivers and rocks, with no oil-cooler/cooling problems at all. Temperatures ranged from 5 to 40 degrees C. The modifications and ride have been covered in recent editions of Twowheels magazine. He was not responsible for the stunningly ugly cooler and radiator guards shown in the Touratech catalogue!

Cheers!

 

My perspective on this mod is based on common sense....

1) Don't put the OC in front of the radiator if you don't have to even though cars stack radiators in front of each other routinely - see heat dissipation comment in next point.

2) Moving it to any location in the front of the bike shouldn't detract from oil circulation, oil pump performance or cooling effect - it is a radiator essentially and cools by subjecting oil to an area of consistent heat dissipation. It does not depend strictly on air flow or heavily fared bikes would boil their oil and simply not run.

3) Use an oil cooler from a Peterbilt if you think it'll help, but Suzuki made it just big enough to drop the temp for moderate cooling and an easy return to normal engine operating temperature which is necessary for peak performance, BTW. (I doubt the temperature drop is more than 10-20% of crankcase temps anyway - just guessing).

4) So, just move the blame thing to somewhere it will be safer, add a guard to it (as it and the radiator shoulda had from the factory) - and get back on the road!

I think Suzuki put it where it is to avoid heat from the exhaust pipe flowing into the OC path, it's still quite vulnerable and needs a guard at least. It's an excellent idea to move it and I will do mine eventually by just raising it up higher and guarding it with some expanded sheet metal grating along with the radiator.

 

Brian,

Thank You Very Much!!! Along with other repairs and modifications for the 2008 season, (yeah I know, for some the season never ends......), this is something that I want to tackle........I just lack some confidence. But, your post just pushed me over that threshold.

Thanks again!!

Barry

 

"All" that's required to relocate the cooler to beside the front cylinder are the following bits: A "straight" radiator hose, instead of the OEM 'H'-shaped one; a right-angled bracket which bolts into the (plastic-capped) thread on the rear of the front cylinder, and carries the cooler; a pair of longer oil hoses and fittings to go from the cooler to the feed & return points on the crankcase. I intend to try this next year (but I've only had my 'Strom for 2 months, and I've got an SW-Motech skidplate for the meantime). I think fabricating the new mounting bracket would be the first step, then draining the engine fluids, removing the rad and cooler hoses, repositioning the cooler, then trailering the bike to auto-supply and hydraulic-hose stores to get the new hoses fabricated.