Is my Harley Overheating? (Part 3)

I have been doing a little series on the engine temps on my 2018 Harley-Davidson Heritage 114. Thanks to my viewers, you put me in contact with Kevin Baxter who really opened my eyes to tuning the bike. I am working on the tune and just wanted to update you guys in this video and say thank you.
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#Gear # Gadgets

[@KevinBaxter]

Thanks for the shout out. Glad I could help. Enjoyed the chat. Reach back out with your data when you have it. Wanna see a huge difference in kpa? Remove the windshield, record data. Install and repeat.

[@GearsGadgets]

Absolutely Kevin. I actually paused testing for right now because it has been pretty cold here in AZ so I think testing engine temps right now is kind of tough.

[@donrudeboyt1895]

Kevin Baxter is the man when it comes to engine building period. Love his videos. He does a very good job disseminating information in a way I could understand. Very cool that you were able to pick his brain and help you out. Awesome..

[@GearsGadgets]

Right on

[@ejdtm]

Stopped at Kevin’s shop while on a trip last month. He was kind enough to chat with my friends and I.

[@GearsGadgets]

I believe it. He seemed like a really nice guy.

[@satudave]

Kevin is definitely a great source of information. I’ve learned a lot watching his videos. Good luck with the tune👍👍

[@GearsGadgets]

Thanks 👍

[@DowntheroadJoe]

I feel more comfortable overtaking traffic, than traffic coming up on me. I hope you have figured it out. Ride safe.

[@doulos77]

I call it being "aggressively safe". Rather be the shark than the minnows

[@GearsGadgets]

Thanks, you too!

[@ocglide2566]

Good call getting in touch with Kevin. I really enjoy his content he is the master. I need to get with him myself to see if he can help me being in Cali tuning a bike is a touchy subject.

[@GearsGadgets]

Please do!

[@ocglide2566]

@@GearsGadgets I am a member of his channel. Learning a lot from him, I did reach out as well and he looked at my plugs and made some suggestions. I am still clueless when it comes to tuning but he had me run a few auto tune sessions on the Power Vision and it helped. I have started watching my engine temps there pretty decent in Cali. Its gone from 85 degrees to 55 recently I am staying in the 290 range most of the time the only time I get into the 300's is when I get into city stop and go riding.

[@doulos77]

Kevin Baxter is THE MAN. Glad he helped you. I've watched his videos for about a year now. I just wish he lived closer to me! Stay safe & nice video

[@GearsGadgets]

Yeah he is awesome

[@davidpeterson943]

Great vid, very cool ya got to talk with kiven I could listen to him for hours.

[@GearsGadgets]

Thanks David. Yeah Kevin is a great dude.

[@razzrasmussen5773]

I am really interested...this is fun stuff. Kevin's videos are so informative. Looking forward to your results. Hooah

[@GearsGadgets]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@KevinBaxter]

Fuel economy and engine temp is dependent on AFR and ign timing. Both have equal effect. Dialing in both, is the art of tuning. Wind coefficient, even the slightest change, will make a difference. Adjusting those parameters at a given RPM and KPA is key. Here's a video that may help you have a better understanding of the tables kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpaQfWWDaquZf9E Again, best of luck with your tuning. Reach out if you need any other help.

[@GearsGadgets]

Thanks Kevin I really appreciate that.

[@MrTheDays1]

Your the man Kevin !

[@Xg45]

When people say 80mph is too fast, they never drove in Arizona before. I got my ass pasted alot doing 100+

[@GearsGadgets]

Yeah AZ drivers dont F around.

[@kennethanderson1685]

Love Kevin.

[@GearsGadgets]

Yeah he is the man.

[@martyportersr7008]

Dan this makes sense to me and I have seen the Baxter guy a couple of times. He sounds like he knows what he is doing. I feel the same way about riding in traffic. I don’t like to be overtaken with cars and traffic. But I think your on the right track with the fuel. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to speak to anyone about your problem due to losing a riding partner this week to a heart attack. 50 years old and two kids still at home with a wife. Just brutal Be safe and test test test.

[@GearsGadgets]

Sorry I just got to your comment, sorry for your loss. That is really sad.

[@martyportersr7008]

@@GearsGadgets This was the guy that I was riding out to Sturgis with this year. So I will be taking him with me as his wife has some of his ashes for me to scatter. Neither of us have been so we talked about going in 21 because of Covid last year. We promised each other we would go so I am going to get it done.

[@talkingrock7011]

Chilly it’s 26 degrees here in Georgia , you don’t have the humidity we have here in the south in the summer

[@GearsGadgets]

Oh I know. I lived in Vinings for a couple years, I do NOT miss that humidity.

[@PSPTommyG]

Awesome!! One step closer to solve the mystery!!!!

[@GearsGadgets]

More to come. It’s actually just been too cold here to really conduct any good tests.

[@DIZEMANPHOTO]

I really appreciate these videos. I have a 2002 Road King Screamin' Eagle CVO and was running from Pahrump, NV to Las Vegas yesterday with my wife on the back. We're old farts 68 and 65, I weigh in at 228 and she is about 150. I have a DynoJET Power Vision, which was tuned on a Dyno in Vegas ($600 for the Dyno) which is only so, so worthwhile since the 2002 Road King does not have O2 Sensors. The temp on the DynoJet Power Vision showed 260 to 277 degrees and on a 70 degree day, I was more than a little bit worried, since I road the bike much of the Summer here in Vegas at air temps reaching 120 degrees. During the summer the bike temps were in the 280 range, which I attributed to the excessive Mojave Desert Summer Temps. BUT, I was concerned that the engine was running at 277 on a cool and comfortable no jacket required kinda day. WOULD I or SHOULD I have O2 Sensors installed on my pipes to help the DynoJET Power Vision work better or would that just be a waste of money? Also, my DynoJET works MOST of the time, but every now and then it just drops connection and though it stays ON, all of the data slots are blank. Anyone else having that problem? Thanks to anyone who responds! Jon Dize/dizeman.com

[@403punk3]

I got no answers for ya but I am enjoying the journey

[@GearsGadgets]

Thanks 403. More to come.

[@timothydardar4909]

Kevin Baxter is the best not like all the want to be experts on you tube

[@GearsGadgets]

True, I try really hard to make sure I am clear about NOT being an expert. I think it's easy on KZbin to fall into learning something, then regurgitating it as if YOU are the source of the knowledge. Even on my wrenching videos I try to toss in the parts of misery to avoid editing myself to look like some kind of wiz kid.

[@timothydardar4909]

@@GearsGadgets love watching your videos when I get the chance. I would like to know what the temperature your bike was running before the oil cooler because mind doesn't seem to be running that hot and my mechanic is kinda leery about some after market parts he said that some of that stuff can cause problems he's been in harley for a long time and open his own shop.

[@marvelharris9540]

explaining exactly what you changed on the map optimizations to affect the RPM range at cruise might be a nice thing to mention

[@GearsGadgets]

I didnt do that because Kevin makes his money tuning bikes so sharing his tuning settings after he helped a brother out wouldn’t have really been a cool thing to do.

[@danbarrette9888]

So I know this is two years old but my 2014 flhtp is running hot. I was thinking it might be the engine temperature sensor. I did purchase the ultra kool just have to have it installed. I’ve been watching Kevin for a year now if and when I do a rebuild I will be taking the trip to Tennessee.

[@davidknows3320]

This makes sense where emissions standards lean out the fuel. Along comes the age of liquid cooling. I promise, I'm not hating on Harley. It's just a fact, we want more, bigger, faster and air cooled cannot provide it without compromises. In the gone days of fat fuel mixtures and wild tailpipe emissions this was an easy problem to fix. It may end up being a 25 mpg ride that got labeled a pig but it wouldn't run hot, or should I say, it's capable temperature operating range. V Twins keep getting bigger to keep pace with emissions. More, more,more, to try and wring performance out and also meet guidelines. I may invest in a power vision just to see what my stock 111 Indian runs for temps next summer, heck it's most likely the same story. The old twin cam 88, now a 103 is so fat it'll almost roll coal. Lol two different personalities for sure. Love them both.

[@GearsGadgets]

Yep I totally agree.

[@acef4389]

I have the same problem on 18 rgs w/124,this vlog is great, I had the bike tuned when I did the 124,still runs hot on back cycilider,so now I have started to mess with it

[@GearsGadgets]

It is certainly interesting. I am still toying with it now and thanks to Kevin Baxter I am slightly more confident playing with it.

[@JaySorsby1]

Not subbed to Kevin’s channel, but I do watch a lot of his content. Seems like a solid guy. Running lean at higher rpm makes sense. PS. who the heck want to run slower? PPS.. Go Bills PPPS… #tunerlife

[@GearsGadgets]

lol love all the ppppppps's. Also.... GO BILLS!! I can't believe they have made it to an AFC Championship, seems like a dream.

[@HarleyFatBoyJr]

Great info!! Right on for sharing. Looking forward to the results. Randi question but what are you using to edit your videos? Mahalo in advance. 🤙🏾

[@GearsGadgets]

Final Cut Pro, its my favorite.

[@thinkingoutloud9126]

That’s weird you’re at 80 and 2800. I run at 75 and 3000. Different bikes, different tires similar engine. I’m currently working with FuelMoto trying to get my ET down. Running nearly 320 ET in 91 degree weather. Per a KB video I know I should be getting about 41 mpg, but I’m closer to 46 per the PV so I’m sure I’m running lean too. Hopefully I’ve not burned anything up yet. Little late to the party but I’m liking the video and the conversational nature.

[@GearsGadgets]

Interesting! Def different bikes are going to have different characteristics.

[@CaseysOffRoadRecovery]

I have not ridden a Harley enough lately to even get it up to temp! Maybe when winter is over I better drain the fuel and go for a spin!

[@GearsGadgets]

Yeah man, love your channel by the way.

[@CaseysOffRoadRecovery]

@@GearsGadgets thanks, we sure are havin a Good time

[@thefather414]

Adding fuel at higher rpm will likely provide additional cooling. However it still won’t likely resolve the substantial temp differences in foot position. You need to look at a tuning metric that is in relation to power, such as TPS or MAF. If highway peg position needs more throttle to maintain 80mph, then there’s your answer. If not, than that puts you at a higher prob that it is just air obstruction.

[@GearsGadgets]

Interesting.

[@my.motorrad]

One guy that's on that level is Brad the Wizard. Very conscientious HD tech and a nice guy. You should get to know him too. WTF goes 65 in AZ?...Well, it does happen on 87 and in the left lane that causes car trains. On the bike I can get around it, but yeah, on the 202/101/17/10, you better be trucking.

[@GearsGadgets]

Heck yeah man. I HATE those people who cruise 65 in the left lane and love getting to the front of the line to see who the culprit is. 9/10 times they have a blue EV license plate.

[@my.motorrad]

@@GearsGadgets Yeah, a Prius miler a lot and sometimes subaru for some reason.

[@jasonkohler688]

Go BILLS!

[@GearsGadgets]

They went.

[@h3r63rt]

How much did the oil cooler reduce the heat. Or did it block enough cooling air from the engine to offset its oil cooling effect?

[@GearsGadgets]

The oil cooler was tested and reduced the heat dramatically. I forgot the results but I did post a video on it. Unfortunately I didnt test it with the engine guard / highway peg configuration.

[@h3r63rt]

@@GearsGadgets thanks. I’ll look for that video. Yes wanted to get some of the heat lowered in mine too. I decided against a oil cooler. Got a remote oil filter kit and serviceable filter. Ambient temp rarely goes over 80F where I am. Good job you do of presenting the data.

[@willlawler7500]

Take that thing down to lane splitters and have them Dyno tune. A Dyno will always be better than a canned map.

[@GearsGadgets]

I will check them out.

[@Bikernewscanada]

From my old school experience with cars and various engines is this. Run a motor rich and you will suffer a loss of some performance and fuel mileage. ( you are not a drag racer nor do we buy Harley's for good fuel mileage). Run a motor too lean and you WILL burn shit out. Fuel not only cools but it also provides a minimal amount of lubrication. If you were a drag racer you would want to run as efficiently as possible and even then, too lean and you'll burn out your motor. In short, on a Harley, richer is better. Watch you're spark plugs. They will tell you if you are obnoxiously rich. My thoughts anyway.

[@GearsGadgets]

Appreciate that input.

[@ThePNWRiderWA]

I believe what Maxwell was alluding to is the sensor is a calculated number based on HeadT band. If the temp was truly getting that hot then your ass would feel it. The group at fuelMoto are a good resource to take about as well. When you speak to Kevin or John can you ask them about vented oil dipsticks? There seems to be an ongoing debate of their value and the only way to know of tear down enough engines to know. They claim to decrease oil temp as well. www.madmonkeymotorsports.com/product-page/copy-of-m3-exclusive-dip-stick-ventilator-2007-amp-up-natural-finish

[@GearsGadgets]

Yeah I have seen some of the fuel moto stuff too.

[@eng4st4]

Oil breaks down at 275 degrees just google it Thats why harles suck but harley will say its no big deal

[@hilbily13sheepherder79]

To bad test in school wasn't as fun as the test your doing now...right

[@GearsGadgets]

lol for sure.

[@danbailey1229]

Can you please keep at least one hand on the bars you’re making me crazy.

[@GearsGadgets]

Lol when I was editing the video I thought the same thing.

[@doulos77]

I loved it personally. Sadly I ride the same way lol

[@brianmaclennan561]

Wasn't there 4 yanks tryin to take hd to court sayin there air cooled harleys were running hot? Mcdonalds coffee anyone......

[@GearsGadgets]

Exactly the same thing. 👏👏👏👏👏

[@roadglide]

Harley overheating? Nahh..😂

[@GearsGadgets]

lol