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[StogieRob]

Greeting, all!

I have an 08 Classic 500 (or Sixty S - the VIN says I have either or both) done up in the military package of the day. It’s got a radiator right behind the front wheel. What year did RE start adding that radiator? And what does it cool? Lastly, and the most foolish of the questions, what damage am i likely to encounter if I were to remove it? The bike only gets ridden about 100 miles a year, and that’s just in the neighborhood, or at WWII reenactments.

Let the FLAMES begin!!!

Thanks!
StogieRob

[vince]

Hi, not a standard fitting on any classic enfield, probably an oil cooler plumbed into the rocker feed. Vince.

[PeteF]

Agree with Vince, it's not original equipment. Where is it connected?

[Leon Novello]

If it is cooling the oil, get rid of it. Recommended oil temperature in most engines is usually around 80 C, if you can find a thermometer to dip into the oil after a long run in Summer, you will find it will be only about 50 C, which will cause condensation and emulsification (mayonnaise) of the oil.

[papasmurf]

This may help article and pictures here:-

[papasmurf]

Oops:- http://sudarsun.in/blog/2011/05/oil-coo ... d-350-avl/

[Adrian]

If you are using your RE as a pretend British Army bike in WWII re-enactments, you might like to research and see if any RE WD(CO). Matchless G3s. BSA M20s, etc were ever fitted with oil coolers. If not (I think you will find) you have a good reason to remove it!



Looking at the Sudarsun blog for which papasmurf posted the link, that mounting location looks quite vulnerable, whether or not a lean-burn Bullet, an E/S 350 Thunderbird in this case, actually needs an oil cooler (probably not as they were intended to run hot). A better use for some bits of nitrile rubber hose and brass fittings might be to plumb in an additional oil filter on the rocker feed line, as some have done, tucking it out of harm's way, of course.



Here's just one of the filter kit options available, this one could be handy for us as it seems to use the Electra-X oil filter element.



http://www.dcclassicmotorcycles.co.uk/p ... ration.htm



A.

[vince]

Hi, no WW11 motorcycles were fitted with oil coolers. The only british bikes that come to mind are trident/rocket 3. Vince

[Adrian]

Thought not! I was pretty sure all those army bikes didn't, even when they had to cope with conditions in North Africa (old newsreel shots of eggs being fried on sun-baked tank armour come to mind).



A.

[StogieRob]

OK - having accomplished the task of placing the photos where everyone can (hopefully) see them, here is a link to the photos for where the radiator taps into the bike and the mounting bracket. https://photos.app.goo.gl/XPCjRymLqYPtBrYE9

looking at that bracket, it was definitely done by someone who owned a welder, but shouldn't have used it. I think this was the same guy who decided the original brake pedal was too effeminate (not his choice of words, which were much more crass).

as the bike is due for an oil change, i will use that time to discover what type of hole was tapped in the bike for the oil to flow and get a plug to close it off. This was a Nevada bike before I got it, and I think the PO decided that some additional cooling would be good when it reached 110 degrees in the shade. Since there's only one hose and no pump, i have no idea how effective this design was.

Thanks!
Rob