EOT meter for OEM oil cooler

[dsinned_imp]

1st Progress report . . .

Today, I did a feasibility test of mounting a "pusher" type fan in front of the oil cooler. I received the Spal 5.2" fan I intend to use for this mod and it fits quite well with no interference or wiring problems whatsoever. I did a quick mounting of the fan and powered it up to test the concept with my bike stationary in my garage.

With the fan flush mounted to the front of the cooler, offset to the left hand side, there is a good amount of air flowing directly to the rear of the cooler. I choose this mounting location because the fan has three asymmetrical mounting bosses and in this position they optimally align with convenient places to tie wrap the fan to the cooler.

There is even more air flow to the top of the engine, because this fan is a bit oversize and overlaps the top of the cooler by about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. It's flush with the bottom. This puts some air onto the oil return line as well.

I also tested to see if any air flows around the engine and back to where the rider's legs would be. There was very little, an insignificant amount really, so this does not seem to be an issue.

This Spal fan is quite powerful for its size. I tested it on the bench and measured 6050 rpm and a current draw of 4 amps (4.6A with significant back pressure). It's noisy, loud enough to be heard above an idling engine, but not that loud it can be heard riding the bike.

I plan to wire a 12V indicating status light in parallel with the fan to be located somewhere below the ignition switch or vicinity. When this light in ON, the fan is operating, and Off when its not. I also plan to wire a thermostatic switch in series with the fan to provide automatic control. On at 160F, Off at 145F.

Alternatively, I can use my Trail Tech (programmable) temp meter to control the fan. In which case, I will set the meter to toggle the fan On/Off at 150F (lowest setting). This is because both my temperature sensors are externally in surface contact with the cooler. As such, they can only sense a lower than actual oil temperature due to the thermal gradient between the inside and outside the cooler's enclosure.

Next, I need to take some before an after measurements of an approximation of EOT (using the Trail Tech temp meter. I wish there was a better way to take direct readings of EOT, like I believe the ECU has as a signal input, but this would add a level of complexity to this project that exceeds my technical knowledge of the CB1100's internal workings.

On the road testing to follow in the next few weeks . . .