UltraCool Fan Assisted Oil Coller for Softails

I spent yesterday installing an UltraCool oil cooler that comes with a water resistant fan on my bike. This is a very nice unit and once the bike hits 160 degrees the oil will flow through the cooler. The fan turns on at 210 degrees and goes off again once the oil goes back down to 190 degrees. This system takes oil cooling one step further than any other cooler on the market. Your typical standard oil cooler has a thermostatic switch that opens the cooler at 160 degrees. That is it. There are no other cooler that have a fan built in to help keep the oil cooler thus most coolers cool the oil about 10 degrees. The UltraCool cools the oil 40-60 degrees due to its well thought out design.








The unit is perfect in every way, although I chose to wire it a bit differently than was shown in the instructions. In the instructions they have you run all the power through the provided led (comes on when the fan comes on). I chose to not run the LED and wire it direct to my accessory wire (orange and white on right side of the tank).

The install itself was simple although it took a few hours to get everything done perfectly. I found a few small issues with the instructions as far as the order to install everything as well. Please take note.

The oil line clamps cannot(or are extremely difficult to) be tightened with the cooler in place so I measured and ran the oil lines and then took the cooler off to put the clamps to the oil filter adapter bracket. Once the lines were tightened properly I put the cooler back in place and ran the oil lines to the cooler itself and installed the provided clamps. The wiring was the last thing I did. They provide a nice PVC tubing to run the wires through for looks and protection also which is very nice.

Once the entire unit is installed, it fits perfectly. I am yet to ride the bike for long enough to test out the fan and such and see what temp it comes on at, but as soon as all the rain we have been having is gone I will and will report back. It is supposed to come on at 210 degrees, and once the oil temp drop to 190 degrees the fan turns off.

The nicest thing about this system is the integrated fan. A regular oil cooler only allows oil through the cooler above 160 degrees to cool the oil. The Ultracool does the same but takes this a step further. When the oil reaches 210 degrees, which it will, the fan will kick on and force more air on to the oil cooler cooling the oil flowing through the cooler much quicker. Once back down to 190 the fan will turn off. As stated above the fan is water resistant so no need to worry about rain or washing the bike.

The softail version has just become available and I believe this is the first one that has been installed on a customers bike. I can’t wait to get out on the open road in the heat. As a side note I will be going to Laughlin next month and that will be the true test of how well this cooler works. Temps regularly rise above 100 during mid day and I plan to be riding all day.

Thanks!

Have your product reviewed by Dr. Drew!

If you are interested in having your product reviewed by Dr. Drew or one of his team of experts please email me at DREW@DRVTWIN.COM with information regarding the product and we can talk. For phone contact info please call the shop at (888)DR-V-TWIN.

PLEASE NOTE THAT I RIDE A SOFTAIL BUT HAVE FELLOW TESTERS THAT RIDE ALL DIFFERENT MODELS OF HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES.

Drew

Shotgun Shock for Harley Davidson Softail's

I spent most of the day at the Shotgun Shock shop talking with him about the Shotgun Shock and installing mine on my ride. This is an extremely well thought out product. I will start another thread for comparison with Platinum as there is too much information to put it all in one thread.

The install is quite simple, as the product is very well thought out in every way. This is one solid piece of equipment for your bike. I was convinced in the past that a single unit was not a good idea for several reasons. The first reason was the hassle getting to the transmission drain plug. JD has found a solution and all the has to be done is to remove the front bolts on the shock and the whole unit pivots out of the way. That is it...2 bolts. The second reason is I was told by a friend that a 1 piece unit could possibly put too much stress on the swing arm bearings.

I never thought of the added benefit of extra stability from a 1 piece unit. The bike feel so solid and handles so well now that I had to remind myself I was on a softail. I literally felt like I was on rails and sought out as many bumps as I possibly could to test the ability of the shock. With the shock adjusted properly (which will take a little bit of time to figure out for me) I felt absolutely nothing of the bumps, cracks, dips, or anything else i could find on the road. The ride home was about 50 miles so I feel I had a fair amount of different types of terrain to be confident with my findings.

JD welcomed me into his shop and treated me as family. This is very welcome and nice to find as I have dealt with many companies that could care less once you purchase their products. Don't get me wrong, there are quite a few good vendors out there as well, but it is always nice to meet someone who is straight up and willing to take the time to answer all of your questions and thoroughly explain the product. I asked about 100 questions and he answered them all easily with concise answers that all made sense.

So on to the install. Remove the splash guard. Then remove the old shocks. Jack the bike up and support the rear wheel with a stand or floor jack. Loosen the lock nuts and rear shock bolts. Pull off the bolts holding the stock shocks. Remove the shocks from the bike but don't lose the rubber bushings for the front of shocks as you will reuse them. The rear bolts will also be reused. Set them aside for now.
Shocks removed ( there is no need to remove the rear wheel!)

Tap the two holes on the bottom of the transmission 7/16 14. the cutome bracket for mounting the compressor is really nice and holds it in place very sturdily. The compressor has also fits in perfectly. It is a tight fit but there is plenty of room. Once the holes are tapped, bolt the compressor to the freshly tapped holes. Use loctite. There is a recess in the bracket to allow for the wiring of the compressor so that the wires will not get pinched. All connections are made via Molex connectors that are preinstalled so all you have to do is plug them in, and use the heavy duty shrink wrap supplied with the kit over the connectors to keep them clean and dust free. The compressor can be mounted either way, but mine is mounted the way it was designed to be mounted with the head on the exhaust side of the bike.
This is a beautiful and powerful compressor that raises the bike FAST! Compare it to that of a Hi Lo and it dwarfs the competition!

Next disconnect the battery cables and remove the battery. This is to allow access to the space to run the wiring. Run the wiring through the back of the battery box on the RIGHT side of the bike so as to keep it away from the belt which is on the left.



CONTACT ME AT DREW@DRVTWIN.COM OP CALL THE SHOP AT (818)501-TWIN FOR MORE INFORMATION AND DISCOUNTED PRICING


DREW

Ride Wright Rims for your Harley Davidson!

Ride Wright wheels is the premiere maker of spoked rims in the USA. The make 40, fat 50, 60, 80, and 120 spoked rims. They also have various new forged rims that will be available soon. They are well known for sealing their rims so that you can run spokes tubeless. They offer a limited lifetime guarantee on their sealed rims. This is extremely important to me as I would much prefer to run a wheel that is tubeless just in case I get a flat in the middle of nowhere.

I had the pleasure to spend half the day at Ride Wrights manufacturing facility last week and was given a tour and shown their manufacturing process by the owner Sam Wakim. First I met the beautiful Danielle who greeted me with a large smile and a hug. She is a sweet heart.

This was after Daytona bike week had already started so half of Sam’s bikes were already gone to the show.

Upon entering the shop portion of their facility I was greeted by numerous machines that were busy making parts for their wheels. All of their wheels are manufactured on site and they make all the parts for all of them. This is pretty impressive in this day and age of outsourcing. CNC’s were busy cutting hubs, rotors, spokes, rims, everything needed to put together a quality American made product for the hardcore enthusiast.

Sam explained the entire process of their manufacture to me. Parts of this were a bit over my head as I am not a machinist by any standards. The most interesting to me was watching a fat 50 spoke rim being laced. There are 3 gauges hooked up to the truing machine and tolerances are measured on everything to ensure that the wheel will come out perfect. This is no fly by night operation. They take their time and do it right the first time, every time.

They have quite a few new wheel designs that I was very interested in as well. I really like the new fat 80 spoke rim, but was told that they do not make it in a 21” rim size. Why you ask? They have ruled that 80 fat spokes will put too much pressure on the rim, weakening the rim. This is exactly the kind of information that makes a trip like this well worth while. Sure there are other companies that make fat 100 spokes, but if Sam says that it’s too much, I take his word for it as he only manufactures a high quality product that will stand the test of time. I was planning on ordering a new set of rims while I was there but I was unable to decide what to get as I was so overwhelmed by all the choices. Seeing everything in person had and how it was all made really had my head spinning.

It was very interesting to learn that every set of tubeless spokes that they sell with tiers mounted and balanced sits for a full 24 hours prior to being packaged up (in their own special boxes made for rims) to ensure that they are holding. If the tire leaks during that 24 hours it is taken apart and relaced only to spend another 24 hours sitting to pass the Ride Wright test. Keep in mind that if your order a set of their rims and they seems to be taking a long time for them to get delivered, that they must pass this rigorous test prior to being shipped. I would much rather have a sealed rim that stays sealed than a rush job any day of the week.

They offer powder coating of the rims, hubs, nipples, and spokes in every color of the rainbow. A friend of mine has a 2008 anniversary model Harley and has their rims with copper spokes to match the paint job and it is one of the most stunning sets of wheels I have ever seen.

If you want a rim that has a perfect fit every time and has been held up to Sam’s extremely high standards, then Ride Wright is the company for you. They make wheels for all Harley’s, including the new Tri Glide model. While I was there Sam received a call from bike building legend Ron Finch who was in Daytona beach awaiting a new set of Ride Wrights for his custom built trike.

I have no problem spending my hard earned money with an industry leader such as Ride Wright and will gladly get wheels from them as long as long as I am riding. I have seen it all in person and this is more than enough to have gained my business forever. Now for some pics. Please pardon some of the pics as they are a little out of focus. The lighting was a little off in the manufacturing portion of their facility.










If you need info on these products feel free to call the shop or email me at palmsapts@gmail.com

Drew

Ricor Intiminators Work!

I have finally installed my Ricor Intiminators Ricor on my bike after having them sitting here nearly a full year. I guess a lack of desire to pull my forks off the bike is the main reason I have not installed them until now. I spent countless hours toiling over a decision of what was going to make the front end of my bike handle as well as the rear with my Shotgun Shock.

A little background on my ride is that I have had the Shotgun Shock (which has performed flawlessly) for a little over 6 months. My front forks have been at stock height until now. I figured if I am going to put the intiminators on I might as well lower it at the same time as the forks will be apart anyway. I got a Progressive “drop in” lowering kit and am lowering the front 1”. This will level out the bike with the 21” front wheel on the front and make it look plain bad ass.

I am using 5W oil as specified by Ricor in the instructions for the intiminators. For anyone who is not aware, the Harley Type E oil is 10W although it says it nowhere on the label of the bottle.

The first thing I noticed as I got on the bike and grabbed the brake while pushing on the forks is the distinct lack of travel. I used to have a ton of travel even with the Screamin’ Eagle heavy fork oil. This had me wondering how my forks were going to be able to soak up the bumps.

Like I said above I read pages and pages of info on the intiminators and finally pulled the trigger. The inertia valve in the intiminator is smart enough to determine whether it is the wheel or chassis that are trying to move. This all sounds great in theory, but does it pass the acid test?

ABSOLUTELY! Once I was rolling I was shocked to feel what I consider to be nothing in the way of bumps from the end. I am very used to navigating the road to avoid bumps as the stock damper rod suspension is less than sufficient for such a heavy vehicle. Couple that with the 90/21 tire I haveetched onto a 21x3” rim and you could say front end performance was any oxymoron. Notice I said WAS. The bike is now reminiscent of an aggressive sport bike front end that soaks up everything in its way without a second thought.

I am not an engineer by any stretch of the imagination so I am doing my best to explain this in layman’s terms so you will understand. Whenever the bike hits any sort of imperfection in the road the intiminator determines first whether the chassis or wheel is what is moving. It then reacts appropriately soaking up the bump through its intertia technology.

It seems that I avhe been wasting years without putting my intimiantors and in and the combination of these and my Shotgun shock in the rear make my bike handle like it never has before. I avhe always been a proponent for upgraded suspension on motorcycle as on any brand of motorcycle stock suspension will rarely achieve what can be had from putting on aftermarket suspension, but these have me in awe.

I am a former sport bike rider and the suspension is always the first thing I would upgrade. Ohlins, Fox Shocks, Werks, etc. I avhe tried the vast majority of what is available and was always more than happy to spend my hard earned money on them as it made such a difference in the way the bike handled that it was like a different vehicle. If you re on the fence about the intiminators, I am here to tell you that there is no need. These perform as they should and make riding my bike that much more of a pleasure. I no longer watch the road for uneven pavement, bumps, cracks, etc. I am worry free and stuck to the ground like glue. I am yet to take a nice canyon flyer run, but as soon as I do I will post up my findings for everyone as well.

Thanks!

Drew