DK Custom Products
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We introduced both the CnC Oil Filter Relocation & the Dual-Cool Oil Cooler about 1 month ago and have barely been keeping up with demand.
On the Oil Filter Relocation, it seems there are MANY that are just as fed up with the mess when changing the filter out as I have been for decades.
There are fewer people, but still a good many, that realize these Twin Cams run too hot for their own good. They are taking steps to cool them down, whether they are air cooled or wetheads.
The Dual-Cool Oil cooler is an excellent way to get a significant drop in engine and oil temps.
I've been asked quite a few times to share more information on both of these items. We have quite a bit of information and photos at the following links-
Dual-Cool Oil Cooler - Click HERE
CnC Oil Filter Relocation - Click HERE
The Combo Package for both - Click HERE
I've been asked to share more details-
On the oil filter relocation (which I've been thinking about for over 10 years) we had several concerns and several goals:
All of the above was no small task. We went thru many variations to get everything to fit, everything routed correctly, and everything looking good.
Repeated dyno testing, at many RPM's and throttle positions show there are is no additional drag on the oil pump, nor changes in oil pressure.
Over 100 controlled runs on the street show a consistent oil temperature drop of 8-10 degrees, just from the Oil Filter Relocation.
We think it turned out looking pretty good. We have been asked if the hose barbs are/will be available in any color besides brass. At this time they are not, nor any current plans for any.
Below are pictures that show, as best we can, the hose routing. The majority of the hose is below the engine and transmission, in between the frame rails, and above the cross-members. It is well hidden, and well protected, and also hard to get pictures of.
We are very pleased with how it has turned out and how it has performed. We have been getting Customer feedback over the last few weeks that the instructions are clear and the installation has gone smoothly.
More details on the Dual-Cool Oil Cooler:
This is something I have been working on, in various forms for over 10 years...yes, I'm one of the guys you may have read about that used the engine guard as a sealed unit for a combination oil cooler/larger oil capacity. (Hint: don't do it, you will invariably end up burning yourself or someone else when the engine guard is touched. :laugh
There are 4 different bike/trike configurations that we needed to address:
1. Air-cooled only with NO Lowers
2. Air-cooled only With Lowers
3. Air-Cooled & Liquid-cooled (aka, Twin-cooled, waterhead, wethead) With Lowers
4. All three of the above, with or without an already existing oil cooler
Our goals for an oil cooler were simple, but not so easy:
Our primary concern was getting it to fit on the Waterheads. There is no oil cooler that fits the waterheads, but they need the oil cooled as much, or more, than the air cooled motors.
(yes, there is one other oil cooler that will fit a waterhead, but it does not work well, the water pump blocks the flow of air to it, plus, I have personal experience of how difficult it is to install)
We built a bracket that fit the oil cooler to the waterheads, BUT, it did not create as much engine temperature drop as expected. This was because the bracket was blocking some of the flow of air to the engine.
We modified the bracket (patent pending) and now it actually gathers air and shoots it straight onto the cylinder fins! Thus the name Dual-Cool. The oil cooler is working well to cool the oil, and by extension the engine, and the bracket is scooping air that would otherwise not hit the engine and directing it onto the engine, cooling it even more.
One of the ways we kept the cost down is by positioning the oil cooler directly behind the fairing vent. If the vent is closed, very little air passes over it. If the vent is opened, a concentrated stream of air is pushed thru it. No need (or cost) for a thermostat.
By positioning it behind the fairing vent it blocks access to the traditional (and poorly designed) location of the oil filter. But that is not an issue since it is best to relocate the filter anyway.
It tucks in nicely, and looks good. It is a super easy install.
For all the other (non-wetheads), they, for the most part, already have an oil cooler. The Dual-Cool will install "inline" with the existing oil cooler, giving a nice drop in oil & engine temperatures.
For the non-lowers equipped bikes/trikes (like the Freewheeler) the oil cooler can be mounted off the downtube, not using the Dual-Cool bracket. See this LINK. When doing this, there is still access to the oil filter in the traditional location....this is how I ran my 2011 Tri-Glide (lowers removed) for over 50k miles. It is very effective.
However, it is even more effective to relocate the filter and use the Dual-Cool set-up. You gain the cooling of the filter, and the secondary engine cooling of the D-C bracket shooting air onto the fins. Plus, no more mess when changing the oil filter!
I hope the extra details provided above have been helpful to those that have asked. We spent hundreds of hours designing, testing, re-designing and testing more, but I think I have covered the important points above.
One last batch of information before posting some pictures-
Our tests were conducted on a 2014 Tri-Glide (wethead) and a 2014 Stage IV Street Glide Special (air-cooled only).
We used a test route that is a little over 30 miles each direction, a bit over 60 miles per test.
Before leaving on each test ride the engine temperature was brought up to 180*, measured at the front cylinder head by a Power Vision.
Oil temperature was measured by a dipstick oil temp gauge.
Ambient temp, engine temp and oil temp was measured at the beginning, middle and end of each run.
Even though each of them are equipped with cylinder fans, these were disabled (not running) for all the tests.
The wethead AND the air-cooled only were both 30-34 degrees cooler in the oil temperatures.
The Air-Cooled only was 20-30 degrees cooler in head temperature. The wethead, even thought it was already was running cooler heads, was 5-7 degrees cooler in head temperature.
We are VERY HAPPY with how well the Dual-Cool Oil Cooler looks & performs. We have been getting Customer feedback over the last few weeks and have made a few tweaks to the instructions to make them even more clear. Jagg is also happy with how it has turned out and is referring anyone that wants an oil cooler for a wethead to DK Custom.
Photo's-
Oil Filter Relocation:
Photo of where the oil filter normally sits. It is replaced by our adapter plated-
In this photo you can barely see the hoses coming off the adapter plate (between the shift arm and the oil cooler)
Photo of the new location for the filter, under the passenger floorboard-
Photo of the 2 wheeled version, which is tucked in closer and up a bit higher. This allows for leaning over in the curves and not scraping.
Oil Cooler photo's-
In this photo you can see the oil cooler is directly behind the lower vent. You can also see the two hoses coming off the bottom of the cooler. One of these hoses goes a short distance to the adapter plate on the engine, the other goes back to the relocated oil filter.
Vent closed-
Another view. As you CAN'T see, all the hoses are very well tucked in, out of the way of potential hazards.
Photo of installation with No lower fairing
I'm sure there are some things I've forgotten. Feel free to ask questions.
Kevin
On the Oil Filter Relocation, it seems there are MANY that are just as fed up with the mess when changing the filter out as I have been for decades.
There are fewer people, but still a good many, that realize these Twin Cams run too hot for their own good. They are taking steps to cool them down, whether they are air cooled or wetheads.
The Dual-Cool Oil cooler is an excellent way to get a significant drop in engine and oil temps.
I've been asked quite a few times to share more information on both of these items. We have quite a bit of information and photos at the following links-
Dual-Cool Oil Cooler - Click HERE
CnC Oil Filter Relocation - Click HERE
The Combo Package for both - Click HERE
I've been asked to share more details-
On the oil filter relocation (which I've been thinking about for over 10 years) we had several concerns and several goals:
- Get it moved somewhere where it could be removed above an oil drain-pan without making a mess.
- Get it out in the wind a bit, to add some cooling effect.
- Make sure it did not change the oil pressure (up or down) and that it did not put more drag on the oil pump, resulting in less power getting to the rear wheel(s)
- Make sure it looked good, or at least not stick out like a sore thumb.
- Make sure it did not create any additional felt heat to the rider or passenger.
- Make sure the bracket would hold up (not break) from the harmonic vibration.
- Make sure it was not susceptible to road debris damaging the oil lines.
- Make sure that popular mods (like the adjustable passenger pegs) would still fit.
- Design it for an easy installation.
- On the 2 wheelers, we had to make sure that you could lean all the way over in the curves, far enough to scrape the floorboards, but not the oil filter.
- On the 2 wheelers we also realized the bike needed to be able to be dropped (it happens) and land on the engine guard and the saddlebag guard, and Still not touch the relocated oil filter.
- Manufacture it here in Mississippi, USA and keep the retail price reasonable.
All of the above was no small task. We went thru many variations to get everything to fit, everything routed correctly, and everything looking good.
Repeated dyno testing, at many RPM's and throttle positions show there are is no additional drag on the oil pump, nor changes in oil pressure.
Over 100 controlled runs on the street show a consistent oil temperature drop of 8-10 degrees, just from the Oil Filter Relocation.
We think it turned out looking pretty good. We have been asked if the hose barbs are/will be available in any color besides brass. At this time they are not, nor any current plans for any.
Below are pictures that show, as best we can, the hose routing. The majority of the hose is below the engine and transmission, in between the frame rails, and above the cross-members. It is well hidden, and well protected, and also hard to get pictures of.
We are very pleased with how it has turned out and how it has performed. We have been getting Customer feedback over the last few weeks that the instructions are clear and the installation has gone smoothly.
More details on the Dual-Cool Oil Cooler:
This is something I have been working on, in various forms for over 10 years...yes, I'm one of the guys you may have read about that used the engine guard as a sealed unit for a combination oil cooler/larger oil capacity. (Hint: don't do it, you will invariably end up burning yourself or someone else when the engine guard is touched. :laugh
There are 4 different bike/trike configurations that we needed to address:
1. Air-cooled only with NO Lowers
2. Air-cooled only With Lowers
3. Air-Cooled & Liquid-cooled (aka, Twin-cooled, waterhead, wethead) With Lowers
4. All three of the above, with or without an already existing oil cooler
Our goals for an oil cooler were simple, but not so easy:
- Cool down the oil, and by extension, the engine temperature
- Have it fit on the Twin-Cool motors.
- Make sure it looked good, or at least not stick out like a sore thumb.
- Make sure it did not create any additional felt heat to the rider or passenger.
- We already knew we would use the Jagg oil cooler HyperFlow technology. We have tested many different oil coolers over the years, and the Jagg technology. They do not affect oil pressure or pump drag, while providing superior cooling.
- Needed to be easy to install.
- Keep the costs, and thus the retail price, down.
- Make sure it would work in conjunction with an existing oil cooler.
Our primary concern was getting it to fit on the Waterheads. There is no oil cooler that fits the waterheads, but they need the oil cooled as much, or more, than the air cooled motors.
(yes, there is one other oil cooler that will fit a waterhead, but it does not work well, the water pump blocks the flow of air to it, plus, I have personal experience of how difficult it is to install)
We built a bracket that fit the oil cooler to the waterheads, BUT, it did not create as much engine temperature drop as expected. This was because the bracket was blocking some of the flow of air to the engine.
We modified the bracket (patent pending) and now it actually gathers air and shoots it straight onto the cylinder fins! Thus the name Dual-Cool. The oil cooler is working well to cool the oil, and by extension the engine, and the bracket is scooping air that would otherwise not hit the engine and directing it onto the engine, cooling it even more.
One of the ways we kept the cost down is by positioning the oil cooler directly behind the fairing vent. If the vent is closed, very little air passes over it. If the vent is opened, a concentrated stream of air is pushed thru it. No need (or cost) for a thermostat.
By positioning it behind the fairing vent it blocks access to the traditional (and poorly designed) location of the oil filter. But that is not an issue since it is best to relocate the filter anyway.
It tucks in nicely, and looks good. It is a super easy install.
For all the other (non-wetheads), they, for the most part, already have an oil cooler. The Dual-Cool will install "inline" with the existing oil cooler, giving a nice drop in oil & engine temperatures.
For the non-lowers equipped bikes/trikes (like the Freewheeler) the oil cooler can be mounted off the downtube, not using the Dual-Cool bracket. See this LINK. When doing this, there is still access to the oil filter in the traditional location....this is how I ran my 2011 Tri-Glide (lowers removed) for over 50k miles. It is very effective.
However, it is even more effective to relocate the filter and use the Dual-Cool set-up. You gain the cooling of the filter, and the secondary engine cooling of the D-C bracket shooting air onto the fins. Plus, no more mess when changing the oil filter!
I hope the extra details provided above have been helpful to those that have asked. We spent hundreds of hours designing, testing, re-designing and testing more, but I think I have covered the important points above.
One last batch of information before posting some pictures-
Our tests were conducted on a 2014 Tri-Glide (wethead) and a 2014 Stage IV Street Glide Special (air-cooled only).
We used a test route that is a little over 30 miles each direction, a bit over 60 miles per test.
Before leaving on each test ride the engine temperature was brought up to 180*, measured at the front cylinder head by a Power Vision.
Oil temperature was measured by a dipstick oil temp gauge.
Ambient temp, engine temp and oil temp was measured at the beginning, middle and end of each run.
Even though each of them are equipped with cylinder fans, these were disabled (not running) for all the tests.
The wethead AND the air-cooled only were both 30-34 degrees cooler in the oil temperatures.
The Air-Cooled only was 20-30 degrees cooler in head temperature. The wethead, even thought it was already was running cooler heads, was 5-7 degrees cooler in head temperature.
We are VERY HAPPY with how well the Dual-Cool Oil Cooler looks & performs. We have been getting Customer feedback over the last few weeks and have made a few tweaks to the instructions to make them even more clear. Jagg is also happy with how it has turned out and is referring anyone that wants an oil cooler for a wethead to DK Custom.
Photo's-
Oil Filter Relocation:
Photo of where the oil filter normally sits. It is replaced by our adapter plated-
In this photo you can barely see the hoses coming off the adapter plate (between the shift arm and the oil cooler)
Photo of the new location for the filter, under the passenger floorboard-
Photo of the 2 wheeled version, which is tucked in closer and up a bit higher. This allows for leaning over in the curves and not scraping.
Oil Cooler photo's-
In this photo you can see the oil cooler is directly behind the lower vent. You can also see the two hoses coming off the bottom of the cooler. One of these hoses goes a short distance to the adapter plate on the engine, the other goes back to the relocated oil filter.
Vent closed-
Another view. As you CAN'T see, all the hoses are very well tucked in, out of the way of potential hazards.
Photo of installation with No lower fairing
I'm sure there are some things I've forgotten. Feel free to ask questions.
Kevin
