Hawk 250 Oil Cooler Install

[emptyschmitz]

Last night I decided to perform the install of the oil cooler/valve cover for sale through various outfits (I got mine through banggood.com) on at least on one of my bikes. I can get pictures for some of the details on the 2nd bike and will append them later, but for now I can describe them.

I notched out a V, about 3/16 wide by 3/8 deep, in the center of one of the half-circle brackets. This allowed me to install the top bracket in between two of the frame tubes meeting at the steering head. I felt this would keep the cooler securely in place. I installed the cooler with the inlet/outlet facing upwards, feeling they would be further out of harms way. I am not certain if this would affect flow or operation but felt that pressure under operation would mean flow regardless of orientation.



With this notch, the lower bracket butted up nicely with a lower portion of the frame downtube, acting as further reinforcement for the cooler.



The valve cover was a bit tricky. I found it was easiest to install and bolt down the head before installing the lines. I had received much nicer crimped lines than the push-fit & hoseclamp style but it made it a little more challenging to figure out how to route the lines. I was able to bring them upwards towards the tank and in a criss-cross pattern to the oil cooler. They are a little bunched up, but at least not kinked and should operate just fine. I might try fitting them with the cooler ports downward to see if it helps with line routing on the 2nd one before finishing an installation.



Overall I must say I am impressed with the quality of the kit. The valve cover is relatively unfinished surprisingly, but on a test run I observed no leaks on the cooler ports or the cover gasket. The oil cooler and lines were of very good quality.

I am still working on my pannier racks (waiting for a bending tool to come in) but this week I will be fooling around with aluminum plate for a skid plate.

[JerryHawk250]

Nice job. Leave the cooler mounted with the connections on top. Since the cooler is mounted higher than the engine this will keep the oil from draining back to the engine otherwise you will need to put a check valve to prevent dry starts. In other words it will take a few seconds before the cooler fills the cooler before it starts pumping oil to the top of the engine.

[Merlin]

Originally Posted by emptyschmitz

Last night I decided to perform the install of the oil cooler/valve cover for sale through various outfits (I got mine through banggood.com) on at least on one of my bikes. I can get pictures for some of the details on the 2nd bike and will append them later, but for now I can describe them.

I notched out a V, about 3/16 wide by 3/8 deep, in the center of one of the half-circle brackets. This allowed me to install the top bracket in between two of the frame tubes meeting at the steering head. I felt this would keep the cooler securely in place. I installed the cooler with the inlet/outlet facing upwards, feeling they would be further out of harms way. I am not certain if this would affect flow or operation but felt that pressure under operation would mean flow regardless of orientation.



With this notch, the lower bracket butted up nicely with a lower portion of the frame downtube, acting as further reinforcement for the cooler.



The valve cover was a bit tricky. I found it was easiest to install and bolt down the head before installing the lines. I had received much nicer crimped lines than the push-fit & hoseclamp style but it made it a little more challenging to figure out how to route the lines. I was able to bring them upwards towards the tank and in a criss-cross pattern to the oil cooler. They are a little bunched up, but at least not kinked and should operate just fine. I might try fitting them with the cooler ports downward to see if it helps with line routing on the 2nd one before finishing an installation.



Overall I must say I am impressed with the quality of the kit. The valve cover is relatively unfinished surprisingly, but on a test run I observed no leaks on the cooler ports or the cover gasket. The oil cooler and lines were of very good quality.

I am still working on my pannier racks (waiting for a bending tool to come in) but this week I will be fooling around with aluminum plate for a skid plate.

Can you measure the height of the new valve cover for me. Wondering if it is any shorter then the stock one?

[timcosby]

front fender doesnt hit?

[mjstef]

Originally Posted by timcosby

front fender doesnt hit?

Looks like the fender is gone, I have the exact same cooler lying in my shop and couldn't find anywhere to mount it without removing the fender or spacing it way down, like three inches down. The only issue I see with mounting it right in front of the motor is you're kind of negating the benefit of the cooler by blowing air through the cooler warming it up and then that warmed air flowing over the engine. This is why I came up with a side mount cooler. No modifications, just bolt on.

[emptyschmitz]

I did have to modify the fender on the back end and I'm not finished with the mod, I want to add a rubber flap to keep most of the mud and weather off of the cooler. Its unfortunate, but considering the amount of mud I had to clean off the bike before the install, that last bit on the back wasn't doing much anyway!

[Merlin]

Would it help if I said Please measure the height of the valve cover? It would help us Bashan Blaze owners a lot and I cant seem to get mjstef to measure his? At this stage I cant adjust my valves without dropping my engine. In the pics Ive seen of these valve covers they look shorter then stock but looks can be deceiving.

[ughmas]

Originally Posted by Merlin

Would it help if I said Please measure the height of the valve cover? It would help us Bashan Blaze owners a lot and I cant seem to get mjstef to measure his? At this stage I cant adjust my valves without dropping my engine. In the pics Ive seen of these valve covers they look shorter then stock but looks can be deceiving.

here you go friend they sent me the silver one even though I asked for black :( its about 2 inches/5cm tall with my VERY approximate 1 handed measurements

[Merlin]

Thanks that helps a lot. Much shorter then my valve cover.

[ughmas]

Originally Posted by Merlin

Thanks that helps a lot. Much shorter then my valve cover.

let me know if you need any other pics or measurements since its 20 degrees here and I just have it sitting on my desk, i'm actually surprised it is different than your stock one.

[Merlin]

I just re-checked and it seems shorter but by how much is yet to be seen.

[mjstef]

Sorry Merlin. My bike is WAAAY back in the shop with a ton of stuff stacked against it right now....

[emptyschmitz]

Originally Posted by Merlin

Would it help if I said Please measure the height of the valve cover? It would help us Bashan Blaze owners a lot and I cant seem to get mjstef to measure his? At this stage I cant adjust my valves without dropping my engine. In the pics Ive seen of these valve covers they look shorter then stock but looks can be deceiving.

They appear to be identical to the original valve covers in height.

[timcosby]

if your valve cover is taller they may be a reason for it. just a thought.

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by timcosby

if your valve cover is taller they may be a reason for it. just a thought.

Yeah! More room for that high lift race cam.