Has anyone felt need for oil pressure gauge?

Not much posted here that I can find on oil pressure issues with these bikes. Read the oil level indicator post. Appears not a concern, but have a high mileage unit and wonder if there is any experience out there with this.

Bigin I dont think you would want to know what your oil pressure is bikes usually only run 4 to 6 psi as far as I can remember.

I have a oil pressure gauge on my bike and like Muffinman says you'll be sorely disappointed in reading it. Especially after the bike get warmed up good and idling. Even on a cold engine the pressure only goes to about 40psi and that don't stay there very long either.On the freeway it can be reading 15-20 psi and then drop to 5. Scares the crap out of ya too but I guess these engines get enough oil as there doesn't seem to be any problems with longetivately.

I'm seriously thinking of taking the gauge off as it seems pointless anyhow.

Larry

Great, thanks guys. One less thing to worry about. Time for a ride!

I do run a pressure gauge, and I think it is important (for me). But it is also important to know what it tells you and why you want one.

Do you realize that the oil idiot light on these engines is NOT a low pressure light? Although the oil light on just about every auto and bike is for low pressure, ours is not. Our oil light is for low oil LEVEL. That is why our bikes do not have a dip stick to easily check the oil.

The chance of complete and sudden failure of the oil pump is extremely small, so adding a pressure gauge to see that doesn't make much sense. The only other problem that would cause the oil pressure to totally fail is loss of oil, and the low oil light WOULD detect that, so again there is no need for the gauge.

So why do I want the gauge anyway? Because this is the only way to monitor slowly developing problems, such as worn rod and main bearings, that gradually reduce the oil pressure over time and can lead to eventual major engine damage. If you don't put a lot of miles on your bike and expect to still have it at 100K+, then even this would not be of any real significance to you.

Here's what I know about our engines and how I use my gauge: Specifications state that on a hot engine, you should have 50 lbs pressure at 5,000 RPM (going from memory here). Since I also have a tach on my bike, I check this at every service interval and periodically while riding if I push the engine to 5K while shifting. Frankly, I don't notice this very often while riding, so it mainly comes into play during the four service intervals every year.

Normal riding between 2,000 and 3,200 RPM does keep the pressure around 25 - 30 lbs. I don't pay that close attention to the exact reading, but I know where on the dial I should normally see the needle and expect to react if it is materially different.

Idle on a hot engine barely moves the needle off the stop. This is normal on ALL engines, as most oil idiot lights trigger at about 7 lbs pressure. If you can find a gauge you like that tops out around 60 lbs, then you might be able to see meaningful readings at idle, but most gauges just don't show it well at such low pressure. Nevertheless, this is actually the most valuable information I get from my gauge, as I do notice this a lot (not much to do while waiting for a light to change), and I know that just barely cracking my throttle will cause noticeable rise in the needle by 1,200 RPM. I probably test this 3 or 4 times a week, just by mental reflex without even thinking. So this is where I will first notice any significant engine wear or loss of normal oil viscosity from overheating or gas dilution.

Gauges are very easy to add to these bikes. I had a detailed write-up on here BC, but it got lost during the meltdown, and I have not put it back. I'll try to remember to do that this week. Good luck,

Goose