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RC51 oil cooler install on 5th gen


Ranger77

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I also wonder how the oil pressure is effected by having an oil cooler with larger diameter piping.

Nothing really. Once the line is full of oil the first time, your pressure will not change. The slightest increase in flow will occur, due to less frictional losses from the fluid moving through a larger diameter line, but we're talking slight fractions of one PSI, not at all worth fussing over.

So if you have 1/2" cooler lines instead of 3/8", you really will not notice anything negative at all.

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  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I put a 3 row cooler on my 5th gen probably 12 years ago and it's been great ever since. Not as large as an RC 51 unit, but if you are in the desert and it 100 degrees, I could see it being handy for sure.

Riding in near freezing temps, not so much.

When I have ridden in cold temps, my bike goes up to 83'C, the thermostat cracks open, then drops to 79'C, then slowly back up to 83 again.

You can watch the thermostat cycle over and over again. No idea what the oil temp is though, I haven't got a gauge.

I reckon that's where engine temp or coolant temp should be... right where the thermostat is constantly working... that way you are making the most of such a system... if the bike's always so hot that the thermostat never comes into action except when warming up the engine on start up, it sounds less ideal...

Of course the 6th gen requires certain conditions for VTEc to kick in... 64ºC "engine temp" being one of them... in cooler climates or in winter this may become a problem...

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I did the RC51 oil cooler on mine and am quite pleased. It doesn't do anything for stop and go in town traffic, but once you get moving in clean air, temps drop much faster. Fantastic mod for the price and simplicity.

I have to tear my front end down this winter for some other projects and will probably build a different bracket to move the cooler back to center.

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  • 3 months later...

Hi guys- I'm doing this mod right now. Did you cut the extra brackets off of the RC51 cooler, or just leave them alone? Also, do you think it would be better to shift the new cooler so it is centrally located with an offset bracket? Thanks,

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I've been thinking about this & as the RC51 rads are hard to come by in the UK. Another option would be a second 5th gen rad (which are cheap) welded to the existing one or 2 x 5th gen rads made up to replace the existing one which could be resold.

The process is simple, take one rad & cut off the oil pipe mounts, then take the 2nd rad & cut/grind off the frame mounting tab on the top. Drill an 8mm hole in the top at each end inline with where it will align with the holes in the bottom of the first rad & then rim weld them together. Job done, a 4 row cooler.

I'd be inclined to replace the pipe mounts with oil cooler hose mounts & have a set made up to replace the oil cooler pipes which are known to corrode & leak on the 5th & 6th gen if not looked after ! This will be my first project next winter :wink:

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I've been thinking about this & as the RC51 rads are hard to come by in the UK. Another option would be a second 5th gen rad (which are cheap) welded to the existing one or 2 x 5th gen rads made up to replace the existing one which could be resold.

The process is simple, take one rad & cut off the oil pipe mounts, then take the 2nd rad & cut/grind off the frame mounting tab on the top. Drill an 8mm hole in the top at each end inline with where it will align with the holes in the bottom of the first rad & then rim weld them together. Job done, a 4 row cooler.

I'd be inclined to replace the pipe mounts with oil cooler hose mounts & have a set made up to replace the oil cooler pipes which are known to corrode & leak on the 5th & 6th gen if not looked after ! This will be my first project next winter :wink:

Dusty thread but did you ever get in to this?

Ranger, how is your install going a few years later?

RC rads are cheap, looking at doing this.

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Did the lines part, see here;- http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/80631-replace-your-oil-cooler-lines-diy/

I may look at the stacked cooler depending on how the temps work with my new tuning setup, I'm expecting 120+hp.

The current 112hp was fine last year with the electric water pump & lower temp fan switch keeping everything at a perfect temperature, even when carving through some hot gorges in Spain last year in 30+C temps.

That said, I've already replaced the long rubber hoses on the right side above rad & the cross tube between rads with custom alloy pipes, which definitely reduced the temps a bit.

More when I have news.

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  • 3 months later...
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I like your elegant drill and tap solution for the coolers. Do you have any pictures of the engine block fittings before you fitted the new hoses?

Ciao,

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  • 1 year later...

Hi guys, I'm considering this on by 2001 vfr because I was reading that it is good bang for my buck.

One question: do I need the rc51 oil lines with the cooler? The cooler itself is $35ish. With lines it looks double.

Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk

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  • 3 years later...
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Out of interest, does anyone know which way round the oil flows on a VFR 800? 
 

Does it flow into the right side of the cooler (throttle side), or into the left (clutch side)? 
 

Also, does anyone know how much air gets trapped in the cooler? I’ve been reading about air hampering a cooler’s effectiveness if the fittings are at the bottom. Fittings on the top help fight this but pain in the arse to drain oil for a service. 
 

Got a 5 row RC51 cooler on my 5th gen and it works fine. Was wondering if part of it was full of air. Made a different mounting bracket to centralise it in the frame. 
 

Just curious on the above, really.

 

Stray

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1 hour ago, Stray said:

Out of interest, does anyone know which way round the oil flows on a VFR 800? 
 

Does it flow into the right side of the cooler (throttle side), or into the left (clutch side)? 
 

Into R/H side. Out of L/H side.

 

image.png

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On 7/11/2020 at 1:07 PM, Stray said:

Out of interest, does anyone know which way round the oil flows on a VFR 800? 
 

 

 

Stray

With a K&N oil filter fitted, the answer occasionally is from the inside to the outside....

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48 minutes ago, Terry said:

With a K&N oil filter fitted, the answer occasionally is from the inside to the outside....

Love it Terry very funny, but oh so true!

Cheers to you. :beer:

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Glad to see people are liking the rc51 oil cooler swap.

 

So many years have passed and with the double o-ring setup, shes never leaked.

 

I've been off the forum for some years now.  Ive been so busy that riding got left behind.

 

Ive now got two 5th gens.  LoL. Such a good deal I'd be crazy to not have gotten it.

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On 7/14/2020 at 10:02 PM, Ranger77 said:

Glad to see people are liking the rc51 oil cooler swap.

 

So many years have passed and with the double o-ring setup, shes never leaked.

 

I've been off the forum for some years now.  Ive been so busy that riding got left behind.

 

Ive now got two 5th gens.  LoL. Such a good deal I'd be crazy to not have gotten it.

Ranger, were you the first to do the swap? Awesome mod! 

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On 7/18/2020 at 4:57 PM, Stray said:

Ranger, were you the first to do the swap? Awesome mod! 

I guess.  With the 6th gen cooler only being 1 row more and having to bend both lines I just ebay shopped amd found the rc51 cooler.   

 

 

Helps in the Texas heat and I just use velcro with cardboard to block it off during the winter.

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