What are normal operating temps and pressures?

[John A]

when I ran gauges I was looking for aberrations. the oil temp took an average of 30 miles to warm up and stabilize then would fluctuate according to ambient temp and load. around 200F was normal if I recall. on our 15M controlled bikes the factory cylinder head temp is 125C or 257F fully warmed up. around 350F the alloy used in most cylinder heads looses strength rapidly so don't beat it when its extra hot, just try to get speed up for cooling. on the convert side, 5606 Hydraulic fluid is rated -65F to 257F.Id be interested to know what normal is too, from the guys that run gauges.   

[John A]

Doing some reading on hydraulic fluids
It says temps above 180F damage seals
And 75 percent of failures are caused by contaminated fluid

[rodekyll]

Does it say what kind of seals?  I've cooked the t/c a few times in my career when the hex drive broke.  There is a stack of seals and o-rings down in that area that also get a good cooking.  I've sometimes had t/c's come out looking like they'd been roasted in a pig pit fire -- all black and charcoally 'burned metal' looking -- But the seals have not failed.

[John A]

whatever 5606 compatible seals are, it didn't say the manner of failure or if they were static or dynamic. I presume they would bet soft and leak. They said most failures of hydraulic systems were caused by fluid contamination, water, wear from components, servicing, stuff like that makes the fluid loose viscosity and lubricity. there should be some hydraulic engineers here that could splain it

[Muzz]

And 75 percent of failures are caused by contaminated fluid

Son does power steering for a living. Was giving him a hand recently and a car came in making an awful noise from the hydraulics. The oil was black but everything still worked. As a first step we flushed the reservoir and the system and replaced the fluid. Ran perfectly. Sent on their way with a warning that they may have damaged the pump by continuing to use the cooked fluid.

Note, if you are running a 6 cylinder, (the 4 cylinder ones aren't quite as susceptible)  BMW, the hydraulic lines run very close to the exhaust. Check the power steer fluid for discolouration regularly.

[Howard R]

Are you saying the 20/50 did better hot than 10/60?

I haven't tried 10W60, yet.  The 20W50 Amsoil (true synth) was better than the 15W50 "sort of" synth.

[rodekyll]

Good data points.

[jmac851]

I was using 20w50 in my 96 cal and my 98ev both with oil temp gauges.  They ran about 190-210  after about 30 minutes of run time.  I switched to 10w60 agip and the temp came down to 170-190 after about 45 minutes of run time.  The only time the temp goes up to 200+ is when sitting in traffic.