The Twin Cams have had piston cooling jets since the beginning, and the 103 and 110 engines in the Touring models already have oil coolers as well. So the only other part mentioned in the Sportster article that the Twin Cams don't already have is the modified oil flow in the heads. Just pumping more oil to the heads isn't necessarily an answer, since that was part of the original design of the Twin Cam and they found way back when that all they got for the effort was much higher oil temperatures but very little difference in actual head temps. It was one reason why the Twin Cam engine was delayed a year from the intended launch date, so the engineers could work out the problems with the oiling system. So if this idea is the supposed salvation of the Twin Cam, I certainly hope they do a better job of figuring out the oil flow, oil temperature, and breather carryover problems than they did the first time. And they will need to use a much better oil cooler than the one they've been installing on the 103's and 110's.
Since they will need to install a bigger and higher capacity oil cooler, which is something Harley has avoided like the plague because it draws attention to the high heat problem as well as the fact it doesn't fit with the "style is everything" product philosophy, then it makes more sense to me to just water cool the heads and add a radiator. Ugly oil cooler or ugly radiator, you will definitely get one or the other. Of course the oil system is cheaper than having a separate water pump and plumbing, so I'd expect H-D to try that first.
Anyway, it ought to be fun watching what they come up with over the next few years. They definitely need to do something different.
Jerry
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Topic: Forced Convection System (Read 9458 times)